• 2020/03/03

8 reasons why you should keep your employees working remotely even after COVID-19

Meet Jeff. 👨‍💼 In the “Pre-COVID-19 era” Jeff had been working at your company for a few months, daily traffic had turned to sh#t and he spent way too much time a day sitting in his car. When he arrived at work, frustration had already introduced itself, not a fun feeling to start the day with. This obviously did not translate well in his work or in the atmosphere with his colleagues. Motivation was practically nowhere to be found and you were about to lose a great and talented employee to outer circumstances. 

ENTER: COVID-19

Suddenly you as a company are forced to have Jeff work remotely. Somewhat unprepared maybe, you made the necessary adjustments for him to continue his work from home. Jeff, stuck within the walls of his own home with two young kids, nearly loses his mind trying to combine the best of both worlds, being an excellent father, teacher, caretaker for his kids and the good responsible hardworking employee he was before the crisis hit. Not seeing people except his close family, takes its toll on Jeff realising that not being able to talk to people or even see anyone and have some social interactions, creates almost more frustrations than the pre-COVID-19 daily traffic jams.

POST ‘LOCKDOWN COVID-19’ 👉 ENTER: Remote working at Satellite offices & coworking spaces

Okay, so Jeff is able to come back to work…but wait, so are the other employees?! How to make sure everyone stays save and healthy and you as a company take the most responsible decisions for all involved while keeping your business afloat?

Keep the ‘working remotely’ procedures in place. You as a company have done the work to install working remotely, so why not reap the benefits from it. Give Jeff the possibility to come in the main office once or twice a week, but give him the opportunity to work at a satellite office or coworking space the rest of the time. He can work without distractions, and with the necessary safe social contacts, not just to keep loneliness from kicking in, but with all the extra benefits that come with a satellite office or some flex seats in a coworking space:

1. Jeff has more time and less stress 👉 You save money and the planet
Jeff now takes his bike to the flexible coworking space or satellite office and saves the time he normally spends in traffic. He doesn’t have to leave at the crack of dawn to get to work and is home a lot earlier. As a result Jeff doesn’t mind staying a bit later to finish his tasks if necessary. Jeff is not confronted with aggressive drivers honking their horns, driving him mad, less stress for him, making him healthier overall. You get to save money on cars, fuel, transportation and sick-leave costs. Helping to save the planet altogether is the cherry on the cake!

2. Happy Jeff 👉 You lower the retention rate by 10%
Jeff arrives at the office with a clear and frustration-free head, whistling his way through the office, he can’t wait to start the day and quitting his job is the last thing on his mind.

3. Motivated Jeff 👉 You get quality results
By letting Jeff work remotely he feels trusted by you, his employer, which motivates him to go above and beyond to make the best out of his work.

4. Focussed Jeff 👉 You get efficiency and save money
Instead of a huge open loud office of 30-40 people, Jeff has his own little office or flex desk in a quiet coworking space. Which means a lot less distractions and more focus. Productivity goes up and Jeff gets more done in lesser time, saving you money.

5. Jeff expands his network 👉 You get valuable relationships leading to growth and opportunity
When Jeff is in for a coffee, he wanders to the coffee corner and has a little chat with the other flex workers. These fellow entrepreneurs, all housing in the same building, offer him new creative insights, leads and a whole new untapped network through which Jeff can expand your companies brand image.

6. Jeff needs structure 👉 You develop handy processes and documentation
Jeff will need access to manuals, digital documentation and procedures. Processes will therefore have to be written down, which will improve company  documentation and process-building. Making your company a lot more scalable and appealing for remote workers.

7. You have access to more talented Jeffs
By opening a local satellite office or renting coworking space, you can draw from a larger talent pool. Engage more local talent, that, as an extra bonus, has a good knowledge about the local market and speaks the local language.

8. You get to build your future
The future of your company is probably the most important thing to think about. New, young motivated talent is crucial to your success, the Millennial job seekers. One problem: getting them to your 1 head office…Commuting or working 9-5 is nowhere on their minds. Flexibility, proximity and working autonomously is what they’re all about. So if you don’t want to miss the boat on the millennial job seekers (representing 68% of the job pool), you better put a remote working policy in place!

No doubt about it: letting your employers work remotely even after COVID-19 will end up being one of the best decisions you could ever make. Especially when you choose to work in a hip, trendy and inspirational coworking space like ours.

If you think you’re company is ready for it, contact Silke for more information about a coworking subscription or satellite office here at WATT Factory! 

Not sure yet? Check out this check-list on how to implement remote working in your company. Or learn here about the reasons why you, as an employee, should remote work or here about how to ask your boss to remote work.

Contact

WATT Factory
Vlasgaardstraat 52
9000 Gent
info@wattfactory.be

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