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| Pic source: Unsplash |
With new
measures to contain COVID-19 announced by the South African government, many
employers are encouraging their workforce to work from home. Reputation
Matters, a proudly African research agency, has been successfully working from
a virtual office space since 2008 and shares four tips for acing it.
A virtual
office is an office that exists almost entirely in cyberspace. Employees are
free to work from anywhere that has an Internet connection. With the arrival of
COVID-19 in South Africa, an increasing number of employees are working from
home to avoid spreading the virus. Besides the immediate benefit of minimising
exposure to the illness, there are several benefits to adopting this approach
on a permanent basis.
“Benefits
of the virtual office include cost cutting on items like physical office
maintenance, along with increased employee happiness and productivity as the
daily commute is eliminated and they spend more time with family,” says Nalene
de Klerk, reputation manager at Reputation Matters.
De Klerk
explains that a virtual office does require a shift from the traditional office
mentality and shares some tips for making it work:
#1: Have
the right tools in place. Employees require functional laptops, cell phones, and Internet
connection to work from anywhere. The virtual office also requires cloud
storage and digital systems for scheduling, conferencing, and task management.
Luckily, there are a host of business applications for every aspect of the
business.
#2:
Maintain set office hours. With increased connectivity comes the temptation to simply never switch
off. Nowhere is this truer than in a virtual office, where the home environment
would double as the office for many employees. ”We are encouraged to only be
online after 07:00 and to switch off by 19:00, as a balanced lifestyle key for
productivity,” explains de Klerk.
#3: Have
set team get-togethers. With the spread of the COVID-19 virus, face to face engagements may not
always be possible, but it is important for employees to check in with one
another to prevent them from feeling isolated. “We have weekly Skype meetings
and we check in with management telephonically for a monthly one-on-one,”
suggests de Klerk. Once the virus subsides and business starts returning to
normal, monthly face to face team get togethers may also help.
#4: Have
the right team on board. It takes discipline and a lot of intrinsic motivation for employees to
work from home. Management needs to be able to trust them to deliver quality
work within agreed timelines. In the long run, management needs to ensure that
they have the right people on board who will continue to function optimally
from a home environment. “We have an extensive recruitment process that gauges
potential employees’ ability to work remotely,” says de Klerk. Part of this is
having shared corporate values that are communicated regularly, helping to
build trust and guiding employee appointments.
“Those
working from home for this period may find it a feasible long-term solution to
boost productivity and morale,” concludes de Klerk. “We encourage you to make
the most of the opportunity to step into the future of virtual offices and we
would be happy to share more tips for those making the shift.”
For more
information about Reputation Matters, visit www.reputationmatters.co.za.
Follow Reputation Matters on Facebook (@yourreputationmatters) or Twitter
(@ReputationIsKey).
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Released by
Reputation Matters
Media contact:
Nalene de
Klerk
Mobile Number:
081 409 2453
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