15 September 2020

Alan Hayward, sales and marketing at SEH

There’s been a huge, sudden change to the world we live in as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many businesses didn’t have time to prepare for the changes that it’s company would face and working remotely suddenly became the norm. With all these changes, companies have had a taste of understanding what it would be like to have their employees work from home in the long-term. 

There’s a big cloud of uncertainty around the future of remote working as we start returning to normality, but until then, businesses need to provide the best possible resources to enable a comfortable, home office environment. 60% of people reported they felt as productive or even more productive than they were when working in the office, which demonstrates businesses need to start considering setting employees up successfully for long-term remote working. 

Support at home

The change of working environment may have been daunting for many people at the beginning of lockdown. This is why it was, and still is, important for businesses to support its employees from home, the best way that they can. It’s vital for managers and colleagues to communicate regularly, not just about the job at hand but also about how everyone is doing and check-in on employee wellbeing. For some companies, this involves some time being set aside to work on overall internal comms and to make this a priority if a significant majority of staff are working remotely. 

With business leaders checking in frequently on their colleagues and making the most of online communication solutions, they could really brighten someone's day! It’s also essential to encourage knowledge sharing. As there isn’t the opportunity to ask or answer a question from across the desk at work when they’re working from the kitchen table at home, employees should make a conscious effort to transfer any useful information and knowledge to the colleagues they’re working with, as it’s likely they’ll appreciate this more than you think.

Equipment and technology 

We all understand the frustration of watching an internet page stuck on the loading screen for ten minutes for it to finally say ‘cannot load this page.’ If employees are working from home, this is even more frustrating. When considering long-term remote working, employers should ensure their team has the resources they need to make these issues become a distant memory.

Although it may not be necessary to physically provide each remote worker with a new router or WiFi provider, checks should be carried out to make sure the internet connection is strong enough for a successful working day and if it’s not, then new measures could be considered. Laptops, monitors, work phones and additional hardware are also essential pieces of equipment which play a vital role in the day-to-day working tasks. Employees will really appreciate equipment and technology that works to a standard that allows them to complete their job to the best of their ability. 

Enabling remote access

It’s no use having all the essential equipment without access to the tools and content on the employee’s laptop at home. Dongle servers are popular amongst many businesses and are very useful tools for those looking to make remote working a long-term solution. It enables easy access to USB dongle devices via the network where users can request access and when authorised, the individual can retrieve what they need to complete a task from the comfort of their home. Dongle servers are a secure way of allowing all staff to use the resources, with an encrypted point-to-point connection between the dongle server and the employee’s device. These easy to use servers are a great resource for businesses to consider using as it’s employees continue working from home, if they don’t already!

Although it may feel like we are nearing the end of this public health crisis, the economic effects of COVID-19 are still very much at the forefront of many individual’s minds.  It really is important to begin thinking of measures now and for the future.  It’s great for businesses to prepare for remote working as a long-term measure and there are considerable ways for companies to adapt to make this a success.

By Alan Hayward, sales and marketing at SEH