How to enable your team to work remotely

Unprecedented change calls for new ways of thinking and problem solving

The shift brought on by COVID-19 has completely altered the way we operate. Remote working has become a norm, challenging traditional work setups. Businesses, both prepared and unprepared for this transition, face significant hurdles in productivity, profitability, and ensuring accountability.

For companies new to remote work, the critical question for leaders revolves around empowering their staff who lack experience in this setting. Managers should focus on equipping their teams with the necessary tools, resources, and guidance to effectively navigate remote work. This involves providing technical support, establishing clear communication channels, and offering training on remote collaboration tools.

Moreover, ensuring effectiveness in a remote setup requires setting clear expectations and goals, fostering a culture of trust and autonomy, and implementing systems for measuring and tracking productivity. Leaders must focus on outcomes rather than micromanaging processes, allowing flexibility while ensuring accountability.

Regular check-ins, transparent communication about priorities, and acknowledging the unique challenges of remote work can also play a pivotal role in maintaining team cohesion and motivation.

The key lies in adapting and innovating work practices to suit the remote environment while actively supporting and guiding employees through this transition. The future of work is evolving, and organisations that proactively address these challenges will be better positioned to thrive in this new landscape.

Enter the remote activation quest

Designed by our technology partners, Cognician – a South African born, global digital education company, the Remote Activation Quest is a simple online platform to ease the transition to remote ways of working.

The platform is user-friendly and consists of 7 daily challenges. These take less than 10 minutes to complete.

The key to the platform’s effectiveness lies in its ability to jumpstart new ways of working and productivity. It achieves this in 3 ways:

by creating a sense of belonging
drawing together neuroscience and technology
and it is a way to drive engagement and interactive reflection, continuing inclusion and company connection.

The 7-day activation quest

Each of the 7 daily challenges covers 7 universal principles and tasks. These tasks enable productivity and wellbeing while working remotely.

Day 1 – PLAN
Create a structure that enables productivity and wellbeing.
Day 2 – TALK
Be deliberate about how you communicate, using all the features and functions at your disposal.
Day 3 – FOCUS
Intentionally remove distractions and build discipline.
Day 4 – VIRTUALISE
Set up all your virtual tools so that using them becomes second nature.
Day 5 – CONNECT
Find new ways to connect with others and maintain connection.
Day 6 – CARE
Show empathy and genuine care for others.
Day 7: BE WELL
Keep moving, keep active, keep well.

Bringing together the elements of content, data analytics, user engagement, post-challenge reflections, shared community insights, actions and choices the transition from office-based work to remote work becomes more manageable, measurable and fun.

For more updates and advice on remote work and other key insights on your business, visit our social media pages, or contact our team today.