Remote workforce Management

The global pandemic has given rise to multiple new concepts such as remote workforce management.

For companies going digital, this concept is critical.

Reason being, with more companies adopting remote employment, it’s critical to understand how remote workforce management works and why it is needed.

What is remote workforce management?

As the title suggests, remote workforce management involves multiple activities that set, shape and supervise the delegation of digital tasks to achieve work-related goals and monitoring their achievement against expectations.

Given the present popularity of remote work arrangements, a number of critical tasks have to be performed to ensure work productivity and quality is not compromised. Some of these critical tasks include:

Developing and managing work schedules
Delegation of tasks and responsibilities
Onboarding of new employees to the remote work environment
Maintaining efficient workflow procedures and team collaboration
Ensuring each team member is comfortable within their new working arrangement
Providing guidance on overcoming the challenges associated with a remote work environment

Common challenges of working remotely include:

Inability to communicate or collaborate

Despite having technology to facilitate communication, it is not quite the same as in a physical setting. This challenge particularly pertains to team members who may not have an advanced degree of technological comfort.

Struggle to navigate new collaboration and productivity

Working together physically, fosters a greater sense of collaboration and bonding. Working remotely can interrupt collaboration among team members as well as productivity. Employee productivity can be affected given that remote work is highly dependent on self-responsibility, time management and accountability to succeed.

Feeling disconnected from the team

With communication, team collaboration and productivity being challenged, it’s inevitable that team members begin to feel disconnected from each other. Working remotely invites isolation which leads to loneliness and a feeling of no longer belonging to the company.

Too many distractions within the home environment

Whereas an office space might be conducive to productivity and creativity, the home environment can be riddled with never-ending distractions. Family duties, household activities, non-work-related phone calls, pets, children, television, social media and other distractions are ever present.

Unplugging after work

With so many distractions, employees may experience disruptions within their workday and find themselves working beyond typical hours. Going beyond the typical workday makes it much more challenging to unplug and take a break.

Staying motivated

Feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, isolated and distracted can significantly undermine a team member’s motivation and work ethic. Working in the comfort of your own home may be a blessing to some team members, but the team culture and collaborative energy found in the physical workplace can be difficult to replicate.

Being in different time zones that your team mates

Working with a team scattered across the globe can lead to scheduling conflicts, frustration, inconvenience and lack of cohesion. For example, a team member may have to attend a meeting beyond normal working hours – late at night or very early in the morning, due to time differences between them and their manager.

How to overcome the challenges of remote workforce management?

With an effective remote workforce management strategy, challenges can be addressed by:

Providing secure access to critical tools

Working remotely changes the dynamics of several workplace processes such as communication, progress tracking and work updates. For effective remote workforce management, staff members should have access to:

Proper hardware, devices and infrastructure

To perform their job responsibilities, staff members need proper access to work devices – laptops, tablets, company phones, connectivity to the organisation’s network infrastructure, helpdesk tech support and remote log in access.

Software and information sharing

Remote employees require the relevant software to be installed on their devices, access to file sharing tools such as email infrastructure, cloud storage, information databases and systems. Employees may also need log in or access to communication tools such as Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams or DropBox.

Connectivity testing

Within the Caribbean, network connectivity may be affected by the infrastructure quality in certain parts of the island. Particularly in rural communities, it is important that the quality of the technological infrastructure is tested to ensure it can support the technical requirements that remote working involves.

Security of sensitive information

It is critical that companies ensure sensitive or confidential information is securely maintained and not shared with unwanted third parties. Security is an important tool with regards to remote workforce management. Access to only applicable information pertaining to a team member’s work responsibilities should be granted.

Train staff on new digital tools

Effective remote workforce management should include adequate staff training to use digital tools for optimum effectiveness.

For example, team members should be fully trained on conducting Zoom video conferencing meetings, inviting attendees, holding private conference rooms, muting conversations, sharing screens, sending files and recording meetings. Video conferencing etiquette is also important to know – having a neutral background, no distracting screen visuals and proper audio tone. Other important digital tools to incorporate into a remote workforce management strategy are: