Remote Working Continues: Five Crucial Questions

Widespread remote working looks set to continue as COVID-19 numbers rise around the world. Questionmark, an online assessment platform, encourages employers to ask five crucial questions on their readiness. Answering them will help business leaders ensure they support staff during a difficult time and maintain productivity.

remote working
(Photo: Questionmark)

While news of the vaccine gave hope that restrictions could soon be eased, remote working will remain the norm at least throughout the early months of 2021.

Five Crucial Questions About Remote Working

  1. Do workers know how to thrive, not just survive? To embrace opportunities, employers must ensure teams have the skills to succeed from home, not just to maintain business as usual.
  2. How can the “water cooler moment” be replicated? Do employers have a strategy to replace the learning which transferred organically across teams when people met face to face?
  3. Is there a remote training plan in place? Despite the challenges, it’s vital that team members learn new skills and develop their careers.
  4. Are workers coping? Some at-home workers struggle to focus. Others have battled with burnout. Do employers have a clear sense of which team members need support and what kind of support is necessary?
  5. How are business practices like onboarding and recruitment working? It’s vital that employers have a robust plan for recruiting the best staff and integrating them into teams, even when physical meetings are not possible.

Employers need clear information about the progress of each of their people to answer these questions. Information from online skills and attitude assessments can demonstrate which team members are continuing to develop crucial skills. Tests and assessments reveal areas of weakness and identify where training is required. Assessments and surveys also indicate which team members are struggling and what kind of support will help.

“It’s vital that employers ensure staff have what they need to get going in 2021,” said Lars Pedersen, CEO of Questionmark. “But at the same time, disruption to business processes continue. Remote learning and training will be all the more important in the coming year.

“By gathering valuable information through online assessments, employers can build an accurate picture of what support is needed to ensure team members thrive,” Pedersen continued. “They can introduce the correct support strategies and make better decisions around recruitment, onboarding, training and career development.”

The following Questionmark Viewpoint reports explore how employers can make better decisions about managing the remote workforce:

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