With kids at home and government recommendations to telework when possible, more businesses than ever are being pushed into making the conversion to working remotely. Although some businesses have already made the transition, many more haven’t and are now scrambling to convert to a digital platform.
This article will give you some tips, insights, and resources that can help you make this transition. Our goal is to keep you as functional as possible, especially during this tumultuous time.
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Deena Englander Efficiency and Process Consultant denglander@workstreamsystems.com (443) 524-5896 |
The Process
First, identify what needs to be changed to a digital platform.
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Are you still using paper or have a paper trail for any documents? If you do, you’ll definitely need to convert to some type of software – whether it’s Google Sheets, Smartsheets, or a project management software.
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How do you communicate? You won’t be able to just pop over to the office next door. Do you need to look into communication platforms, like Slack? Do you need meeting software such as Zoom?
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How do you manage projects? With the physical file folders gone, what software do you need to replace it?
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How do you ensure that your employees are doing a good job when you can’t keep an eye on them directly? How do you make sure that deadlines are met and employees are productive? The answer for this will be very different for each company – but if you were using a clocking in and out method with a manager in the room, this is probably one of the most important items to address.
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Do people have access to all the information they need? If not, how do we make that available?
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Just because you’ve been doing something a certain way for so many years doesn’t mean you need to keep doing it that way. Take a step back to think how you can be more creative about what you do so that it requires less manpower to do it. Technology and software might be able to help you with that as well.
Second, identify what resources you can use in aiding that transition.
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What technology and software have you already tried or invested in?
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Who on your team can help manage the transition?
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If you don’t have the leadership capacity or knowledge to implement these overwhelming changes, who can you reach out to for help?
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Explore software options. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of time to thoroughly investigate options – but you can do a bit of research to learn what tools are out there to use now. You can always migrate to something at a later date when you have the time to research and implement properly.
Third, appoint a lead project manager to oversee the transition and manage employee questions and concerns.
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Grant Wasch Operations Strategist gwasch@workstreamsystems.com 703-407-8020 |
Software and requirements that you should watch out for as you set up for the conversion
In a remote environment, collaboration and shared information are critical to getting the job done and on time. If your team can’t sit in the same room to review the current status of a project, how can everyone stay updated? Below are a few key software areas and requirements to focus on as companies transition to working remotely.
- Project Management
- Cloud-based
- Task management
- Scheduling and resource allocation
- Real-time reporting
- File storage
- Customer Relationship Management
- Cloud-based
- Activity tracking
- Lead management
- Workflows and automation
- Reporting flexibility
- Applicant Tracking Software
- Cloud-based
- Resume parsing
- Job board integrations
- Interview management
- Reporting flexibility
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David Spigelman Technology Specialist dspigelman@workingnets.com (443) 992-7394 x1 |
Technology recommendations for a great remote workspace
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Does your team need to share files? Make sure you have a solid and secure file sharing system. There are a lot of good ones out there. Consider some like G-Suite with Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint, and even Dropbox for business. G-Suite Business includes the ability to create Team Drives, and Microsoft Office 365 includes the SharePoint system for that. These are great ways to share data with your team in ways that can even be synced to their computers, to enable better collaboration.
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Your phone system doesn’t have to suffer. Having the right VoIP solution, including softphones, means that you can stay connected with corporate phone numbers, instead of just forwarding everything to your users’ cell phones.
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Get rid of paper where you can. Paper can only be in one place at a time. Similarly, use cloud-enabled systems where possible. It will greatly increase your flexibility as you look to support remote users.
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Cloud-based services, like Office 365 and G-Suite are feature-rich solutions for email, contacts and calendars, including sharing those with other users in your organization. Best of all, they’re available anywhere. We recommend not using the basic email service from your hosting provider. Spend the money on Office 365 or G-Suite. They’re professional-grade services. They’re worth every penny. (And they’re not really expensive either.)
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Are some of your applications proprietary, or only accessible from inside your network? A VPN solution might solve some of those problems for you. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, will enable you to securely enable your users (not customers) to reach internal network resources, without having to actually be onsite.
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Some of these types of solutions require some advanced planning. Be sure you work with a competent professional, who can help you determine which solution would be best for you, and then get it set up for you. They can also often manage it for you.
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If you don’t have the time to get things set up properly; if you need a “right now” solution, a quick option could include a remote-control solution, like GotoMyPC, which allows your users to remotely “take over” their office computer, as if they were sitting at their desks. You just need the “host” computers to be on, and your office Internet connection to be active.
- Alternatively, there are cloud-solutions that actually put a “server in the cloud” for you to use. You can set this up so that your users access the “internal” applications via a cloud-based computer, just as if they were using them locally on their desks, without needing them to actually reside inside your office. This type of solution can actually be used as a day-to-day solution as well. They can provide secure access, and can be accessed by your office computers as if they were hosted locally. But this sort of solution does require some preparation. For a quick fix, the GotoMyPC solution is the quickest.
We’re here to help you during this time – please feel free to call or email us at the numbers above. We look forward to helping you!