Essential skills for working remotely

Essential skills for working remotely

COVID 19 has altered the way we operate, live and work. This crisis has demonstrated to be a substantial remote work practice around the world. Over employee well-being concerns, the transition to remote work has been prompt within organizations around the globe. 

According to a March Gartner Survey of 800 global HR executives, 88% of businesses have supported or mandated employees to work remotely, whether they showed coronavirus symptoms or not. Remote work was growing by about 10% annually even before the pandemic hit the world. 

However, it’s more likely that the current situation will likely advance growth. The duration of this pandemic is not specific. So, many employers are actively seeking to hire employees who are skilled in remote work. Let’s take a look at the essential skills for working remotely that every remote employee should have.

 

Remote Work Is Here To Stay

We have been navigating through this pandemic for over 30 months now. As the world opens up each day, offices return to full capacity and businesses operate the new normal, we are cognizant that the virus has spurred some changes that are going to outlast the pandemic. Some aspects of our society are going to stay remote for the rest of our lives. Another Gartner survey reveals that 74% of companies intend to shift some employees to remote work permanently. Not just that, but 41% of employees are likely to work at least some of the time post coronavirus pandemic remotely.

In the post-pandemic world, the number of employees working remotely will increase. So, companies will be required to hire employees who have particular skills other than just technical and interpersonal. Employees must have specific skills to become best suited for remote work. Although it may seem that many employees are welcoming the remote work shift with open arms, many of them still lack the essential skills for working remotely. We have gathered these six most strong skills you need to look for in your prospective remote employees. Let’s start!

 

Great Time Management Skills

Working from home or any other space than the office seems easy, but it’s not. The flexible hours of remote work can become a problem in the long term. Working from home means your remote employees are going to have a lot of diversions. To be a successful remote worker, having a proportionate work-life balance is essential. To achieve an outstanding work-life balance, remote workers need excellent time management skills. To achieve this, remote employees should create the same schedule and workflow as they used to have in their physical offices. They need to track their work time strictly to be productive.

 

Strong Communication

Since remote work has an entirely different environment, communication can be tricky for remote employees. Unline in physical offices, remote work doesn’t allow workers to interact face-to-face with their coworkers. Communication using online platforms can be misunderstood. Communicating in a secluded and digital setting requires a different skill set. Asynchronous communication through group chats, emails, and comments in various project management platforms becomes familiar in remote work conditions. Meetings and conferences are carried through online video conferencing platforms. That’s why remote employees should have solid linguistic as well as a recorded statements.

 

Highly Motivated

The pandemic has led many employees to work from their homes, reasonably for the first time. As tempting as remote work seems, it also involves exercising soft skills. Self-motivation is one of the essential soft skills that remote workers need to have. Without the face-to-face motivation that they get in the office, staying self-motivated can be a little challenging for remote employees. So, remote employees should be self-starters and capable of taking the initiatives to get things done. They should have a sense of accountability for their productivity. Remote workers should have a zest to be equally prolific as they would be in physical offices.

 

Collaborative

While working remotely, many employees often tend to detach themselves and work alone. However, collaboration is the most crucial skill that remote employees need to have. Remote workers need to collaborate to be productive and accomplish daily jobs. Remote employees need to understand that they’re still a part of a team even though they’re working from their homes. Your remote employees must collaborate as a part of their skill set to unite with their peers and the larger team.

 

Adaptability

Working outside of a traditional office environment brings in a lot of versatility, sure, but that doesn’t mean that remote employees can work whenever they want. However, it simply means that they should have prominent adaptability. To succeed in a remote work environment, remote workers should be naturally adaptable. Remote employees should readily prepare themselves to adapt to the new ways of working, unpredictable situations, and unforeseen changes.

 

Digital Fluency

Remote work requires a particular level of digital eloquence. Even if the remote employee’s role is not technical, they need to feel comfortable using the hardware and software as a part of their work from home routine. Without the right tools, your remote team won’t perform their duties and communicate with everyone else efficiently. They need to be able to use various virtual communication tools. Also, they need to be well acquainted with the virtual devices that will help them get their projects done. It’s unlikely to work remotely and be productive if your remote employees don’t know about the technology.

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