Helping Employees Adjust To Working From Home

Over the last few months, more businesses have had to rely on a remote workforce. Staff members who have never worked from home before are learning how to stay productive while maintaining a healthy work-life balance when working from home. To help your employees adjust quicker to working remotely, explore these tips to make the transition easier. 

Offer Assistance

As your staff get used to working from home, they could also be dealing with their own hardships outside of work. The recent upheaval in the US economy has caused financial trouble for many families. If your company doesn’t have an employee assistance program (EAP), now is a perfect opportunity to set one up. An EAP allows you and your employees to donate money to a fund for workers struggling with financial strain. This allows employees dealing with medical emergencies, natural disasters or family crises to apply for assistance. These programs can be set up in a variety of ways and can be managed in-house or by a third party. 

Offering free education on financial literacy can also empower your employees to take charge of their situation and prepare them for the future. You could host online seminars covering available benefits like 401(k) plans, debt counseling and money management. With many Americans and people across the world currently living from paycheck to paycheck, it’s essential to help your employees use the resources they have. Encourage workers to use a budgeting program or an app for financial management. These tools can allow for making better financial decisions on the long run as staff members build better spending habits. Making this type of information widely available to your employees can also have a significant impact on productivity and job satisfaction while lowering turnover rates.

Communicate With Your Staff

If some of your employees are no longer working in shared spaces with their colleagues and supervisors, it’s more important than ever to keep open communication channels. Depending on the type of information you want to share with your staff, the method of delivery you choose can help speed up the process of communicating with your remote workforce. 

If you need to make company-wide announcements, using a video conference can enable you to speak to a larger group of employees quicker than more direct methods of communication. Emails are typically better used for short messages like reminders or directions on assignments. Sending long emails can lead to employees missing vital information or confusion, since this channel doesn’t allow for much interaction with the recipient. Instead, only use workplace emails for brief conversations on a specific subject. 

For daily interactions, employees should be encouraged to use direct messaging to discuss current tasks with co-workers and supervisors. This method allows for a better two-way conversation as workers can ask questions in real-time. Instructing your employees on how and when to use a specific way of communication can help them work more efficiently as they deal with fewer distractions.  

Ask For Input 

To know how effective your efforts have been, you need to ask your employees for feedback. Invite workers to share their honest opinions on everything from work-related concerns to personal problems. Take the time to see how your employees are handling the current situation, professionally and personally. Are they satisfied with the office to home transition? Is there additional assistance you could offer them to improve their productivity? By asking questions, you can fine-tune the support you provide your staff.

No matter how large or small your business is, helping your employees adjust to working from home will be beneficial for your company. Your staff members keep your business operating through even the toughest of situations. Supporting them during this hardship will show your workers how much you value them.