Remote Working is a Cost Cutting Tool for Businesses: Myth or Fact?
Remote working or working from home is now adapted by almost all sorts of organizations globally, be it government or private entities. The reasons are diverse, but most importantly, owing to the hassles of commuting and wastage of resources, remote working is now the need of the hour. Considering the dismal times of Pandemic i.e. Covid 19, from Small and Medium Enterprises, to huge Entrepreneurial names, organizations had to shift their work structure online, which was itself a great challenge. Many businesses have yet to overcome it, while others have now adapted and are working successfully, saving costs and company resources alike.
As the topic suggests, it’s essential to discover if remote working really is a cost-cutting tool for businesses. The answer is tricky, mainly because remote working requires shifting the entire organizational paradigm online.
Challenges With Remote Working:
Some challenges that come with remote working are:
1. Communication
Communication between supervisors and subordinates is painstaking and sometimes not up to the mark. This is the reason why many employees might have to work overtime to provide the desired result through remote working. Handy access to the internet and speedy apps that promote effective communication are needed for working from home efficiently.
2. Collaboration
Collaboration among the hierarchy is yet another challenge many companies face, which eventually leads to discouragement of remote working amid employees. Lack of association between supervisor and subordinate mostly results in both parties working on different pages, concluding in time wastage and sometimes repetition of work.
3. Discipline
Remote working promotes lethargy and procrastination. A study on cross-cultural perspectives by Len Barton shows that employees feel less motivated and more distracted when working remotely, mainly because they are not seated in an organizational setting. They are unable to feel the essence and discipline of working timely and meeting deadlines.
4. Cultural Differences
Dealing with cultural differences is also not everyone’s cup of tea. Employees might feel disconnected and sometimes agitated because of language and culture barriers and even because of different time zones. This makes communication and ultimately productive outcomes difficult to achieve.
5. Team Meetings
Team meetings are usually challenging and at times messy when it comes to remote working. Some team members are punctual, some are not. Given the fact that everyone might join from home, some might suffer at the cost of others’ clumsiness. This leads to frustration and mismanagement as a whole. Unless face to face, meetings cannot be conducted efficiently and the agenda remains incomplete at times.
6. Asset Management
Optimum management of IT assets is perhaps the most needed aspect of remote working. These IT assets are the part and parcel of remote working, as they manage everything from a company’s data to its products and services and everything in between.
Steps to Overcome Challenges:
The challenges discussed above might prove that remote working is not always a cost-cutting tool for businesses. However, these challenges can surely be overcome if organizations take some necessary steps within due time, and use their resources strategically.
These steps might be:
1. Documentation
Sharing everything in writing, whether it’s an agenda for a meeting or a flowchart for better description, would help overcome many communication obstacles in remote working. This is because a document or a spreadsheet is much more elaborate than mere audio discussions and even voice notes. Documents in writing can be used later for authentication and proper delivery of information.
2. Working Schedule
Creating work schedules as a team member would help anyone in sticking to a specific work pattern. Once made, the work schedules shall be shared with other teammates so that everyone knows each other’s availability. This would lead not only to convenience but would also cut the time wastage.
3. Project Management Tools
Certain project management tools can help employees describe their work more efficiently across phone meetings, e.g. Gantt charts and diagrams are some of the many tools available online for better project descriptions and management. Once shared, these prove to be very helpful as they bring all team members on the same front. Charts and diagrams are clear pictorial representations of projects, making them both user-friendly and interesting.
4. IT Asset Management Software
IT assets can be managed effectively if IT asset management software is outsourced by a business by using service providers. It is the provision of services including management of IT assets a company possesses, through accurate ITAM reporting by charging reasonably. Such service providers can help organizations to a great extent in acquiring full advantages of remote working by adapting to needed changes. These service providers also enable self-help counters and chatbots for efficient communication between work-force. They also manage mobile IT assets and cloud computing without any fear of theft or privacy invasion of a company’s data.
5. Work Life Balance
Employees should be encouraged to divide family time and work schedules. This can be done through an effective counsellor who can discuss strategies that help employees manage their time proficiently. Self-help focus groups can also help employees feel at home while discussing their problems relating to remote working. This would result in lesser frustration and more productivity from the employee’s side.
6. Time Tracking
Time tracking of employees’ activities is another tool to help overcome remote working trials. To do lists can help an employee manage and prioritize his tasks in a proper way, even when working from a home space.
Considering the above discussion, it is pertinent to say that remote working can be a cost-cutting tool for businesses only if its challenges are overcome with intelligent and timely strategies, both at the employer and the employee’s end. An organization can only minimise its costs through remote working if employees are not only well-trained and accustomed but also encouraged and motivated to put in their efforts and go the extra mile for the organization’s operations and profits.
Mason Jacob is a tech enthusiast and writes mostly about technology news and trends worldwide. Mason has written articles for various sites and blogs with their main aim to spread knowledge with everyone.