Working from home or working remotely has been the new working process for almost every organization these days. Several employers have taken up this process as a precautionary step to safeguard their employees and business as well. This also helps to break the spread of coronavirus or COVID-19 in the society.
With the advancement of modern technology, the work from home can be performed very easily with better efficiency and productivity. Moreover the availability of resources required for employees to work from home or for working remotely can be managed with ease.
The only thing here is to focus on working better and also overcoming all types of hindering issues that come in the way of achieving business success.
As per Jeff Corder, VP of AmTrust “Moving work from an office environment to telecommuting is an important step in reducing the impact of a potential pandemic. However, it is an adjustment for those who have not telecommuted before and can be stressful. Planning and communication is vital”
Should work from home be continued if COVID-19 spread increases?
As per the current situation, the coronavirus scare is turning even more complex though many precautionary steps are followed. Many countries have deployed lock down situations so as to break the spread of this deadly virus.
Several businesses have been badly hit by the coronavirus. But to cope up with the current situation, employers need to plan and take best possible ways to run their services without any difficulty. As there is no clear idea on how long all this would go on, a long term plan needs to be implemented.
And work from home for employees is one such step. But employers need to create a work from home policy so as to ensure better productivity and quality of work.
So finally as long as this coronavirus spread is going on, working in this way is the best possible solution.
Advantages of Work from Home Policy:
To ensure better work from home process, creating a work from home policy is very important. Having the right work from home process helps both the employees and employers as well.
Some of the pros of having work from home process are
- Workplace operating cost is lesser
- Provide better productivity
- Ensure quality in work
- Easy monitoring of work performance
- No stress on employees
- Lack of distraction so employees work better
- No wastage of time caused due to commuting
As per Forbes, work for home process or remote working can lead to better productivity thus helping the business to grow and develop.
Best practices for creating an effective work from home policy:
Employers who will be providing work from home options to their employees need to make sure that they educate them well on what all is essential and how they need to work efficiently. Some of the top practices required for work from home are
1. Proper use of right technology:
- Tools: Desktop/laptop
- Internet connection
- Phone
2. Secure internet connection:
- Strong wi-fi network
- Trusted VPN
3. Best communication ways:
- Skype
- Zoom
- Google hangouts
4. Creating a specific work from home program:
- Daily tasks
- Provide work instructions
- Schedule proper work goals
- Important guidelines to follow
5. Work from home policy testing:
If the employees are given work from policy for the first time, then their work performance and efficiency should be monitored regularly.
6. Last but not the least is to trust your employees.
Work From Home Safety Risks:
Just as office work space, home office also has to be perfectly work friendly. It has to be comfortable and should fulfill all the requirements needed for a perfect work space.
But the most important thing is to overcome few risks that can hinder your working process when work from home option is imposed on employees by employers. Some of them are,
- Cyber security risks
- Uncomfortable work space
- Lot of distractions
- Unfriendly workplace
- Lack of required resources
Best Tips to prevent risks that can arise when working from home:
Some of the best ways to overcome the risks when working remotely are
- Creating a dedicated work space
- make sure it is dedicated and separate
- Equip with latest and essential technology and resources
- Inspect the work space
- Keep a first aid box ready
Essential Tips for Working From Home During the Coronavirus Scare:
The coronavirus or COVID-19 scare has been so high all over the world so several precautionary steps need to be followed to prevent this virus spread.
Some of the important steps that need to be followed are
- Create a dedicated work space free of distraction
- Make sure to dress well to get a professional attitude when working
- Set up strict working hours
- Take breaks in between
- Use best communication mediums
- Be available to your team whenever needed
- Schedule a daily call to update work status
- Never forget to socialize
Necessary things to have when working from home:
Work from home is a perk or benefit offered by employers and it is very helpful for both employees and employers as well. It is also an aid to boost up the business growth and development without any hindrances.
Along with this it is also very important to prevent this virus spread in this prevailing severe condition. Some of the essential sources required while working remotely are as follows,
- Desktop/laptop
- Strong internet network
- Good phone connection
- Desktop table
- Adjustable lap desk
- Comfortable chair
- Back supporting cushion
- Table lamp
- Dual screen setup
- Printer
- Scanner and copy machine
- Comfortable lighting
- Webcam
- A mouse with mouse pad
- Keyboard
- Portable hard drives and flash drives
- Headset with mic
- Paper shredder machine
- Power strip surge protector for multiple connections
- Dust bin
- Noise canceling headphones
- Hands Free device
- Plain papers and files
- Staplers,pins, white board
- Pens , pencils, and everything covering stationary
- Coffee makers
- Water bottles
- Tea kettles
How Recruiters Can Work from Home and Still be Successful?
