by Saïd Zouaghi | July 17, 2019
As more and more companies embrace the work-from-home revolution, it is becoming evident that telecommuting is a big part of the future of the workplace. At 5CA, we embarked on this journey 5 years ago and haven’t looked back.
In my position as Work From Home Program Manager and as a remote worker myself I’ve seen the benefits for both company (access to a bigger talent pool, reduced operational costs, lower carbon footprint, etc.) and individual (greater work-life balance, no commute, flexibility, etc.) firsthand. However, it is the challenges involved with being a remote worker that keep me pushing for continuous improvement. Staying connected to your coworkers, exercising regularly, investing in your social life and just getting out of the house from time to time become real challenges once you commit to working from home. How can we ensure that remote team members feel part of something bigger while they are working in isolation for 8 hours a day? How do we inspire them to peak performance, especially in the repetitive environment of a contact center?
According to Buffer’s comprehensive State of Remote Work 2019 report, the biggest challenge for remote workers is unplugging after work (22%), followed closely by Loneliness (19%) and Collaborating and/or Communication (17%). It is therefore crucial that remote companies create a suitable support network to address some of the challenges that remote work imposes on our teams. Especially for hybrid organizations like 5CA that consist of in-office staff as well as their at-home counterparts, it is critical to be highly deliberate and conceptualize new initiatives with ALL of your team members in mind.
As companies, how can we achieve this? Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the ideas we are implementing at 5CA. It can serve as a starting point for (partially) remote organizations:
Every day, more talented individuals looking for flexibility are finding their way to the remote workplace. Being able to work remotely is indeed becoming a hard requirement for a lot of young professionals. As companies, we need to be prepared to offer them a competitive set of benefits and a work environment in which they can flourish, or someone else will.
Our Work From Home Program Manager Saïd works from his home in sunny Mexico. He is a fervent believer in the Remote Work Revolution as a means to connect companies with the most talented individuals, regardless of their location, while improving work-life balance and empowering workers in developing countries. In his time off, he enjoys scuba diving, chess, football, and open world video games.
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