A hybrid work from home model allows some employees to work from home while others work from the office. Working with a remote team requires strategic planning and technology to keep all the employees connected. Through technology, remote staff can stay connected through chat, video, and voice communication channels.
Hybrid work is especially beneficial for small businesses for the following reasons:
- It’s easier to bring back a smaller number of employees safely back to work and ensure they follow safety procedures.
- It may be easier to maintain communication and access between leadership teams and employees with smaller leadership teams.
- It allows employees to be flexible and swiftly pivot to a new process or approach when necessary.
Benefits of Hybrid Work Model
1. Cut costs
One of the most significant advantages of the hybrid approach for small enterprises is cost reduction. Companies can save money by opening smaller offices in more cost-effective places or going entirely remote by eliminating the need for a vast corporate headquarters.
2. Enhances employee satisfaction
Employees now have a higher quality of life since they may live in more affordable areas, avoid long commutes, and have work hours that are more flexible to match their schedules.
3. Accommodates people with disabilities
The hybrid work model gives remote workers with disabilities the chance to work comfortably.
4. Decreases exposure to health risks
With fewer in-house personnel, your organization may be able to reduce the transmission of colds, the flu, or COVID-19, thus resulting in fewer sick days.
5. Raises productivity
With this work model, employees working remotely can work to their strengths. You’ll be able to give team members who need to concentrate quietly at home and those who flourish in a community office environment the freedom to work where and when they want.
6. Open to talent from across the globe
You’ll establish a staff with extraordinary capabilities if you open openings to worldwide candidates.
Remote Team Management Tools
In a hybrid work model, some employees work from home and others work from the official business premises, creating a need for tools for managing remote teams. This technology ranges from software to monitor remote workers to project management programs.
Below are some of the best work from home technology:
1. Remote Employee Monitoring Software
First in remote management solutions is employee monitoring software, which is a program that informs managers about how their employees use their computers during work hours. The software accomplishes this by gathering information about their internet and social media usage and when they are active so that the employer can assess their productivity and efficiency.
The software lets you track all sorts of employee activity and even allows you to set and enforce different rules and policies for your organization. What’s more, it even gives you notifications whenever employees violate your guidelines.
Below are the types of employee activity you can track using the software:
- Web activity
- Login history
- Application usage, e.g., Microsoft Word, Notepad
- USB file transfer
Examples of remote employee monitoring software
1. Workpuls
Workpuls is among the best remote employee monitoring software. It allows employers to track their time, app, and web usage activity. It also provides behavior analytics and regular reports via email informing you of how productive your staff is.
The software is designed to meet enterprise-level security and privacy standards, ensuring that you comply with all applicable data privacy and security rules.
2. Hubstaff
Hubstaff is another excellent employee monitoring program. It comes with application and website tracking to provide proof of work. Besides, it comes with a screen capture feature that you can customize to your liking.
2. Project Management Tools
Individuals and teams use project management software to organize and manage their projects and responsibilities effectively. Typically, the phrase applies to project management software that you may buy online or use for free.
The software includes features such as:
- Planning and scheduling: Tasks, subtasks, folders, templates, workflows, and calendars allow you to plan and delegate work in one location
- Collaboration: project management systems allow you to assign tasks, add comments, create dashboards, and proof or approve changes with your team.
- Documentation: File management capabilities that allow editing, versioning, and storing files can help you avoid missing or obsolete data.
- Evaluation and analysis: Resource management and reporting can track and measure productivity and growth.
Examples of these tools for managing remote teams:
1. Trello
Trello allows users to customize and expand with more features as their team grows. They can also manage projects, organize tasks and even collaborate on projects. It’s an exciting and visual way to manage and plan your work.
2. Scoro
Scoro allows you to manage projects, tasks, contacts and billing all in one comprehensive system. Its features include task scheduling, team utilization, real-time project overview and automated billing.
3. Human Resource Software
HR software is a digital solution for monitoring and optimizing an organization’s everyday human resource duties and overall HR goals. It allows HR personnel and managers to devote more time and resources to more productive and profitable endeavors.
The software includes features such as:
- Employee data storage and organization.
- Making workflows and keeping track of approvals
- Time tracking
- Tracking employee training
- Employee satisfaction is measured and reported on.
- Goal-setting and performance management.
Examples of HR Software include:
1. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 provides users with free HR tools, such as shared calendars, document management, employee portal, workload planning, task and project management, to name a few.
2. Gusto
Gusto is a cutting-edge online people platform that assists small businesses in managing their workforces. Its tools and services enable you to onboard, pay, insure, and engage your team in one integrated, simple-to-use platform.
4. Communication tools
Communication software is a program or application that transfers data from one system to another. This type of software allows users to access systems remotely and share files in various formats across computers.
To protect sensitive data, they frequently include enterprise-grade protection across the infrastructure. Advanced features such as file transfer protocol, an intranet platform, and VoIP may be included.
1. Slack
Slack provides a sophisticated and comprehensive chat tool for small organizations. Slack offers individual and group audio calls and video conferencing in addition to one-on-one and group chat. It’s easier to collaborate with than most chat tools.
2. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a software-as-a-service service that’s also integrated with Microsoft’s Office 365 subscription. It establishes a chat-based workspace where real-time communication is prioritized.
Conclusion
It’s entirely possible to make a hybrid model work for your employees while also helping your organization run more profitably and efficiently with proper planning and the right management software. Using a remote team manager for small businesses not only improves the company flow, but also saves time, money, and resources.
