Work from home (WFH) employees are not the same worker as they are when they’re in the office. They have different surroundings, applications, and family or friends around them. With an entirely new setup, some may have never worked from home before; they might need appropriate furniture and technology requirements, including better WiFi. Other employees may already be working remotely and have their own setup. It is recommended that this group shares their experiences when working from home with the rest of the company. We’ll cover the most notable differences between how an employee works at the office compared to how they work from home.
Environmental Distractions
Depending on one’s office and department, their office setting could either be louder or quieter than their home setting. There are co-workers on calls, typing and printer noises, doors opening and closing, etc. At home, there could be children playing or being homeschooled, landscaping outside, or friends/family in the other room watching TV. In smaller settings, loud neighbors working from their homes could cause a daily distraction. Noise-canceling headphones may be better for the home office because it’s more appropriate to drown out outside noises than valuable insights from their coworkers.
Systems and Technology
When employees are given all the technology and resources their job requires, they are set up for success. They’re able to login to secure systems, print or scan anything they need, and have access to a great internet connection. At home, they might not be able to recreate the same setup. Many employees may be working on kitchen or foldout tables in chairs that are not designed to be used all day. If they’re lucky, they are able to bring home an extra monitor from work. While working from home, additional virtual meetings are required for companies to check in more frequently as they normally would in the office. This requires a robust internet connection and if two people are now working from home, the current WiFi plan may need to be upgraded to the next level. If children are conducting school online, it will only put even more stress on the WiFi. Upgraded WiFi is one thing companies have been helping their employees with.
With CRM technologies like Salesforce, many companies can successfully work from home without skipping a beat. Businesses of all industries and sizes can optimize their entire company with Salesforce while empowering employees to collaborate while working from home. All leads and contacts, deals, service tickets, contracts and more are stored in real-time backed by automated processes to make sure steps are followed and nothing falls through the cracks. Users can log in both at the office as well as at home, and be productive no matter which setting.
How to Help Your Employees Work From Home
- Research if your company can create and fund a requirements checklist for your employees to work from home. See if your employees require items like monitors, chairs, and desks to enhance their productivity.
- Onboard the company to an instant messaging program. Programs like Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Zoom are the most popular applications to keep your company connected.
- Provide access to applications that your business processes are tied into. If it’s their first time working from home, make sure the IT department has enabled any remote access to applications. Ensure all security measures are followed and that any confident data is stored on a locked and secure device.
If you’d like to keep up to date with our work from home tips, please sign up below to receive our weekly blog posts.
[pardot-form id=”17307″ title=”Wordpress Subscription – WFH Tips”]
