In response to the lockdowns and stay-home orders earlier this year, many Orange County small businesses scrambled to get their employees working remotely from home to remain functional during the pandemic. In the aftermath, once business owners realized that working from home actually works, many have either continued working from home or instituted a “hybrid model,” blending working in the office and working from home to maintain social distancing guidelines.
The coronavirus pandemic is far from over, and with predictions that the onset of flu season may correlate with a “second wave” of COVID-19 this fall, another round of shutdowns is certainly not out of the question. Fortunately, having been through it once, Orange County business owners now have more time to prepare for the possibility of working from home—with better tools, systems, and routines implemented this time around. To that end, let’s begin discussing some important all-around “best practices” for small businesses working remotely.
Set Regular Work Hours and Routines
To ensure your business maintains productivity, keep your employees accountable by establishing set hours for them to be “at work.” Conversely, make sure to schedule days off, vacation, and sick days, as well, to help your overachievers discipline themselves to take needed time off. It’s okay to be flexible with work hours if certain times of day work better for some teammates. Just make sure you establish a schedule that works for everyone.
Establish Regular Points of Connection
There won’t be “team meetings” in the office anymore, but you can have team meetings online through videoconferencing platforms like Zoom and Skype. This becomes even more important during remote work so employees can stay connected both to their colleagues and to the tasks at hand.
Consider Cloud Computing
One of the pitfalls of remote working is that it’s too easy to spread important office work and documents across different people’s laptops and computers instead of on the office server. Cloud-based computing comes in very handy in these moments because all office work is stored and collaborated on in the “cloud.” Platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud can allow employees to log in and work and collaborate in a uniform environment managed and maintained by your IT service. (You can also set cloud computing up so employees can “clock in” to work to ensure they’re staying on schedule.)
NetServ can help your Orange County business to be fully prepared and equipped for working remotely on a secure network. For more information, call 1-877-NetServ.