I want to tell you a story about a local business owner that struggled with remote work during the height of the pandemic.
He got word that it was time to shut his office down and send everyone home. He was nervous, but figured it’d be okay… After all, they have their cellphones, email, and a few applications they can access.
Within weeks, he was getting phone calls from customers who haven’t heard any updates, didn’t get the files they needed, and overall, were sympathetic with the situation but wanted to get at least SOME level of service.
His staff was struggling…
- They couldn’t get a hold of one another and customers couldn’t get through because everyone was using their cellphones all day without the ability to transfer or forward.
- They didn’t know how to manage their workday on their own. To-do lists are great, but they’re certainly not a form of project management, especially with all the distractions at home.
- They weren’t comfortable accessing sensitive data, even if they wanted to. Some employees even KNEW they had malware on their computers so they steered clear.
Here’s the thing… Managing a team that’s working from home isn’t the same as working in the office. Their technology simply isn’t setup to make them productive or keep them secure.
When this local business owner called us, I sent him the untold best practices for remote work – revealed and within a couple hours, he called me to thank me profusely for helping him figure out what to do next.