Working from home is not uncommon any more, and more and more people are widely accepting remote working over on-site working. While though it has become quite the norm for many companies and businesses, formal policies to manage and monitor the process are not as commonly made by employers as one would hope.
Most companies hiring remote workers don’t have policies regarding it, which can ultimately lead to confusion. Here are a few steps to setting up an effective work from the home policy:
1. Outline Roles Eligible for Working from Home:
Though remote working may seem like a good option and prove to be more effective in the long run, not every employee is cut out to be a remote worker. Some employees require supervision and cannot work independently. Remote workers need to be disciplined, self-reliant and self-motivated.
Thus the remote workers you choose to work from home should be suitable and fit the category. They would not require being physically present at the office and must be well equipped and well-versed with technology to be able to carry out the job efficiently from home.
2. Define the Purpose:
The policy you are setting up should have a definite purpose, which must be clearly stated to your employees. It should be defined in terms of a document and what the opportunity of working from home will benefit in the future.
The policy should improve the experience for your employees at the company and should be in touch with what you believe in. Convey to them properly what role the policy will be playing in the company and how it will be put to use.
3. Establish Expectations:
All remote workers should have it made clear to them what is expected from them by the company. Expectations will generally include the amount of time the employees will be working per day and how they will communicate with the rest of the company.
They should be kept up to date with all meetings and should make themselves present in all of them at times they’re needed. Make the expectations clear and what quality of output is expected from remote workers. Tell them how they should perform, so they keep meeting the expectations that are required from them.
4. Define how your Employees can Request to Work from Home:
Layout the process through which your employees can apply to choose to work from home as an option. Decide whether they need to be putting in a formal request to make it happen or whether they can directly talk about it to their manager.
Also, make it clear whether the employee should be considered eligible before they can request the option of remote working and what would make them eligible. Make the steps and route of application clear to your employees, so they know what needs to be done if they wish to have their request accepted.
5. Set Equipment and Technology Requirements you will be Fulfilling:
Depending on what job is required by your remote worker, you may need to provide them with some equipment and technology to fulfill it, considering they might not have them at their homes. Some specific technologies your workers may need to include software, internet speed, computers and broadband.
Make it clear beforehand whether you will be providing them to your workers or whether they will have to make the arrangements for themselves beforehand. Also, outline the procedure with which technological difficulties will be met with.
6. Guarantee Digital Security:
Digital security is a common concern amongst employees working from home. If employees are using their equipment connected to the company’s network, they may accidentally introduce viruses to it. Likewise, even if they’re using the company’s equipment, they may download files or apps accompanied by viruses.
Hence, a company’s IT team should ensure that the required need for protection is provided beforehand to remote workers, such as encryption, anti-viruses, firewalls and any other form of protection. Protection should be guaranteed on devices and servers.
7. Make Expenses Covered Clear:
Working from home may not be as cheap an option as most would think. Working from home comes with the expenses of making a home office, getting larger broadband or internet connection, phone usage, electricity and other utilities.
Before hiring your remote employees, make it clear to them which of the expenses will be covered by the company or if they will be provided with a form of an allowance to cover such expenses.
A work from the home policy may cover any prerequisites you think will be useful to your company or your employees, as long as all aspects of working from home are being covered by it. An effective work from home policy will make the experience better for everyone.
