The current pandemic has flipped the work dynamically on its head with many people now working from home. While working at home does have some benefits, it also comes with a huge amount of downsides. The biggest being the amount of distractions. When your employees are at the office, there are not too many things out there to distract them and detract from their work. At home, however, they have access to all of their luxuries and purchases, meaning it can be hard to keep them focused. There are a few things that you can do however to ensure that your employees stay productive while they are working from home. This will help to guarantee the safety of the company and ensure that everything still gets completed at home.
Here are some ways to make sure your employees stay productive while at home.
Job Management Software
The first thing you are going to want to do if your employees are working from home is to establish job management software to track what they do and their hours. With WebFletch job management software, you can keep them productive, as you will be able to see if there are any dips in efficiency or if they are stepping away from work for an extended period of time. It is one of the most important things for you to have during the pandemic and work-from-home period. What does a good job management software do?
You are easily able to schedule work and new jobs as they come into your teams quickly and easily. Along with that, you have control of all of your employees from one simple screen. The best thing about job management software is that you can track tasks as they are being done and are always going to be informed about the progress. If you have assigned an employee a job that should only take one hour but the software shows it took much longer, you can safely assume that they are being distracted at home. Having good job management software means that you are always going to be able to track your employees and ensure that they are productive from home.
Have Them Create a Designated Workspace
One of the biggest reasons why people are struggling to be productive at home is because they don’t have a designated workspace. As a result, many people are working in their kitchens or at their dining room table. These areas of the home are high traffic areas and they are going to run into anyone else who is in the house. To combat this, encourage your employees to create a room where they are going to work every day. This room should be outfitted similar to their space at work and will allow them to stay focused. As an employer, you can help to make that space comfortable as well. If the office is going to be closed for an extended period of time, allow them to take an office chair home or an extra monitor. By giving them these types of tools, they can better create the office in their own home and stay productive.
Daily Check-ins
While the job management software will help to ensure your employees are productive, you still want to be checking in with them to see if everything is alright. If you or them have any issues or concerns they can be addressed during these check-ins. This will help to get everyone at work on the same page and understanding what is happening.
Check-ins don’t just have to be work-related either. You can take the time just to speak to them and give them a break. Checking in on their mental health is important also as everyone handles the pandemic and work from home orders in a different way. By spending some time with them in a positive manner, it helps to make them feel more comfortable in what is happening. Because the office is closed, they lose the ability to have conversations with you and fellow employees in the breakroom or around the water cooler. Taking the time to team build and create meetings just for everyone to hang out is another way to help during daily check-ins.
These are all ways that you can ensure that your employees stay productive while working from home. When it comes to check-ins, they might take up some time, however, it ensures that your workers stay positive and have good morale. Address any issues immediately to prevent them from becoming habits and communicate with your team during all of this. How do you plan on ensuring your employees stay productive?
