Many companies prefer the remote work format. Telecommuting has shown that some employees may well work from home even after the end of quarantine. Indeed, going to a remote business allows you to significantly save on renting premises. Employees are happy – they no longer have to get up so early, stuck in traffic jams and in overcrowded public transport. Who can be left to work in home-office mode? First of all, departments that need only a phone and a computer to work, which do not require a personal presence in the office.
Accounting. Most operations are done in accounting programs, even primary documents can be converted into electronic format and uploaded to cloud services or sent by mail. In addition, many companies have used outsourcing invoice processing even before quarantine, which greatly simplifies the company’s internal processes.
Human Resources Department. Maintaining personnel and leave records, hiring and firing of workers can be processed remotely. Interviews with candidates can be conducted online. And after all the final interview with the executive can be organized in the office.
The marketing and advertising department can also work remotely. Analytics, work with the website, mailings, social networks, communication with contractors may well be carried out from home.
The contact centre and technical support service will perfectly cope with the duties, working from any city and even country.
Pros
- Costs for office and staff support are reduced. This enables you to save on rent, you no longer need to buy stationery, tea, coffee, fruits, you can save on maintenance of the office.
- The productivity of employees often increases, since they do not need to spend time on the road and to take leaves to run their errands. They can optimally organize a working day for themselves.
- You pay for the result, not for the process. Employees are interested in the high-quality performance of tasks in a short time in order to have more time for personal affairs. The business owner gets a ready-made solution quickly enough.
- People get sick less, because they do not contact each other, do not use public transport and, in general, can devote more time to themselves and their families. All this affects the efficiency of work.
Cons
- The costs of organizing remote work. You will have to provide the employee with the equipment or assign compensation for its use.
- Indirect losses. When deciding to transfer some employees to work from home, part of the costs may go towards paying rent or penalties for unused rental office space.
- Time management and control. Not all employees will initially be highly disciplined working from home. Therefore, it will be necessary to organize a business processes audit.
- Lack of communication. Interaction via messengers is a good thing, but still, it can hardly replace a live conversation.
The quarantine experience showed: companies that have already outsourced some processes or allowed some employees to work 1-2 days a week from home are faster adapted to new realities. The conclusion is obvious. Remote workplaces, organized during quarantine, will not disappear and there may be even more of them. At least a quantity of companies has already announced the transfer of part of the staff from offices.
However, it is worth noting that regardless of the duties, it is better not to transfer new employees to remote work in the first month. There should always be a mentor next to them who shares knowledge and corporate culture.