Life after the pandemic has changed the way people work. Companies who never considered remote work, are now embracing this as the new way of doing business. Their staff are working from home in higher numbers than ever before, and they are thriving. This new way of doing business has been tricky for some. But once they implemented these technologies, they are finding more success in the virtual workplace. It’s important to recognize that companies in many different industries can use remote workers for much of their support staff if they have the right infrastructure in place. Here are some of the essential tech needs of any remote team.
Good Computing Systems
Send your staff home with good computers. Systems with enough RAM and storage are more likely to work harder and can better access cloud storage files. They’ll be able to process larger files which can benefit companies with creative design teams. Additionally, tech teams need good systems so they can access other computers remotely to repair problems and identify issues. Good computing systems are essential tech tools already but are even more important when everyone is working remotely.
Video Conferencing Tools
It’s possible to have a meeting with people from all over the world by leveraging the power of video conferencing. While there is an energy and a dynamic that happens during in-person meetings, the ability of people to meet and get things done remotely is possible. There are many different conferencing tools on the market. Each one has strengths and weaknesses that businesses can use for their specific needs. It’s also important to choose tools that can be used on lower internet bandwidths in the event that some of your staff don’t have higher speed internet service at their home location.
Time tracking tools
The concept of work-from-home offers an unprecedented level of independence for an employee, which is a change for good. There is a strong correlation between the level of job control and productivity, confirmed in a number of studies. At last, it is the remote employee’s own responsibility to optimize his or her work style for better performance and well-being. That brings us to the concept of time tracking, developed all to make your time expenditures accountable. While the market offers numerous time tracking apps for the purpose, software-mediated time tracking is often a tedious task, to say the least. Luckily, smart time tracking gadgets have emerged lately, making the process much more user-friendly and engaging.
Team Chat Apps
It’s easy to walk by someone’s office in the middle of the day to ask a question. But if you send an email, you’ll likely get lost in the sea of messages they get each day. When you work from home, you probably aren’t going to drive by their house just to ask one question. Instead of emailing a coworker, many companies use chat apps for asking quick questions when you need a response right away. This is especially helpful for teams working together on projects. It helps people communicate quickly so everyone can be as productive as possible.
Cloud-Based Storage
On site servers are becoming a thing of the past. The security needs for servers can be costly and they are difficult to maintain. Instead, many companies are moving their documents to cloud-based solutions. These storage sites are easier for individuals to access from home, but still provide security that protects the documents and intellectual property of the company. Cloud-based solutions mean that employees can access the information they need from anywhere in the world as long as they have their login information. It also allows better collaboration between teams because documents can be easily shared within the cloud systems instead of emailed back and forth.
Social Media Customer Service
More companies are moving towards offering customer service solutions via social media. Let’s face it, more and more people would prefer not to use the phone to follow-up with a company on an issue. Using social media improves client retention by offering help where they spend their time. This is a great tech opportunity for companies with remote staff. It’s easy to create a customer service team focused solely on giving help via social media. When people look online for help desk info, it’s more likely people are looking at your social media pages than at your CPA website.
VoIP Phone Systems
VoIP phone systems used to be very expensive and difficult to implement. Because of the rise in VoIP, especially in call centers, more companies have developed solutions that can route phone calls to your cell phone instead of a clunky desk phone. There is still a market for both types of systems, but if you need to go remote with your team quickly, one of these app-based systems provides a quicker solution. You can route any extension to any phone you want, create customer service profiles, and even show who’s on the phone at any given time. Additionally, many of these systems record phone calls which can be great for training purposes.
