Over the last few years, the amount of businesses that have at least one remote worker has exploded. This is largely due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many businesses (and entire nations) to enforce social distancing – the result was that remote work became the new norm. But even as businesses begin to open their offices once more, there is still a major trend of remote work – and it is unlikely to go away any time soon.
As remote work is an inherently digital trend, we reached out to some IT support companies London businesses have used to support their remote work practices. One company – TechQuarters – stated that they have been working remotely since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (and helped many clients with the same process). According to them, a significant challenge is how businesses onboard remote workers.
Challenges with Remote Onboarding
Onboarding a new hire has always been a complex process, as it involves getting the new employee acquainted with all the systems and practices of their new company. There are challenges inherent to integrating remote work in a business, which include:
- Lack of face-to-face interaction
- Communication and collaboration hurdles
- Ensuring access to necessary resources and tools
These challenges make the process of onboarding even harder. We asked TechQuarters about this, and they had several tips to offer any business that wants to make their onboarding process easier for both the company and the new hire:
- Pre-Start Tech Checks
The first and most obvious tip is to ensure that the new hire’s tech is up to standards before their first day at the job. For a new remote employee, it can be both frustrating and isolating to ‘turn up’ to their new job only to find that they have no access to company systems, comms, or other resources.
Businesses nowadays typically provide new hires with company-owned devices. Ensuring that these arrive ahead of the first day is important; as an IT support provider London companies rely on for remote solutions, TechQuarters stated that they usually run tests on the devices both prior to sending them out, and once the new hire has set them up in their home.
- Virtual Desktop (and other BYOD solutions)
Organisations should also have a backup plan in place, in case the device or other tech that the new remote hire needs is not available to them on the day they start. TechQuarters pointed to various “Bring Your Own Device” (aka BYOD) solutions that make this possible.
A secure way to allow the new hire to access company systems, applications, and data from a personal device can ensure that they are able to work if there are any delays to their official company-owned device arrives.
Virtual Desktops – such as Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and Windows 365 – are an excellent way to enable users to access company resources from a personal device, whilst ensuring that company security is maintained (a virtual desktop means that no company data gets stored on a non-company device).
- Invest in Remote Employees’ Space
Another major challenge of remote working in general is ensuring that the employee has a space that is conducive to their work. Not everyone has the same living situation, and some people’s home environment might not be ready to support their work.
According to TechQuarters, it is an important responsibility for businesses to ensure that workers have the right equipment. Having provided IT support Central London businesses have relied on for over 10 years, they know all about the importance of tech-based ergonomics – RSI, eye-strain, so-called ‘tech-neck’, etc.
Any business that offers remote work as an option should also be prepared to invest in any equipment that the employee might need for their home workspace.