Services Business Owners Can Provide Remote Employees. The abrupt transition to remote work has been challenging for employees and business owners alike, but there have also been benefits. For some companies, working from home seems to be the way of things, at least for now. Others are even making the leap to permanent remote work. If your company is in either scenario, you have to ensure that operations continue to run smoothly.
Offering remote support services to your employees, in addition to their regular benefits, is an excellent way to both maintain a good relationship with them and keep your business on track. You could once centralize all available resources in your office, but now your employees’ productivity relies on the tools and services they have available to them at home.
Tech Support
Employees who are working from home might have different equipment than they did in the office. They might be forced to figure out how to do tasks differently with new hardware or software, and if they do run into issues, you can’t just send in the IT department anymore.
For the sake of productivity and avoiding frustration, you need to equip staff with tech support. It is easier for a business to finance equipment and services than it is for an individual, and offering the same services to all employees will help with standardization. With the right policy in place, you will ensure that staff has everything they need to get work done.
Offer laptop and computer repair services and support for any software issues. The service provider can provide services remotely, make a house visit, or have the employee walk into the shop. Once a repair service is established, you no longer have to worry about computer issues affecting staff productivity. The repair service company will handle all hardware, software, and network issues for you.
Mental Health Services
The pandemic and its many effects have caused an increase in anxiety, depression, grief, and other emotions that affect our well-being. The social distancing rules and stay-at-home orders have affected relationships. With less regular human contact and fewer interactions, staff members are likely to feel lonely and isolated.
If you provide health insurance for your employees, you can check whether it covers mental health services, especially through telehealth, so that they won’t have to leave their homes. These services can help staff members to cope. Providing them signals that you care about your employees’ well-being.
Health and Wellness Stipend
Many people’s eating habits have suffered and are exercising less due to lockdown constraints and working from home. The considerable change has disrupted habits and routines like going to the gym, team sports, grocery shopping, or visiting farmers’ markets.
The stipend can show employees you care and allow them to focus on areas that will positively affect their health. The funds can be used for online cooking classes, yoga sessions, exercise classes, and so on. It can also give them the ability to order healthy meal kits and fresh food.
A Free Meal Now and Then
Sending everyone take-out to eat on a Friday is the WFH equivalent of buying lunch for the office to say thank you. It is an opportunity for a morale-building mini office party or happy hour. There are even virtual activities and games you can play over video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex.
The Benefits of Offering Services to Remote Employees
To get work done, remote employees need the same resources as they would in an office. If you can coordinate, motivate, and equipment your distributed team, you will:
- Help your business run better – Standardizing everyone’s equipment ensures nobody is bogged down by tech issues. Everyone’s financial situation is different, and this will also help avoid situations in which an employee’s constraints limit their access to work or ability to fix an issue. For example, you want all employees to use a reliable, high-quality internet service.
- Keep up relationships – It helps to check in on your employees’ mental health and maintain a positive atmosphere. You can also give everyone something fun to do, even if it’s just a zoom happy hour “office party.” The social connections you build within your staff will strengthen the team’s bonds, increasing their ability to work together.
- Reward and encourage good work– Everyone’s been under a lot of stress, employees have had to do a lot of innovating to pivot companies to remote work, and rewarding people for hard work is always good. It keeps employees motivated and eager to take on new challenges.
Support Your Remote Staff
The shift to remote work is necessary to survive, and managing it effectively can make it not just a necessity but an advantage. Embrace the change, provide support for your remote employees, and equip them well—employees who feel cared for by their managers and company work harder and thrive professionally and personally. Over time, it’s easy to see that remote work can benefit your business’ productivity.
