Tips for Setting Up a Successful Remote Office
A remote office is any location outside of your main workplace where you hold meetings, keep files, use resources, or get work done. This can be in another city, state, country, or even continent! It depends on what kind of business you have and how much travel you need to do.
With technology these days being mostly wireless, it is very easy to run an efficient remote team. You can easily connect using online meeting services like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, and some even allow you to contribute from afar.
There are several benefits to having a remote team, not only for you as a manager, but also for the employees that belong to it. Some examples include:
More productive working environments
Facilitates easier communication
Reduces costs due to less expensive traveling
Can help promote more diversity at your company
This article will go into detail about all the things you should consider when establishing a remote team including legalities , internal policies, and overall motivation. We will focus mainly on hardening their security settings and understanding their responsibilities.
Legal Aspects
As a leader of this team, you must make sure that everything you order for them to purchase or access is allowed under their employment contract and policy. Make sure to check those frequently so they cannot find anything blocked or limited without your knowledge.
Choose a good office location
Choosing an ideal remote workplace will depend heavily upon your budget, your work style, and how you feel about working from home.
If you are in possession of your own house or apartment, then buying furniture to fit that space is easy. If you do not have either, try looking online or at discount stores so you can get some great deals.
You would want to make sure your computer has high quality sound capabilities and enough memory to easily handle all of your documents and programs.
Your internet connection should be fast as possible to avoid any lag time while using apps and software. Sometimes, people do not realize just how much data they use until they live without it for a few days.
Last, but certainly not least, find a place that feels comfortable for you and your family. Make sure you like the color scheme and look you will enjoy every day .
Buy enough equipment to start
Even if you don’t have anyone else working with you, there are some things that can be hard to manage without. Luckily, these items are almost always affordable unless you decide not to use them.
Some of these items include: a computer, an internet connection, headphones or earphones, and a phone charger (for your mobile device). Beyond those basics, it is helpful to have a notebook and pen to take notes and do quick calculations.
You will also want to consider investing in good quality office supplies like markers , paper, and plastic bags to keep files organized.
General tips: remember that this stuff costs money ! If you are buying online, make sure to check out various sellers before deciding where to spend your cash.
Establish a clear structure
One of the biggest hurdles that can get in the way of successful remote working is not having a firm structure to manage your time. You will want to make sure you have covered all of the important areas, but one of the first things to address is establishing how you are going to organize your work.
You should establish what functions or departments you need to keep separate, as well as how you intend to handle meetings. For example, if you’re responsible for marketing then making meeting arrangements would go under this heading.
If you’re more creative than technical then creating an artistic task list could be your best bet. Decide which projects require which level of expertise and find someone else to take care of it until it’s done.
Create a company structure
After you have determined that working remotely is the best option for your organization, then it’s time to figure out how to manage all of the different roles and positions in the business. You will need to determine who gets what responsibilities within the company, and who covers what areas while people are off performing other duties.
This process can be tricky because not everyone in an office environment enjoys being assigned certain tasks. For example, someone else may feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable doing them if they aren’t used to doing them. It is important to have a good understanding of each person’s strengths and weaknesses before making assignments.
You also want to make sure that anyone taking on a new responsibility has enough training or education on the subject so that they know what they are teaching themselves. This way, when something goes wrong , no one feels responsible !
When creating position descriptions and job titles, think about whether there is already an established term for the position or not. If there is, use that same term but add “Remotely” to indicate that this position does not require face-to-face interactions with others.
Also remember that not every employee has the exact same level of technology proficiency as another person. Make sure that those with less experience get their jobs delegated properly so that they do not suffer due to poor leadership.
Choose your team
As mentioned before, one of the most important things to consider when establishing an office-free workplace is choosing your team! This will depend heavily upon who you are hiring as well as what kind of work you want to do together.
If this is not clear yet, I’d recommend reading my article about The Best Team Settings first.
Know your employees
As mentioned before, one of the most important things to ensure success in an all-remote workplace is knowing who your people are and what makes them function properly. Yours may be different than someone else’s so make sure you recognize these qualities!
As a leader, you should know what types of individuals you have on your team and what strengths they possess. If you notice that person B seems less engaged at their work, try talking with them about it to see if there’s anything going on beyond just lack of interest.
You can also check out their online accounts like LinkedIn or Facebook to see if there are any signs of burnout or stress. Sometimes, we put up our fences when we’re under pressure or stressed out. For others, silence is a way of protecting themselves.
Hold weekly or monthly reviews
It is very important to hold regular meetings where you discuss everything related to your business, including the workplace. This includes talking about things like productivity tools and strategies, what worked in the past, and plans for the future.
For example, if you noticed that someone took longer than usual to get their work done, you could ask them why this was and how they planned to fix it. The same goes for if someone stopped responding to emails as frequently. You can talk with them about what has them stressed out and whether there are ways to improve communication.
It also means holding brainstorming sessions to see what new technologies or systems you should invest in so you do not waste money but still have enough tools to be productive.
There is no need to have these all- day events every week , however, you will want to at least once per month to make sure everything is working well for everyone. These meetings can be via phone or video chat depending on where people live.
Be consistent
Consistency is one of the most important things to be when working remotely. Whether you are in-office or remote, consistency is key! When we talk about consistency, it can mean many different things depending on what area of your life it applies to.
For example, if you work best at noon, then try to schedule your daily tasks so that they occur during those times. If you prefer early mornings, wake up before everyone else and get some work done first. Or maybe you’re more of an evening person, so start the day late morning and go through your day with people later in the afternoon/evening. Whatever works for you — trust yourself and stick to it!
Consistency also means being able to adapt to changes quickly. Because technology moves fast , staying connected and synchronizing meetings and calls can be tricky. Make sure you have enough bandwidth to ensure everything functions properly for you.
And remember, even though you’ll probably be gone after you click “Send”, chat apps like Slack keep saving conversations as drafts, making it possible to come back and review them later.
