How to implement an effective remote working strategy

The concept of remote working has come a long way. In its early stages, it was mostly unique to small start-ups lacking physical offices and digital nomads operating out of co-working spaces scattered across the world.

Many things have changed since then. While the Covid-19 pandemic played a major role in the worldwide shift to remote working, the model's standalone benefits have gone on to surpass expectations and are more than capable of holding its own.

Adjusting to the initial transition was a learning curve. Implementing new tools, video conferencing, and effective strategies posed challenges, highlighting the importance of establishing a strong foundation for a sustainable remote work routine in the long run.

A remote working model allows businesses to save up to 40% in overhead costs

Amidst all the challenges encountered by business decision-makers, the benefits of a work-from-anywhere model were undeniable. 

Some of these examples include: 

Significant reductions in real estate expenses as only a small handful of employees were required to be in the office.

Reduction in costs related to electronic devices, electricity, heating, and air conditioning that on-site employees would typically utilise.

Reduction in time spent commuting to work. As the average employee spent an average of one hour commuting, working from home meant that this time could be spent on work-related projects.

Hiring remote employees from various geographic locations meant companies could expand their presence into multiple regions with a workforce familiar with the local business practices, languages and cultures.

Challenges of setting up a remote work policy

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• Limited access to the right technology or getting timely access to tech issue resolution.
• Lack of cohesion and communication between employees might lead to information getting lost in translation.
• Difficulty unplugging after work or maintaining work-life balance
• Working from home can blue the lines between work and personal life
• Lack of collaboration and socialising can lead to feelings of isolation among employees
• Difficulty maintaining company culture for HR managers and business leaders.
• Disconnect in training and development processes for onboarding new talent can be challenging for HR.
• Difficulty in managing global teams scattered across different timezones

Important considerations for implementing an effective work-from-home strategy

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HR involvement

Get your HR team involved early in developing all workforce management programmes. It is an essential step in helping departments communicate their plans to all their employees.

Transparency and clarity are key to ensuring that employees understand the financial reality, the reasons behind the department’s approach, and the potential impact it may have on them.

Workplace culture and employee experience

For employees used to office setups, this transition can pose various challenges.

The most jarring shift might be moving from in-person collaboration to relying on collaboration tools in a physically distanced setup. Both employees and employers must adapt to changes in how internal communication is maintained.

Workers must acclimate to new technology, including communication tools to track and manage workflows, onboard new employees, streamline interdepartmental collaboration, and structure HR processes. This shift also means not having immediate access to an in-office IT department for troubleshooting.

When homes double as workspaces, finding a balance between personal and professional life becomes essential, as the line between the two can easily blur.

Fostering a positive culture is integral to a company's success. The physically distanced nature of teleworking can limit companies' visibility over employee engagement.

Employers must support remote work best practices long-term. This includes regular one-on-one phone calls, periodic employee surveys, and providing employees with sufficient access to information and knowledge tools to nurture their growth.

Additionally, creating room for flexible schedules is a must, as many employees may need to balance caregiving responsibilities or other personal commitments. Offering mental health resources and fostering a culture of support is equally crucial for employee well-being. By addressing these diverse needs, employers can create an inclusive work environment that enables both personal and professional success.

Effective performance management in a hybrid team setup ensures employees remain engaged and productive.

Maintaining compliance

Adapting to the new norm of telecommuting requires reevaluating compliance policies, particularly for companies with a global workforce. They must navigate not only the regulations of their own country but also those of the countries where their employees reside and work, adding layers of complexity to policy management.

For traditional office environments, regulations are clearly laid out. However, when most or all of your employees work from home, restructuring your compliance program can become complex. Ensuring that your newly remote company remains legally compliant presents many grey areas.

Some of the steps companies can take to maintain an effective compliance program include the following:

• Updating your compliance policies to reflect a work-from-anywhere environment.
• Consulting global mobility experts like Airswift to identify best practices for incorporating employee safety and liability considerations into a global remote organisation.
• Implementing training sessions to ensure that employees are caught up on the latest changes in your company’s compliance policy.
• Ensuring employees are aware of the dos and don’ts surrounding the handling of company information.
• Conducting regular compliance audits to reaffirm your company’s commitment to maintaining compliance.

Consider the costs

There are plenty of tangible short-term savings to be made with regard to reduced overhead costs. However, you must consider the costs your organisation is ready to absorb from employees working from home. Before rolling out a long-term, flexible workplace model, companies must identify and outline the costs that will be covered along with the ones that won’t be.

Be mindful of expenses incurred through the new normal working model. This includes office equipment such as desks, laptops, and scanners, as well as stationery, insurance, and the hiring and training of talent.

Data security risks

With employees working from their own spaces, the increased use of unauthorised devices and insecure Wi-Fi networks puts companies at greater risk of compromising sensitive data. This also affects their partners and clients, making them susceptible to unintentional breaches of data protection laws. 

Enforcing cybersecurity safeguards across scattered home offices while monitoring employee activities without infringing on privacy can be challenging. This is further complicated for businesses that operate globally and must comply with multiple data protection laws.

To protect corporate and employee information while remaining compliant, employers must take steps to identify and mitigate data security risks. Start by assessing your cybersecurity risk profile. Work with your IT and risk management teams to establish a clear and robust data security playbook.

Once implemented, recalibrate and communicate these procedures to employees and management teams. Training is often necessary to ensure all staff are educated and updated on company policies for maintaining healthy data security habits.

