How to Solve 4 Common Remote Work Challenges

Featured image by Matthias Zeitler from Pixabay

Remote work has become an established practice over the last few years, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have its challenges.

Whether you are working individually or as a team, your ability to communicate, collaborate, and work productively can all be influenced by the way you approach working remotely and how good your setup is.

To get the most out of working remotely you might want to hire IT support experts in Brisbane, for instance. In this way, you get the right protocols and systems in place to be able to work efficiently and safely.

In terms of remote work challenges, here are some of the typical issues you will probably need to address.

The Remote Work Challenge of Inefficient Collaboration

The days of a team getting together in the office for a face-to-face meeting are a distant memory for many of us. Remote collaboration is the new way to work, and it definitely has its challenges.

It is not enough to ping emails back and forth until you find a solution to a problem. You need to create an effective communication channel. You need a system that allows you to talk to each other and share files safely.

Look for a setup that ticks all of those boxes to enjoy efficient teamwork from remote locations.

Keeping Track of Tasks

Another potential challenge of remote work is a limited ability to track where everyone is with completing tasks.

But there are a number of useful project management tools that provide the platform you need to be able to see what everyone is working on. These tools will allow you to see everyone’s progress in real time.

These software packages can also track time and give insights into how time-efficient each team member is.

The Remote Work Challenge of Different Time Zones

It is not unusual to be working remotely and communicating with others across a number of different time zones.

The challenge is that different colleagues and contacts might be working out of sync with your own remote work hours.

A good way of resolving this problem is to use an integrated calendar where everyone can set availability times. That way you can see at a glance who is at their desk and when they are available.

Maintaining Productivity Levels

One of the biggest challenges that many organizations see with remote work is maintaining the same level of productivity as when everyone worked in the same office at the same time.

There is no doubt that some people are more motivated and better mentally equipped to cope with remote working than others. However, if you use some proven tactics for improving efficiency it should be possible to achieve good productivity levels.

Removing unnecessary distractions and working in short bursts are good strategies. It has also been shown that if you resist the temptation to multitask you will be more efficient.

If it is proving hard to have the discipline to follow these simple rules there are plenty of apps that prompt you to do them by organizing your goals and schedule each day.

A Final Word

Remote working has its challenges, but there are solutions to almost every one of them. These solutions allow you to work efficiently, and hopefully, enjoy a better work-life balance, too.