4 Tips to set up a home office policy
… It is not today that we hear (and) on the benefits of home office. The concept has been around for some time, but few companies put it into practice. It is rare to find a company in Brazil that, in fact, raise this flag. To get an idea, the Top Employers Institute indicated that 15% of Brazil had adopted some home office practice in 2014. It is a low rate compared with other countries such as the UK and the Netherlands – 65% and 60%, respectively. It is true that we have had significant growth since, in 2013, only 6% of companies in the country followed, in some way, this style. But we still have a long way to maturity.
Institutionalize the home office is no easy task. And several different issues should be taken into account, mainly because not every organization has the right profile for this style. Companies of service desk, for example, need professionals on site at all times, is to address specific issues of support and to have available all the resources necessary to do a good service to the end user. The first step is to define the style of your company.
If you find that your organization fits the mold of the home office, do not wait to test this benefit, the results may appear faster than you think. The gain in quality of life for its employees is perhaps the most obvious point, especially with respect to time. In the metropolitan areas of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, people take on average 43 minutes to get to work. Not to mention the lap time. The number, the IPEA (Institute of Applied Economic Research), shows that we spend 31% more than in other Brazilian cities. Now imagine how it would devote this time to a few more hours of sleep, to resolve private disputes or spending more time with family? Would not you be happy? Well, their employees as well. And we know, happy people produce more.
But not everything is as simple as it sounds, it is necessary, first of all, check some basics to start with this work scheme:
1. Appropriate technology - The employee must have at their disposal all the resources needed to work in another environment other than your office. Before announcing the new measure, check with your IT team if it is possible. All play their software in the cloud? Work remotely? You must ensure that the professional will have all the tools of everyday life and in his home.
2. Agile Support - This is a key area for the whole company, but for those who do home office, it is even more important. The professional must rely on direct, fast and efficient support. Any problem should be solved easily by phone or through other digital media (e-mail or private company network, for example). It should be borne in mind that, unlike an office, employees will not have access to classroom support team and will depend only of these means. Not having the agility to serve you is synonymous with downtime.
3. appropriate security software - Remember: Your employee does not work, most often alone. At some point it will have to share any file or exchange documents. Data can be confidential and you can not run the risk of exposing them. If your company does not have high levels of security, allowing their professional operate from home could jeopardize critical information. Then, deploy a secure sharing software files to facilitate the exchange of information.
4. Employee profile - Not all employees who can make home office. Here the premise “is for, is for everyone” does not fit. This should be very clear to every company. So, before announcing the model, evaluate the functions of all areas and professionals. Determine which roles have this benefit and structure arguments (plausible) to justify the non-implementation at other times. Everything should be very transparent and aligned with business objectives and functions of each sector.
Full article: http://corporate.canaltech.com.br
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