More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, workers worldwide are still Zoom-ing into virtual office environments. With no sign of this changing anytime soon—in fact, a survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review reported that only “18% [of workers] want to go back to the office full-time”–we find ourselves in a new world. Now the concepts of commuting, work-life balance, and productivity have taken new meanings.
Ensuring that workers are “working-from-home” and not “living-at-work” requires investment in proper internal comms software for three main reasons:
- Organization of files and employee tools increases worker productivity and saves time.
- Employee connectedness and team building prevents isolation and encourages employee wellness.
- Flexible scheduling promotes family time and helps balance work and personal duties.
Read on to explore these topics in more detail and discover how an intranet can elevate your business!
All your files, in one place!
With remote work, there is no physical filing cabinet full of documents required to productively work. And productivity plays a crucial role in work-life balance, as a study by the London School of Economics found that workers who agreed that they had proper work-life balance also had higher work productivity levels. So why does dedicated software for file sharing increase productivity? Let’s break it down!
Investing in intranet software (whether it’s on-premise or cloud-based) that stores company files can save valuable time. Workers no longer need to sift through endless emails to find the attachment they’re looking for. Nor do they need to resend the same attachment multiple times when a colleague inevitably cannot find it in their inbox (something we’ve all been guilty of at some point). In a hybrid work model, this also means that employees won’t have to commute to pick up paperwork from another colleague. Everything can be uploaded to one shared location.
Furthermore, unlike email attachments, intranets will contain the most recent version of your files, whether you’re using our on-site intranet or a cloud-based solution. That means a day won’t be wasted working with out-of-date information, and the employee won’t have to put in extra working hours to correct the mix-up. All of this saves time and energy so that employees can be more productive in their daily tasks. This aids in avoiding burnout caused by document disorganization.
Ultimately, with this “single source of truth” (as we like to call it!), employees work smarter when working from home. By working smarter, employees can more efficiently and productively complete their tasks and avoid unnecessary hours spent searching for information.
Connecting with your team and keeping them close, thousands of miles away
Isolation has been THE most significant issue with remote work environments. With employees located across the city (or even the country!), ensuring that workers get important updates in a timely manner is paramount in ensuring productive work.
With a dedicated intranet service, you can automate and send updates to your workers. Gentle reminders to take breaks, to take care of their mental health, and to check in with colleagues and management to ensure their workload is manageable are all possible. Even in moments of crisis, when your employees may be out in hard-to-reach places, you can rest assured that all necessary information will be delivered to workers. Communication, an intranet, and safety go hand-in-hand, and with integrated software such as IC’s, all of those come together in the most intuitive way.
Furthermore, your company intranet can be a place for workers to share work achievements, give tips on managing mental health, and organize social events to keep the workplace connected. There is a direct correlation between how happy employees are at work, how happy they are outside of work, their productivity, and their work-life balance. By ensuring that your employees have all the possible tools and communication platforms needed to enjoy their time at work, you are cultivating an environment that is happier and more productive, allowing workers to feel more content in their personal lives.
Flexible scheduling to promote family time
At the onset of the COVID pandemic and the adoption of WFH, those with demanding home lives found that they were now able to structure their workday around their personal tasks. In recent studies, young mothers who moved their working hours to accommodate their children’s schedules reported an increase in productivity and satisfaction both at work and home.
With solid internal communications software, those for whom typical 9-5 work hours don’t work still have all the resources and tools necessary to complete their duties. File sharing is an asset as workers know exactly where their required documents are, regardless of the time they access them. With quick access to their managers and colleagues via internal blogs and updates, you can keep the culture of your office alive at home, and workers can still feel “part of the team” by keeping updated with their colleagues through the company intranet.
How IC can help improve your workers’ productivity
In 2022, workers have the freedom to define what work-life balance looks like for them, while still maintaining productivity and the social aspect of work. However, for employers to properly take advantage of the future of WFH, investment in easy-to-use internal communications software is needed. Features such as the ones mentioned in this blog are all needed to realize the potential of your remote workers fully.
We can help with all that! Learn more today by booking a demo to see our internal communications software in action.
