Remote working

It goes without saying that the Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on the world, disrupting everything from healthcare to the supply chain. However, one potentially positive impact the pandemic had (depending on who you ask) was how businesses adapted to the various lockdowns.

With businesses forced to close, remote working became the norm, and thanks to technology it was proven to be a viable way of working for many. Now, as the world adapts to the “new normal”, and while offices have reopened, employers and employees continue to embrace the benefits that come with working remotely.

However, despite its advantages, remote working environments can have their challenges. Below, we’ll cover how to train employees to work remotely, and how your teams can receive the support they need to develop despite not working together in person.

How remote working has changed how we work

The biggest change businesses and employees face in remote and even hybrid working environments is that teams aren’t working together in the same room. In fact, colleagues may not even be in the same country, or even the same timezone.

It has blurred the traditional 9-5 working day, because what is 9am to one employee could be 2am to another. As a result, this made teamwork and collaboration a challenge for some. However, it also meant that businesses were suddenly not limited to the pool of talent within a commutable distance of the office, and instead could hire from anywhere in the world.

With remote work comes a greater level of flexibility. That means employees spend less time commuting and more time focusing on work. It also means that employees have a greater work-life balance, and flexibility is becoming an increasingly sought-after quality for employees when job seeking.

Challenges include isolation, decreased visibility, managing a team, and how employees ask for and receive help. However, the good news is that despite these, the technology and training exist to make these challenges ones that can be easily overcome.

Benefits of remote work training

As with any topic or skill, learning how to effectively work remotely is simple. Plenty of eLearning courses are available, making remote work training accessible even when your employees are already working from home. The benefits of online training include:

• Learn more about technology - there’s a lot of tech available so that remote working can be a productive way to work, and courses demonstrate how tech can be used for collaboration, communication, and organization.
• It’s cost-effective - because eLearning courses have already been created, they can be accessed instantly and don’t require employees to learn in person. Training is also easily and affordably scalable, so teams of any size can learn on a budget.
• Increase productivity - remote working skills training shows employees how to be motivated and accountable, so they increase their productivity and efficiency.
• It’s flexible - eLearning can be picked up as and when employees have the time to learn, and can be put down and picked up again when required. That means employees can learn during periods of downtime and don’t have to dedicate extended hours they may not have.
• Accessible - eLearning materials can be accessed at any time, anywhere, and on any device.

How to train your employees to work remotely

Remote working has been a skill that employees were forced to adopt following the pandemic. However, that’s not to say that the majority of employees have yet found their ideal way of working in remote conditions. For that reason, training is essential and will help them to find their potential.

But how can you train your employees to work remotely? Here are a few ways your business can train your workforce:

• Make training easy - employees want to learn, but don’t want learning to be a hassle. For that reason, training should be easy to access, navigate, and complete. This also means training should be in one central location, which can be achieved by your business utilizing a learning management system.
• Make sure training isn’t boring - asking employees to read a few paragraphs of text can be dull, and won’t lead to engagement. Ensure training is interactive and adopts a variety of teaching methods.
• Set achievable deadlines - make sure deadlines for completing training are achievable, but not too far in the future so employees can forget about their training.
• Give employees time to learn - asking employees to manage their own learning and development time means learning is often overlooked. However, if you ensure employees have scheduled learning sessions or time blocked out for learning, it gives them time without any of the added pressure.

How managers can support remote employees

While ultimately an employee is responsible for their own learning and development, as well as the work they produce every day, their manager should also be on hand to offer support. Remote working can be isolating, and leave employees feeling like they don’t know who to ask for help or how to approach certain problems.

There are many ways managers and senior team members can support employees.

Be reachable

When working remotely employees aren’t sat close to someone who can answer their questions. While that can be difficult to replicate working remotely, being reachable is essential so employees feel supported and comfortable. If your business uses instant messaging software, use status updates so employees know who is online and who isn’t.

Check-in regularly

Even if your employees communicate regularly via chat or email, it still lacks that human connection. Managers should arrange for regular video and voice meetings, even if just for a few minutes. This can also help managers spot signs of employees struggling, which isn’t possible when speaking via instant message.

Create strict routines

Routines enable employees to feel stable, and with a lack of stability comes anxiety and uncertainty. Managers should make sure expectations are always set and try to support employees when timelines change.

Offer feedback

With the disconnect of remote working comes a disconnect from feedback, whether good or constructive. Managers should offer the same level of feedback and support so employees know what’s going right as well as what could be improved. Feedback should be a two-way street, and managers should also encourage employees to share feedback and problems before they escalate.

The best remote training tools

Remote work isn’t necessarily a new innovation, despite how businesses were forced to adopt it during the pandemic. Many businesses already had a certain amount of flexibility when it came to working from home, with some even being completely remote to begin with.

For that reason, even before the lockdowns of 2020 and beyond, there were plenty of tools available to make remote training courses accessible.

Learning management systems

Learning management systems, aka LMSs, are centralized systems that allow businesses to store, distribute, access, and even create eLearning courses. LMSs make delivering training easy for both employees and administrators, and training can even be monitored, allowing you to identify which employees might need additional support.

Video conferencing tools

Just because teams are remote it doesn’t mean training can’t be delivered by a teacher or tutor. Video conferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet mean employees can still come together to learn and collaborate.

Instant messaging platforms

Programs such as Slack enable teams to chat in real-time across different channels, which makes collaboration simple, flexible, and effective.

A variety of eLearning courses

eLearning is the most flexible, cost-effective, and accessible way to train employees in how to effectively work remotely. Great online remote working courses include:

• Remote customer service teams
• Managing remote teams
• Virtual work environment
• Remote work accountability
• Building trust within remote teams

Other useful topics for helping employees work remotely include communication and team building.

Ready to enroll your teams in remote working courses?

Remote training courses equip your employees with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively and productively work from home, and Go1 has all the resources necessary to help make that happen.