Building a Winning Remote Work Plan: Essential Tips & Template Inside

Remote work is very common now, but managing remote employees can be hard.?

Sometimes, there is not enough work, and other times, they work too much.

It can get confusing when you manage people while wearing sweatpants at home.

Luckily, there's an easy way for small businesses to do it right.?

Having a good remote work plan helps keep employees on track and supported.

This guide will show you how to set up a remote work structure and provide a free template to get started.

Let’s dive in.

What Do You Mean By A Remote Work Plan?

As we've gone back to old ways of living and working, many companies are asking employees to return to the office.?????

These changes are causing disagreements between managers and employees. Managers think remote work can hurt the company culture, and some early studies have shown productivity losses from it.

Much of that data has been questioned, often by the same groups. But those early warnings about big problems have stuck in many leaders' minds.

Remote employees, on the other hand, don't want to go back to the old ways. They like the new way of working and living and won't give it up easily.?

Having a remote work plan can help balance these different priorities. A good plan creates an agreement between employers and employees on this new working method.?

It respects in-person work while adapting to today's remote needs.

A great template will highlight the flexibility benefits of remote work and explain company advantages beyond just working remotely.

Done well, a remote work plan becomes a core part of the company's culture. It builds trust, openness, and alignment between managers and remote teams.

Key Components Of A Remote Work Plan

A good remote work plan is a guide to make remote work easier and more productive for employees.?

Employers should make clear rules that remote workers can follow.

Your remote work plan should be clear, detailed, and strong enough to work well across the company. Here are the key parts to include:

1. Business objectives and scope

Your company's goals form the base of the remote work plan.

Share your business strategy with employees and set expected results that match those goals. These could include higher productivity, happier employees, and similar things.

Define which employees and job duties are eligible, what employee performance needs are, and what other core parts are needed to meet your goals.

Next, set clear targets that help your employees understand how to work within the remote plan. Be clear on these targets and how you'll measure them.

Finally, define the scope of your plan.

This covers how long the arrangement lasts and how often they work remotely. For example, they can work from home permanently or remotely for 3 days per week.

It can be permanent or temporary, depending on the situation. But if you plan changes, make this clear from the start.

2. Remote Work Agreement

If the goals and scope are the base of your remote work plan, the agreement is what holds it all together.?

A remote work agreement should clearly show the rules for employees and employers.?

This includes work hours, being available, how to communicate, how you'll evaluate them, and any expectations for going to the office.

Include their job duties, ways to talk to team members, changes to project management, and anything else you may want to review. If you have a way to measure employee productivity, add that to the agreement.??

Employees will usually request remote work through HR. HR will check if the employee qualifies before sending them the remote work agreement to sign.?

The agreement aims to prevent misunderstandings and set the remote work culture.

3. Set Guidelines and Responsibilities

Good rules help employees understand their duties and work productively from home. Here are some things we suggest:

• Employees should have a dedicated workspace. This includes reliable internet and a quiet, distraction-free area

• Employees should follow a daily and weekly schedule for work duties and breaks

• Remote schedules should overlap with each other and in-office team members (if any) for part of the week

• All employees should attend weekly team meetings to discuss progress

• Remote teams should have one-on-one meetings weekly to stay accountable and allow open discussion

• The whole team should know everyone's remote work schedule and hours

4.? Compliance With Policies

You'll want to make clear company rules for your remote teams to follow.?

Think of this as creating your existing employee handbook with remote work in mind.

This could include things such as:

• If this is a permanent or temporary arrangement
• Employee code of behavior??
• Attendance
• Dress code
• Keeping information private
• Cybersecurity and data protection
• No discrimination
• Pay and benefits
• Following industry regulations??
• Internet and computer use
• If you pay for office costs
• Any expected changes to job duties

5. Technical and Equipment Needs

Your remote work plan should list the key equipment and technology you'll give remote employees.?

Tools like a VPN (virtual private network), computer, and communication software will help them work smoothly from home.

Consider giving employees a remote work budget to buy other necessary equipment and software.

Creating A Remote Work Plan For You

Here are some guidelines for creating a remote work plan for you:

1. Establish clear rules and expectations

When managing remote teams, it's become difficult to understand if your teams are working hard or hardly working at all.?

And when they log in at different times from different places, things can get even more complicated.?

Setting clear rules like shared login times can increase teamwork, make people more accountable, and help create a focused work environment.

2. Define employee eligibility and roles

Working remotely is better suited for some roles than others. And some employees are better than others at managing their time and productivity when working from home.

Consider defining which employees can work remotely based on their communication skills, self-discipline, and role requirements.

For example, a car salesperson will likely need to work in person due to the nature of their job, but a dealership administrator may be able to work remotely.

Records like past attendance and productivity levels can help you make informed decisions on an individual employee basis, ensuring you only allow remote work for those who will excel in that position.

3. Set communication and collaboration protocols

Rules like weekly meetings, daily check-ins via video calls, and designated task management systems will help your team succeed while working remotely.

Another thing to consider is regular feedback sessions, bi-weekly or monthly, to foster the professional growth of your employees, address any issues, and help them feel valued and supported.

Occasional virtual events can also improve company culture and employee engagement.

4. Tools and resources required

Keeping remote employees productive and connected often comes down to providing them with the proper tools and resources.?

Resources such as computers, VPNs, and Wi-Fi will prevent interruptions to employee workflows, and communication platforms like Slack will ensure that collaboration doesn't suffer.

Project management tools make it easy to assign tasks and ensure all employees are on the same page.?

And a video conferencing service like Google Meet or Zoom will make meetings easy.?

Look for options that work with your existing platforms.

Workstatus is a remote workforce management tool that can help organizations manage their remote teams effectively.

With Workstatus's time tracking, employers can track the time their remote employees spend on tasks and projects. This makes people more accountable and transparent.?

User activity monitoring (UAM) also allows managers to see how active employees are. This helps them identify areas for improvement or problems.

Workstatus works with many popular tools and platforms, making it easy to use with a company's existing systems.?

This integration ensures a smooth transition for organizations starting remote work, reducing disruptions and increasing efficiency.

Implementing The Remote Work Plan

Even the most complete and clear plan for working from home can fail if you don't put it in place properly. Here are some steps you can take to ensure your organization has a smooth transition:

1. Implementation strategies

• Consider rolling it out slowly with a small group or department first before implementing your plan across the company. This allows you to identify any problems and make small changes

• Organize training sessions to help employees understand the plan's rules, tools, and resources

• Keep communication open and encourage employees to share their experiences throughout the implementation process

2. Tracking effectiveness

Scheduling regular check-ins, tracking performance numbers, and collecting feedback are great ways to track how effective your remote work plan is.?

Workstatus productivity tracking features are excellent for collecting and analyzing employee data.

Closing Thoughts

A plan for a remote team is important to ensure employees stay productive and focused and feel supported and happy in their jobs. It starts by setting clear rules and structures that match your company's long-term goals.?

Additionally, being flexible and talking with your team will allow you to keep improving the plan as you implement it.?

And, after it's all done, you might find your company's culture is even stronger than when everyone was working from the same place.

FAQs

Ques. How does Workstatus track time?

Ans. With Workstatus, employees can start a timer when they begin working. The tool records the time spent on tasks and projects. This data is available to managers.

Ques. What productivity features does Workstatus offer?

Ans. Workstatus can take screenshots and record app/URL activity to show what employees are working on. Managers can see active windows and apps used during work hours.

Ques. How does Workstatus help with project management?

Ans. Workstatus has tools to assign tasks, set due dates, and track project progress. Employees and managers can see who is working on what. Files can also be shared within Workstatus.