Remote Workforce Management Tips for Business during the COVID-19 Crisis

The pandemic outbreak impacted many things in life, and one of the most drastic changes we all observed was the change in workplace dynamics. From coming to the office daily to being restricted to work from home, remote workforce management has been a real challenge. Businesses had to face many leadership issues and employees' loss of motivation amidst of pandemic, but some businesses observed a substantial rise in productivity as well.

Due to these statistics, modern workplaces are very different from the pre-Covid world, even if everything returns to normal. Everything from remote workforce monitoring to the type of office layout, work hours, and significance of comfort for employees has taken a huge toll.

Hence many employers are thinking of making this approach permanent in their organization. But the real challenge arises when we talk about evaluating team performance and manage work from home office both for employees and employers. Besides implementing the performance management definition to finding ways to monitor employees working from home, remote workers management can be made easy with certain tips.

This article will cover the basics of performance management remote workforce and ensure you can give them and your organization the best work from home experience.

1. Employee Incentives

Not all of us have homes equipped with the latest technology or attics to set up a home office. It has been a challenge finding a quiet corner to pick up the call, let alone set up a home office. The expenditure a person has to meet, so their workstation productivity is as close as possible to the real professional workplace, is pretty high.

During this, remote workforce management can play a positive role by reinforcing various programs, making work from home setup easier. For example, incentives such as employee purchase programs allow employees to purchase ergonomic chairs, desk accessories, or even the best standing desk for home office without spending a handful of their savings.

2. Emotional Help

The extreme uncertainty and changes in the emotional atmosphere of employees are as hard as the change in a physical situation. Therefore, employers must help employees in maintaining an emotional response that ensures calmness in this crisis. Through regular affirmations, appreciation, and policies to encourage employees, organizations can play a vital role in bringing about a positive change in employees.

3. Communication

Communication is always two-way, and employers cannot encourage their employees to speak up if they are not paying attention to communicating well. Remote workforce management must ensure that employees are aware of the crisis and downtime faced by the business. Nor to be entirely transparent, but by speaking up about the challenges a leader or manager faces, they can make their employees feel safe enough to speak up about their feelings.

4. Work-Life Balance

Just because they are at home doesn't mean they are having a vacation. Most employees complained about having no work-life balance during the work from routine. The reason? Organizations don't understand how they need a break from work even if the employees are at home. This made the workers stick to computer stations for hours leading to many mental, physical, and emotional types of distress.

To maintain a proper work-life balance, it is still important that employers create and adhere to a set number of work hours. This remote workforce management will ensure that employees feel close to the organized routine rather than being attacked by chaos in their work regime.

5. Flexibility with Discipline

While employees should be aware of what their bosses expect, employers must also keep in mind that we are in a new atmosphere. As a result, employees are being compelled to multitask in greater numbers than they have ever been before.

Not only do they have employment commitments, but many of them also have caregiving and parental responsibilities. Therefore, employers must be more accommodating in allowing employees to work how and when they choose, including outside normal business hours.

Thus to ensure such issues are taken care of, encourage your employees to speak up about the challenges or duties they are managing in the real-life. You can also allow them to present the work hours which suit them, and after approval, they can go on with the flexible routine.

6. Focus on Social Interaction

The six feet apart rule has made us all feel isolated and alone at most. This distance has been one of the most suffocating things one has to go through. For communicating with employees, email alone is insufficient. Instead, leaders may build a feeling of community with a personal touch through fireside video talks and weekly virtual "town halls."

Remote workers benefit from more communication alternatives, such as video conferencing, allowing them to view visual clues if they interact in person. Video can make teams feel less socially isolated, and it's especially effective when employees need extensive, sophisticated, or sensitive interactions.

7. Ensure Cyber Security

This is an important thing you need to take notice of while shifting to work from home routine. You can't afford to disregard this part of remote workforce management if your work teams manage confidential material. 

At the very least, you'll need systems to verify off-site workers' identities and connect them to a protected internal network that contains the personal information they require, all while prohibiting them from taking that data from the secured database.

8. Employee Engagement

The loss of employee engagement is a challenge most workplaces experience during the pandemic. Make sure you don't fall prey to this. Employee engagement isn't only important for employers to ensure each employee is present, but it also helps employees feel close to their professional work routine.

Leaders should define expectations and ground rules to avoid uncertainty and assist staff in maintaining as much normalcy as possible. For example, consider how often employees should check in with their supervisors each day and the best way to do so, whether via email, phone, or video conferencing. Because everyone is working remotely, talk about how to handle customer interactions. Finally, and maybe most crucially, advise staff to take breaks or go outside for exercise and fresh air to help them relax.

9. Employee Wellness

Use both direct dialogue and indirect observation to better understand employee difficulties and concerns. Make it apparent to employees that you support and care for them at all times. Provide managers with remote workforce management information on how best to address sensitive issues emerging from the COVID-19 epidemic