Work is important, but not everyone can make it to the office every single day. Yes, of course that should be the goal, but it isn t always possible is it? You probably know this to be true from experience. Usually it is a case of bad weather, particularly winter weather. The winter is quite tough on the work schedule, as you will experience snow drifts, icy roads, and many other conditions that will make it simply impossible to make the trek from home to work. This is why you need to create a communication plan that will allow your employees to work from home in exceptional circumstances.
The first thing you are going to need to do is come up with some sort of strategy. Your strategy will include when and how everything will go down in the office. So let s take a look at a few of the things that need to be covered when coming up with a decent strategy.
Minimum Hardware
In order for employees to work at home, their computers will need to meet the minimum requirements of the remote software that your company uses. Understand that not everyone is going to be able to meet those requirements and your company might need to supply them a decent computer loaded with the software; this could just be a company laptop or similar portable device. Those who do own decent computers might need to be taught how to use the remote software, so be prepared to provide instruction on that topic.
Due Dates
Work will need to be done at home, so it is important that you set due dates for each person. Doing this will give everyone a time when they need to have their work in, meaning that they will have time to ask questions and receive clarification.
Meeting Times
Though everyone might be capable of working on their own, meetings are going to be essential to make sure that everyone is up to speed. This doesn t mean that you should hold meetings every half hour, but once per week would probably be adequate. It is important to keep everyone in touch and on the same page.
Help and Support
Even though you give the employees a course on how to use the remote software they might not fully understand everything there is to know. This is why you need to provide one of two methods of help. The first would be a live tech support person that can be reached every hour of the day, either by telephone or through a chat room. You could also have a help file compiles so they can look up the answer for themselves.
Just because the weather is gloomy doesn t mean work has to be! Sure your employees might have been hoping for a snow day, but you can t afford to miss a single day. There is money to be made and there is work to be done. Start looking for good remote software today so you can work even when it is raining cats and dogs.
Author Resource:
Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For information on Unified Communications, he recommends Prodec Networks: http://www.prodec.co.uk/unifiedcommunications