How To Quickly Set Up A Work-From-Home Program
With the outbreak of COVID-19, many employers are tasked with quickly setting up a compliant work-from-home program.
Setting up a work-from-home program is arguably easier for large employers with big budgets, existing remote work policies, and access to resources that small businesses, nonprofits, and local governments might not have.
For those employers with limited access to resources, here are five proven steps to quickly set up your work-from-home program.
5 Steps to Quickly Set Up a Work-from-Home Program
Identify which jobs will be working remotely. It may not make sense for all your positions to work from home, such as janitorial or customer facing positions that provide services to clients who don’t have access to video chat. Start by identifying the positions that will be working from home and clearly explain to employees why the decision was made for these particular positions to work from home.
Consistently communicate to employees. Communicate to employees why you are implementing the program, how long it will be in effect, and/or when the program will be re-evaluated to determine whether or not to continue the program. If only certain positions will be working from home and others will be staying behind at the office, ensure the office is properly equipped with cleaners/sanitizers and that staff have been given protocols to minimize risk. Make sure to be available answer any questions or concerns your employees may have.
Establish a clear, defensible policy, addressing important factors such as: Work equipment ownership, hourly employee time-tracking, confidentiality of client information, expected employee availability, and effective communication procedures. Make sure employees sign off on the policy. If that’s not possible, at a minimum, send a communication piece to employees addressing these factors and require them to acknowledge the procedures via email. Check out my Free E-guide, “How to Set up a Compliant Work-from-Home Policy.”
Ensure mutual agreement with the employee. If an employee doesn’t like working from home, or would prefer to stay at the office, then outside any extenuating circumstances, you might consider allowing employees to choose where they work. Ask your employees what they prefer and monitor their success, adjusting as needed. Of course this won’t always be possible, especially if you have made the decision to close your facility.
Clearly communicate performance expectations. Make sure your work-from-home employees understand the policy and your performance, confidentiality, and communication expectations. Re-evaluate the program and make adjustments if it doesn’t seem to be working out or if things change.
Another question on employers’ and employees minds is “how do we stay connected with our employees, some who will be working remotely for the first time?”
There are several low-cost and free tools out there to stay connected. Zoom video conferencing and Slack chat are two of my favorites. Check out this article for additional resources for staying connected and to minimize disruption while working from home.
Ways to Work with Skye
Monthly HR Consulting: On-demand monthly contracted HR services customized to meet your business needs. Quickly offload HR tasks to an experienced consultant.
Leadership Training: Interactive in-person or online training tailored to your organization. Build leadership skills with relevant HR & leadership training.
Employee Handbooks: Handbooks tailored to your organization’s unique values and focused on reducing State and Federal compliance risk.
HR Strategy Session: Get quick answers to your HR questions from an HR pro. Receive expert guidance and a clear plan of action to resolve your immediate HR issues.
Leadership Coaching: Individualized, results-oriented coaching to help you achieve your career goals. Plus Career Coaching & Resume Writing for job seekers.
HR Special Projects: Impartial personnel Investigations, on-demand recruitment & onboarding, compensation planning, & more.