Can recruiters work from home? was the first thing I asked my friend who happened to be a recruiter.
Recently we had a get together of friends and it was after a long time we all met. We had a great time and everyone was sharing things about their life, professions etc. It was at that time that I met one of my old friend who is a recruiter.
During our conversation I got to know that he works remotely and is pretty happy that he was given a provision of work from home by his organization. To my curiosity i shot him a question
Can recruiter work remotely and still do well?
He just laughed and answered “YES”. He went on to say that like any industry even recruiters from recruitment industry can work from home or remotely and can be successful. He then explained me his plan of work and the little tips and strategies he uses for hiring. I was totally convinced and was pretty much impressed by him.
I was so inspired by him that I thought of writing an article based on this topic.
Top things a recruiter needs to follow when working remotely:
Here are few things that a recruiter should follow to become successful by working from home.
- Set up a decent work space
- Make sure that the work space is pleasant
- Create a perfect work plan
- Set strict working hours
- Schedule a call with your manger to update about your work
- Make use of best recruiting software and tools
- Try using a effective ATS and CRM
- Take breaks in between
- Be reachable to your managers and team members online
- Manage time efficiently
- Do not mix personal life and professional life together
- Last but not the least ensure whether you are comfortable working from home.
Work from home for recruiters – Things Employers need to follow
Here are few things that employers need to follow when rolling out work from home option for recruiters or for their employees.
- First of all have faith in your employees (very important)
- Invest in a efficient cloud based system
- Ensure that your employees can assess all the resources easily
- Habituate recruiters to use a recruiting software
- Invest on efficient ATS and CRM tool.
- Monitor their work on a regular basis
- Set them daily tasks and weekly goals
- Review their work performance weekly and monthly
- Visit your employees home office once in a while to check their efficiency
- Make sure you are always there when ever needed
- Schedule a daily call to take updates from your employees
- Document all the task related details clearly
- Finally ensure that your recruiters offer better productivity and quality work
Who should be given work from home?
- Employees you trust
- Employees who motivate themselves
- Employees who offer quality work
- Employees who are productive
Who shouldn’t be given work from home?
- Freshers in the recruiting industry
- New joinees
- Employees who need micromanaging
- Employees who cant be trusted
- Lazy and toxic employees
- Employees who work well in teams or groups
As per Thomas Brandrick, MD of Domus Recruitment (which specializes in hiring recruiters who work from home)
“It works extremely well for us and enables us to bring highly experienced recruiters back into the industry that would have otherwise been lost. The average amount of years of recruitment experience per consultant at Domus is 11years and many simply can’t do the normal hours demanded by traditional set ups and at the same time feel they have the self discipline to manage themselves and don’t need authoritarian, KPI heavy management or alike. Self discipline for me is the key. If you aren’t truthful with yourself and make yourself feel comforted by having admin day after admin day, you won’t make it work! When I started Domus from home before we grew, my boss was guilt! If I hadn’t put it in, in the way I knew I should, I gave myself a hard time and made sure I came back in with an aggressive plan of attack. What any home worker should focus on is ‘staying close to the money’! If your activities have too distant a return on investment, they are the wrong ones. From an employer’s perspective the question other businesses ask me is how do you make sure people don’t take the database and do it for themselves, but I think this is a product of the ‘MI6’ atmosphere that I’ve experienced in previous employment and this paranoia will hamper the facilitation of good people needing work/ life balance or being able to run and efficient low cost model. You, the employer, being in recruitment, should be able to profile people and gain two way trust enough to make good decisions. It’s worked for me albeit that we now have an office and a mixed model these days, but my proudest achievement to-date is making £1.24 million in my old basement!”
Finally to conclude, work from home option for employee is a kind of benefit and extra perk. They not only feel comfortable but also it reduces long commuting time they usually make for traveling to work and back. On the other side employers need to make sure that they monitor their recruiters work performance regularly and guide them to work well and obtain better productivity.
