The three Covid-19 pandemic-related lockdowns were marked by the systematic introduction of telework . Both employers and employees are increasingly in favour of this system. But as an employer, it is a new way of working, so you need to be well organised. Switch Up gives you 5 tips on how to best manage telework from a business perspective.
According to a Harris Interactive survey, carried out for the communication agency Epoka, the ideal teleworking days would be 2.7 days per week on average for employees.
With the end of compulsory telework announced on 9 June 2021, there will be a shift to a chosen telework pattern. And employees (almost) all agree that it should be anchored in the working methods in the long term.
A 2012 survey (carried out by the DGE), shows that 85% of companies find that telework improves productivity.
Indeed, companies have fewer costs related to premises, and feel a real change in employees' attitudes (less absenteeism, more motivation, better retention).
It is essential that it be thought through before it is implemented. Unfortunately, Covid has rushed companies, leaving them no time to prepare for it, which has sometimes had the opposite effect, disrupting the well-being and productivity of employees.
But better late than never (as they say). So check out 5 tips to help you get it right.
Distance can be an obstacle to communication.Above all, the manager must be available to listen to his or her team so that he or she can be contacted in the event of a problem (or not). Creating daily or weekly "habits" will help to maintain transparency and trust between the employees and the manager.
Beware, these rituals should not be intended to question/survey employees in their work, but rather to ensure that they are not in a blocking situation or a regressive state of mind.
The law forbids you to use intrusive monitoring methods with your employees when they are teleworking. Our advice would be to set them (reasonable and achievable) objectives over a short period of time (e.g. weekly) to ensure their productivity.
If the objective is not achieved, it is up to you to review the objectives, together with your employees, in order to identify the pain points and reasons for failure. In addition, regular feedback from the employee will help you to better understand how they work remotely.
"There are days with, and days without. Keep this in mind, and tell yourself that if an employee is less effective one week than the next, it doesn't matter, he or she will do better next week (or the next). Remember why you hired them and keep encouraging them to work hard to impress you!
The solution to the remoteness and isolation of employees is to telework only 1 or 2 days a week. The rest of the time will be spent in the office and will allow the employee to reconnect with the business world. If you have to welcome new employees, make sure that they fit in well during the face-to-face days.
With an increase in demand in certain sectors and professions, recruitment is becoming more and more complicated, and it is sometimes difficult to identify the right profiles. Offering teleworking in job advertisements allows companies to extend their search area to the whole of France, and sometimes even to the whole world. It is also a real added value, when we notice that more than 60% of employees aspire to to telework.
According to a study conducted by Infopro Digital for AUSY (a subsidiary of Randstad), ½ of engineers would be prepared to refuse a job if it did not offer teleworking.
Offering telework to employees helps to build loyalty and reduces turnover within companies. Indeed, this flexibility, often interpreted as a sign of recognition, allows employees to feel confident.
After an obvious settling-in and adaptation period, teleworkers can observe an improvement in their work and productivity.
Overall, 47% of respondents felt that their level of productivity was higher when working from home.
Rigour, focus and autonomy are the key to successful teleworking. If your employees do not have these skills, it will be difficult for them to maintain productivity outside the office. Discuss this with them and consider other options! The introduction of teleworking in a company should not be taken lightly, consider the skills of each employee who wants to telework.
A word of advice: make sure that your employees work long hours so that they do not exceed their working hours. You might think that the more they work, the better, but the opposite is true, and this can lead to burnout. Moreover, setting a time table allowed them to disconnect more easily and thus dissociate the professional from the personal to maintain a balance! The company's point of view regarding telework is not always easy, but with good organisation, anything is possible!
