7 Tips For Getting the Most From Your Home-Based Tech Team

Nearly half of all tech workers now have the option of working from home, with 95 percent of these intending to do so. Companies are taking advantage of this opportunity to allow their employees greater flexibility and hire the best brains from anywhere in the world.

To maintain productivity with a remote team, you need to:

• Ensure you have the most efficient technology for the new system.

• Protect your data from the increased risk posed by a decentralized work environment.

• Use technology in a way that maximizes workforce productivity and morale.

Let's take a look at what steps you need to take to achieve this.

Have a Good Video Call System in Place

There is no substitute for seeing your colleagues or employees as you discuss your projects and outline instructions. The Zoom videotelephony system is probably the best known and most widely used app of this type.

Zoom is greatly favored in the tech sphere, with the computer software industry forming the largest single segment of its customer base. It provides videoconferencing for up to 1,000 participants, with auto-generated, searchable transcripts.

You can also integrate Zoom with third-party apps. For instance, you can use it to join a Microsoft Teams meeting. To top it all, there's even a filter that allows you to touch up your face as it appears on the screen - no more worries about joining a conference with that just-got-out-of-bed look.

Make Sure Your Data is Secure

The Covid pandemic has shown that many companies have difficulty adapting their cybersecurity to the situation where their employees are no longer working from the same location.

If you’re managing a tech team, security is vital, as you will be working on programs and code that can be stolen in bulk by hackers. All communication needs to be encrypted by means of a VPN. This makes it unreadable to anyone other than the sender and recipient. Consider testing a VPN for your business with a free Surfshark trial.

Invest in Good Project Management Software

Of the minority of tech workers who wish to stay in the office, 63 percent say they’re doing so because remote working makes it harder to collaborate. With the right project management tools, however, this problem can be overcome.

Project management software simplifies the managing of timetables, tasks and files. In addition to this, it factors in workers' time zones, schedules, and availability to discuss projects.

With project management software, resources and workflows are clearly presented, and the distribution of work is simplified and streamlined. Costs and deadlines can be managed and controlled more easily.

Among the tools most favored by tech teams from successful companies are Flow, Paper, Trello, Roadmunk, Basecamp and Wrike. The exact package you need depends on the type of tasks you manage, the number of workers, and what kind of devices they normally work on.

Use a Time Tracker

With many tech employees and contractors being paid by the hour, it's vital to ensure compliance and productivity, in addition to tracking payment. There is a wide range of time-tracking apps available to do this.

By monitoring mouse movements and taking regular screenshots, these apps ensure the remote worker is engaged in a specified project during a given time.

Some trackers will also analyze activity and help assess productivity, making the planning of projects much easier.

Get an Email Client

When you’re engrossed in coding or programming, the last thing you need is to sort through mountains of proliferating email. This problem is magnified when co-workers are all communicating remotely. You can solve this problem with an email client.

This is an interface that helps you manage your email sequence. A good email client will:

• Sort all mail, using a smart search of your inbox to categorize messages and assign priority.

• "Snooze" messages that are not immediately important.

• Assign emails to the correct team members, so that each task is matched to the appropriate person.

• Provide reminders to follow up on important emails at the appropriate time.

• Allow multiple team members to work on the same email in real time, without confusion or duplication.

Setting up an efficient email client is an indispensable part of streamlining your remote system.

Optimize Your Employees' Work Environment

The point of working from home is that staff can have the freedom to choose their own environment and adjust their work-life balance to suit themselves.

However, you should help them as much as possible to maximize their productivity. What distractions are there that could be eliminated?

Apps such as Serene and Focus block selected websites, as well as all social media notifications, to help employees to concentrate.

For more assistance, there are apps that allow you to create customized background sound that helps you focus on your work. For instance, Brain.fm specializes in music specifically designed to enhance concentration.

Use Communication Technology Wisely

While ensuring good communication, use the medium that intrudes the least on your workers’ activity and privacy.

Don't schedule video conference calls unless a face-to-face discussion is absolutely necessary. Use email or pre-recorded video messages for all non-urgent communication.

While contact with staff is vital, giving them their freedom and privacy is one of the biggest advantages of remote working.

Conclusion

Remote working has great attractions for both employers and staff. It eliminates the cost and stress of commuting for employees while reducing the expenditure on office space for employers.

In addition to this, it gives employees a better work-life balance, enabling them to minimize the impact of their work on their family commitments.

Tech companies of the future can expect to have workers spread over multiple continents. They can hire the best specialists in every field, without the burden of immigration restrictions.

Those that wish to stay competitive need to make careful choices in adapting their technology and business practices to the world of remote working.