How To Build An Effective Remote Work Policy; What’s The Cost Of Not Having One?

Remote working has been ever-growing since the pandemic, more and more startups are moving remotely since it’s cost-effective and more productive.

But as many startups and organizations are moving remotely, there are challenges founders and managers must face.

Such as isolated employees, high turnover rate, inconsistent communication and toxic work culture.

Which costs employees their mental and physical health, meanwhile causing considerable financial harm to their employers.

This is why any remote-based organization needs to have a clear and concise remote work policy to ensure compliance and better work efficiency.

Why Having a Clear Remote Work Policy so Important?

Remote work policy is a crucial aspect of any organization, for it to function properly. It sets clear expectations for what to expect when working for the company.

Having a clear remote work policy for employees has a lot of benefits, from better productivity to efficient workflow for your employees.

Good and supportive work culture and engaged employees. These benefits lead to better overall results.

Furthermore, having a remote work policy can help you have a better work environment. Some challenges come without a clear remote work policy.

Here are some of them, and how they affect your company’s overall progress.

Challenges Without a Clear Remote Work Policy:

1) Inconsistent communication.

Consistent communication is one of the most important aspects of remote work. Your whole team relies on it.

However, without a clear remote work policy addressing the requirements of consistent communication can lead to delays in projects and late deadlines.

Unengaged employees, no team discussions, collaboration or teamwork, which leads to unmotivated and disconnected employees.

2) Inefficient workflow.

Lack of clear expectations and responsibilities leads to inefficient work, as employees are confused about their roles, responsibilities and deadlines.

This affects their workflow, leads to poor output and increases chances of burnout, which costs companies a lot of resources.

Furthermore, having no, or unclear remote work policy leads to low productivity, having no measurement of results and project success leads to inefficiency.

3) Data lacks and cyberattacks.

Without proper guidelines for your remote workers on company security and how to keep them protected, it can potentially expose them to data breaches and cyberattacks.

Which leads to data breaches, and sensitive data leaks, and costs you both financial and reputational damage to the company.

4) Legal challenges.

Without a well-defined policy over legal rights, you may end up facing lawsuits, fines or other legal complications.

Such as working overtime, employment exploitation over salary or safety. Especially if your company underpay based on the country’s minimum wage and working hours.

These allegations can also damage your company’s reputation and may place you under multiple charges.

5) Toxic work culture.

Proper remote work guidelines are essential to keep your employees in check, without it leads to challenges with a toxic work culture.

Which many remote employers face, leading to isolated, and unengaged employees.

This toxic culture also leads to stress over job security, and constant pressure over work, which ends up in a high turnover rate.

Especially when your employees have no clear guidelines over their contribution to a team and how to keep them engaged, leading to unmotivated and low-morale employees with a lack of accountability.

How To Build An Effective Remote Work Policy?

When creating a remote work policy, there are many questions, such as what to include in your remote work policy.

And what to avoid.

Employers must be aware of the laws and regulations of each state or country they’re hiring their employees from.

They must have some knowledge of tech, cybersecurity tools and other best practices to build a policy of good, engaging culture and secure workplace for their employees.

1) Have a clear form of communication.

Define communicating protocols in your remote work guidelines. Give access to tools and mediums for team communication and collaboration, Such as Slack and Google Chat.

There should be clear guidelines on the timing of availability, frequent check-ins and ensuring your employees are communicating consistently.

Furthermore, clearly state the schedule of meetings and how often they’re required to show up.

Relevant Read: How to effectively communicate as a remote team.

2) Set clear expectations for their roles.

Clearly define the responsibilities and expectations of each role, and clarify what is required from designated employees.

Set clear company goals for each department and describe how these goals contribute to the overall success of the company.

Define the standard for high-quality work within your company, and outline methods for measuring those standards.

Relevant read: Best remote Onboarding strategies.

3) Tell what equipment and software are needed.

Establish clear guidelines for the equipment and software required for each role.

Provide employees with all the necessary software, tools, and mediums of collaboration along with needed training to ensure these resources help employees work efficiently and stay productive.

Offer remote troubleshooting and other technical support to create a user-friendly remote work policy and address technical issues right away.

Relevant Read: Best Remote Team Tools To Optimize Team Efficiency.

4) Employment laws and taxation.

Be mindful of all the important laws and regulations related to working hours, pay, and taxation requirements specific to the location you’re hiring your staff from.

Set clear requirements and guidelines in your telework agreements, and clarify what your company will provide and what it will not, to improve the legal process.

Furthermore, consider consulting with a legal professional when building your remote work policy to ensure compliance with adhering to laws and to keep all legal aspect properly managed.

5) Productivity and results measuring metrics.

Have some sort of system to measure employees’ productivity, ensuring they’re fully contributing and being held accountable for their work.

Provide clear guidelines for the result-measuring process, and specify the metrics used to measure their progress.

This will help you evaluate employee performance, identify training needs, and address any gaps within your team effectivity.

Remote Work Policy Example:

Purpose:

The purpose of these guidelines is to have an efficient and productive workplace, ensuring consistency and compliance with company standards and legal requirements.

Scope:

This policy applies to all employees of this company, whether full or part-time, as long as you’re involved in working for this company.

Communication:

• Our team uses twists for team communication.
• We use Google Meet for weekly meetings.
• And we work with tools like Notion, Dropbox and Google Docs for team collaboration.

Guidelines for communication:

• Employees must use our given tools to communicate and collaborate.
• Employees must be available from xx am to xx pm.
• Daily check-ins and progress reports are required for each employee.
• Weekly meetings will be held every Thursday, and you’re required to use our given tool.

Responsibilities and expectations:

Responsibilities:

• Each employee will be given onboarding tasks within 24 hours.
• Each employee is required to adhere to their outlined responsibilities and deliverables.

Goals:

• Each department’s goals will be defined and communicated to ensure compliance with company objectives.
• Each employee’s performance will be measured based on a weekly progress review.

Company standards:

• High-quality company standards will be defined and communicated.
• Consistent feedback will be provided to ensure compliance with those standards.

Equipment and software:

Guidelines:

• Employees will be provided with necessary hardware, such as laptops and monitors.
• Required software and collaboration tools, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, will be installed with licenses/subscriptions paid by the company.
• In the first week, the training will be provided on how to use these tools.
• Employees must maintain all company-provided equipment in good condition and follow guidelines for proper use.

Support:

• Online IT support will be available for any technical issue.
• Employees must contact IT support within working hours to get the issue resolved.

Legal compliance:

Laws and regulations:

• Compliance with local labor law, working hours and overtime is mandatory.
• Employees must follow tax regulations applicable to their location.

Remote work agreement:

• A remote work agreement will be outlined on what the company will provide and what it will not.
• Employees will sign this agreement before joining the company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a remote work policy is essential for any remote working organization to ensure better productivity, work efficiency and compliance with employment laws and regulations.

Furthermore, it’s better to take professional advice in legal matters to ensure adherence.