Four steps to successful remote work strategies

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1. Establish clear communication

A clear communication strategy is the quintessential stepping stone towards a successful strategy. Ensuring employees perform consistently involves more than just tracking the times they're logging in and out of work. Therefore, project management teams must be precise in communicating their expectations from employees and perform regular check-ins to ensure that their virtual teams have the resources they need to meet these standards.

Employers should structure a clear workflow plan on an individual and team level with their staff. For the sake of transparency, this information should be available across the department so that employees know what they need to do to perform but are also looped into what their teammates are handling. This is so that they know what to expect and who to communicate with when challenges arise.

Online productivity tools such as Monday.com and Asana have proven helpful under these circumstances as they allow for easy reporting, productivity measuring and business continuity.

2. Define goals and measurable outcomes for your remote workforce

While we know that clear communication is integral to any effective strategy, the concept itself can be rather abstract. What exactly entails clear communication? This is where we break down the specifics of setting up a seamless communication plan.

Questions to ask and answer might include:

• What are the agreed-upon working hours for all team members to be available?
• What tools will be used for communication, and what are the procedures involved?
• What is an acceptable response time for emails and messages (take timezone differences into consideration)
• Who reports to whom?
• Who has access to which documents?
• How are responsibilities delegated?

Having well-defined responsibilities is essential to ensuring that everyone in the team knows what they’re accountable for. It’s also important to remember not to work in silos.

Therefore, an open communication stream is necessary when discussing KPIs and expectations. It allows teams to acknowledge and agree on what they are working towards. It also makes it easier for employees to monitor their own progress against pre-defined targets and stay organised.

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3. Create healthy telecommuting environments for your employees

Satisfied employees are the backbone of any successful company. Make it a point to provide your employees with conditions they need to maintain productivity while working from home. This might include making sure they have the right equipment to setting up task management solutions to help them stay on top of their KPIs and track their progress.

On an intrinsic level, empower employees by reminding them that they are valued and their voices heard. Small gestures such as rewarding good performance, asking for opinions, or putting aside a few minutes daily to check their well-being can go a long way. In many cases, conducting employee surveys are useful in bridging the gap between expectation and actual experience.

Also, pay attention to behavioural changes such as lowered KPI scores, increased sick days, etc. These may be telling signs that something might not be right. In such instances, create a safe and comfortable space for employees to speak openly without strong-arming or interrogating them.

4. Reinforce company culture

When your virtual workforce is scattered across geographic locations and time zones, cultivating an environment of trust and connectedness is crucial for employee wellbeing. Here are some helpful tips:

• Organise regular team meetings and informal Q&A sessions with team leaders and management staff.
• Send virtual kudos or shout-outs to recognise and encourage outstanding performance.
• Create a social channel on your business’s communication platform to foster remote team culture and allow employees from various departments to interact and mingle in a light-hearted environment.
• Schedule virtual townhalls or huddles once every quarter to re-establish company-wide goals, progress, and values.
• Invest time in creating a thorough and informative employee onboarding deck to help new remote team members understand and integrate into your company culture.

How an Employer of Record helps businesses manage remote work processes

What is an Employer of Record?

An Employer of Record (EOR) is a service offered by global employment solutions providers. It allows their client company to legally employ staff in a foreign country where they don't have a legal entity.

While the client company is responsible for managing the performance and schedule of the employee, the EOR is regarded as the legal employer in the foreign location. An EOR’s responsibilities can include sponsoring work visas, managing payroll and taxes, immigration and making sure all labour regulations are followed. 

To learn more about the different functions provided by an Employer of Record, an article on EOR vs international business incorporation will provide you with deeper insight into why many companies opt to work with an Employer of Record while planning for international expansion.

Here are some ways an Employer of Record can help streamline global remote workforce management.

Manages all legal responsibilities on your behalf

An Employer of Record is legally responsible for handling all facets of compensation. This includes allocating employee benefits and managing taxes. Protecting you from any risks involving employee compensation and claims management. For remote employees that are based outside of their origin country, an EOR can help to provide them with the correct documentation to ensure they can continue to work legally.

Manage your back-office tasks

From overseeing employee onboarding and advising on notice periods and termination procedures to managing payment disparities to ensure your employees are compensated fairly, an Employer of Record handles all administrative tasks on your behalf.

Maintain compliance

An Employer of Record can help your company avoid compliance risk by ensuring you are aligned with different state and federal government regulations. This includes overseeing a remote employee's compensation, ensuring they are paid on time and withholding all necessary taxes.

Save time and money

From payroll to handling local regulations, an Employer of Record saves you time by handling all the bureaucracy on your behalf. By removing the need to set up a local entity in the host country your employees are based in, EORs can save business owners thousands of dollars. It also frees companies from investing money into hiring internal teams to manage administrative functions ranging from finance to legal procedures surrounding local employment law.

Advise on confusion about notice periods and termination rules

An EOR can help remote workers resolve these issues when there are no clear guidelines stated within their employment contract with the client company.

Hire and manage remote teams easily with Airswift's Employer of Record services

Implementing an effective remote work strategy takes time and patience, especially when working with a globally dispersed team of international employees. Here at Airswift, we consider ourselves a global business with a local approach. We have more than 40 years of experience supporting companies in managing a global workforce across 60 countries worldwide.

Whether you’re working with remote teams across the globe or are looking to expand into new locations, our Employer of Record services range from tax and payroll processing, HR outsourcing and much more. All of which can be customised to suit your specific needs.

Get in touch today to learn  how we can help you accomplish your global workforce management goals.