Whether you’re an employee or an employer, the massive shift to work from home in 2020 was unexpected. Many companies received little planning time or advice for managing wfh staff. Instead, many gathered work from home tips like these to create their new work environments.
Stay Organized
Whether you’re the employer or the employee, the top work from home tip is staying organized. Typically, your desk and file cabinets do this. However, your new workspace likely lacks these features unless you had an existing home office.
When you are organizing, it’s vital to work with the space you have rather than wishing for more space. To begin, see what you can keep digitally on your work device. Provided you keep the documents organized digitally, this will cut down on the paper volume. Then you can use a small folder system or mail sorter to organize any tasks that require physical papers.
Collaborate
Initially, many people did not realize how many decisions were made in five-minute conversations at the water cooler. You need to restore some of that collaboration without turning all employee days into a series of meetings. Fortunately, there is a simple work from home tip for that.
In many pieces of advice for managing wfh staff, you can increase collaboration by ensuring everyone is accessible during business hours. You may also want to try an easy messaging tool for quick communication without the formality of emails.
Take Breaks and Switch Off
One of the significant work from home tips many people have trouble implementing is breaks during the day and switching off when the workday is over. It’s always tempting to accomplish one more thing and skip breaks. Plus, since work is in your employee’s space, it’s easy for them to boot back up after hours when something occurs to them.
The best advice for managing wfh staff is to remind them periodically that they need to comply with their work agreements. Also, bringing up the legislation regarding breaks, pay, and time off at least once a month can help.
Time Management is Paramount
Creating time management can be difficult, especially when employees are used to having time management enforced by being in the office. Offering work from home time management tips is an excellent option for employee communications. Suggestions like time blocking, calendar use, and distraction reduction can improve your employee productivity.
Protect Company Data
Company data is vital for any business, and work from home introduces new vulnerabilities. Not only should you make sure there are no issues with remote access, but you may also need to remind your employees about your company policies. The best advice for managing wfh staff is sending out updated guidance that fits the current situation.
Be Flexible
Understanding that your employees are juggling multiple hats during the day is essential. Between the kids, the parents, and the pile of tasks, your employees may need a few extra minutes here and there. Additionally, consider granting grace as long as employees are hitting their work goals.
