Many employees choose to work in remote positions because of the flexibility. However, to ensure this flexibility doesn’t inhibit your performance and quality goals, you must establish an effective work policy for these employees. Unfortunately, research shows that approximately 63 percent of companies with remote workers do not have policies. When establishing a remote work policy, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Communication
As a manager, you need to know that work is being done and your inquiries are being answered. As part of your remote work policy, establish your communication expectations. Do you expect employees to use specific communication software? Do you want them to respond to emails within a certain time frame? In your policy, list all expectations, guidelines, and required equipment for communication.
Availability
Your particular company and the type of work you do will determine if availability is important to you. Do you expect your workers to be accessible during normal business hours? Do you care if they set their own hours as long as they attend monthly team meetings? Whichever you desire, state it clearly in your policy. This will avoid confusion about your expectations and will ensure everyone follows the same guidelines.
Security Measures
Do your employees work with sensitive and/or confidential information? What measures do they utilize to keep that data safe? The protection of your company’s and clients’ information should be a top priority. Determine what equipment, software, etc. you will require all team members, regardless of department, to use to keep data safe. When each person maintains a certain level of protection, you will have fewer issues to worry about.
Work Product Quality
According to the U.S. News and World Report, it is illegal for an employer to deny or adjust compensation retroactively for a poor performance — or for any reason at all. In order to help ensure your employees deliver a quality product of work, clearly lay out your expectations well in advance. When all parties are on the same page, it can help the daily workflow run more smoothly.
If an employee consistently fails to deliver a quality work performance, first have a conversation with him or her to discuss how you can further support their work efforts, and offer helpful suggestions on how to get the tasks completed. If that doesn’t work, an employer may have the right to dock an employee’s pay moving forward. In those specific cases, an employer must inform the employee of the rate change, and the employee reserves the right to accept or decline the new terms.
Creating detailed, thorough policies for your remote team will ensure they know your expectations and how to succeed in their remote positions. By taking time to establish these policies, you will create a more fair, productive, and efficient remote workforce.
About HiringThing
HiringThing has been a 100% remote software company since 2012, so we’re experts when it comes to working from home. Check out our Remote Work Hub for more remote work tips that’ll help keep your team happy and productive or our open positions if you'd look to work remotely in your next role!
