3 Ways Tech Can Make Remote Work a Success

The world of work has drastically changed in the last few months. Credly Chief Experience Officer, Jarin Schmidt, discusses how organizations can lean into technology to recreate water cooler conversations and nurture remote workers for the future of work. 

Within the past few months, working from homeOpens a new window has morphed from a unique job perk offered to some into a new normal for many. Minimizing contact in the office or on the commute to work is a big part of keeping people healthy as the global pandemic continues to dictate how we live, and the remote lifestyle is an ongoing element of the overall adjustment. 

Despite its novelty for some, remote work has steadily been growing in popularity among knowledge workers over the last few years — and isn’t going away anytime soon. Many organizations, like GoogleOpens a new window or TwitterOpens a new window , are making work-from-homeOpens a new window a standard throughout the rest of the year and even into the unforeseeable future.

Regardless of where you usually work — the office, home, a coworking space or a coffee shop — technology is more than likely already incorporated into much of your workflow. As more people move to a remote settingOpens a new window , naturally, we have to rely more heavily on technology to get the job done. 

Technology plays such an important role in the future of work, and your team must feel comfortable and confident in navigating any of the platforms you choose to integrate into your workflow. Here are the top three areas in which technology will have a huge impact on the future of remote work and how organizations can ensure to get the most out of their toolsOpens a new window . 

Learn More: Working Through COVID-19: Best Practices for Remote WorkOpens a new window

Workplace Communication 

Water-cooler conversations have been replaced by virtual coffee hours hosted on Zoom and GIF-filled threads on Slack. While using these tools such as these can create efficiencies, employees can feel inundated with too much communication in a remote setting. A calendar full of calls and impromptu requests for a “quick chat” can leave little room for them to accomplish other tasks, leading to stress and burnout. When nearly two-thirds of full-time employeesOpens a new window feel burned out on the job, organizations need to minimize and mitigate the causes.

As we become more adept at operating within the structure of remote work, collaboration technology will only play a more significant role in how we communicate. Organizations need to use these tools to their advantage, which involves effective communication that doesn’t overwhelm your team’s workflow. When considering the best way to communicate with their remote workforce, companies should:

• Establish general expectations around availability and response times to ensure consistent communication across teams
• Schedule meeting blocks to avoid constant interruptions
• Avoid overwhelming employees with a large number of tools – select a suite of tools that can be used company-wide

Taking extra steps to ensure your technology works for you will help your team communicateOpens a new window more effectively in a remote workplace. 

Learn More: Permanent Remote Work Is Here: 5 UC Considerations for a Home-Office Setup

Employee Training

With widespread work from home, there is no commute to the office — which has provided more opportunities for employees to focus on development. Because they have more time on their hands, training is happening on a much larger scale. Yet, since online learning Opens a new window is proven less effective than in-person learning, organizations must prepare their L&D strategies for a massive shift to remote workOpens a new window in the long run. 

Technology will play a critical role in keeping employees engaged with your training initiatives. When your team is dispersed, digital representation of their professional achievements is more important than ever. Through digital badgesOpens a new window , you’re not only able to see the full context of what your team members can do as a result of their training but you also have transparency into the commitment of time and effort it took them to obtain that skill. Many organizations are pairing their training initiatives with digital badges to improve their engagement in a remote workplace.

Learn More: 3 Pro Tips for Managing a Remote Workforce

Performance Management

Regular discussion around performance is essential to employee productivity, engagement and happinessOpens a new window . As remote work continues to rise in popularity, the way you evaluate and manage your team’s performance will change. When everyone is remote, technology plays a larger hand in employee assessments, performance reviews and status check-ins.

With a remote workforce, there is less visibility into how your team is performing, where they’re running into roadblocks, and how they’re feeling overall. Organizations that implement regular feedback experience 14.9% lessOpens a new window turnover. Performance management solutions abound and have become an increasingly popular way to track and react to the progress of a remote workforce, especially when paired with digital credentials that provide trusted, verified skill data oftentimes missed when self-reported or manually entered by employees.

Though some parts of the world economy are returning to normal, it will likely be months, even years, until we understand the full impact of the pandemic on the work world. What we do know now is that more organizations are embracing a remote lifestyle than ever because of COVID-19. As the workforce gets accustomed to this way of life, organizations can lean into technology to prepare critical areas of operation for the future of work.

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