The Covid-19 pandemic caught everyone by surprise, and many workers had to quickly adapt to working from home. This means that they probably do not have the right equipment or a home office and, in this case, the responsibility of setting up their workstation has mostly fallen entirely on the workers. Not only that, but the sudden shift to online working has made cooperation and interaction between teams a challenging matter, so what can HR professionals do in order to ensure their teams are working comfortably and collaboratively?
Help with the transition
HR professionals should find options to make that transition easier, be it by providing technology to ensure the worker is connected and has access to the right tools, but also that their office space is ergonomic. Ask your team what their workflow, working station, and daily routine are like, and get some feedback about the issues they are facing.
Have the right tools
Once your team goes remote, you will notice that off-site employees have unique concerns, especially when it comes to work processes and procedures, communication, office set up, among others. It is your responsibility as an HR professional to recognize those issues early on and make adjustments to how the teams are working.
Team building
Feeling like they are an integral part of the team is one of the main struggles of remote workers. The feeling of being left out, especially when working with mostly in-house colleagues, is quite common when it comes to fully remote employees. As such, it is crucial that HR professionals do everything possible to ensure that this doesn’t happen with their international hires that are based in different locations.
Build a personal relationship
When operations are done from different locations, it is easy to forget that there is more to an employee than their ability to complete tasks. Due to that, it is important that you take some time to also get to know them on a personal level, rather than just discussing what needs to be done and expect them to go back to executing.
Organize online events
You can also organize online social events that will allow your remote workers to get to know each other better in a non-formal environment. While there is no ideal guideline on what type of activities to do online, you can have a game night, or ask each of your members to do a talk about something they are passionate about.
Provide an annual face-to-face meet-up opportunity
No matter how efficient and organized your online working culture is, the benefits of providing the opportunity for your employees to meet personally are always high. While these types of gatherings can be pricey, especially if your team is working mostly on a remote basis and in different locations across the world, the investment made will pay off in the long run.
Would you like to learn more about how to successfully manage remote teams?
You can read more information about the best practices of managing remote employees in our Guide on how to manage international teams remotely. If you still have any doubts, you can always schedule a free consultation with us, and we will be happy to help you.