Allowing your firm members to work remotely can really play a big role in boosting morale and improving the employer-employee equation. Paying heed to your employee’s needs and their wishes reals amps up their zeal to perform better for you. Emergencies or situations that abstain a person from being physically present at the workplace can arise anytime and as a firm owner when you’re empathetic to the call of your employees, it instills a sense of security in them towards their employer. Many surveys have stated that firms who promote/allow remote working for their employees receive up to eight times more job applications than other firms who do not.

Let’s know 3 ways, how you can reap the benefits of remote working:

Redefine Your Policies

Firm owners, who are not very open-minded, have a deluded perception about remote working. Such a view can hinder the adoption of new concepts and work culture. One should acknowledge the fact that the concept of remote working is not all that new, it has been around in the past decade. Many firms have off-site consultants and tax prepares that pitch for clients. The human resource department of your firm should develop official policies based on remote work practices that already exist and work around the preferences, work culture of your employees. There should be parameters and limits to keep the employees in check when they work remotely such as quality of work, detailed performance report, and time taken to complete the designated task. Remote staff should not be treated any differently from the on-site employees. They should also be expected to abide by the firm policies, including the security and confidentiality clauses.

Check and Upgrade Your Technological Infrastructure

You can get around a seamless remote work process only if you have the right technology for it. Without the proper technological infrastructure, you won’t be able to conduct remote working collaboration. One of the key steps, in order to implement a remote work friendly environment, is to digitize all client data and inter employee communication so that work documents, applications for tax accounting can be accessed simultaneously in a collaborative manner. In order to ensure uniformity, it should be made sure that all these tools and applications can securely be accessed at the same performance levels across all systems and employees, whether onsite or remotely. The best resort to ensure a uniform, unaltered access to data anytime anywhere is cloud hosting. Almost all of your accounting, tax, and payroll software are cloud compatible and yield better productivity, when on the cloud. With apps on the cloud, employees can access their work data from any smart device with internet connectivity. This would eliminate the need for them to be tied down to their computers and would grant them the freedom to work at ease, while as a firm owner, you get the benefit of all your tasks getting completed. When configuring the environment for remote working, one optimal factor that needs to be kept in mind is that all remote workers need to figure out a separate, private space, that shall be free of distractions and is safe enough to store confidential physical documents.

Upgrade Your Communication Tools

Collaborative digital communication plays a vital role when it comes to extracting the maximum possible productivity from remote working employees. This is where apps like Skype, Slack, Trello, and Microsoft Teams come into play. These apps help integrate messaging, audio and video communication, task assigning in groups, and screen sharing thus promoting inter-employee interactions regardless of location. Putting these tools to positive use enhances overall project management digitally and allows everyone involved in a particular project, gain access to project status, track advancements, and raise requirements if any. These apps are easy to install, use, and update thus promoting the remote work culture and encouraging the employees to give their fullest even when not physically present in the office premises. Seamless sharing of information and collaborative working when using such tools, help cope with the challenges that may have otherwise risen.

Conclusion

With millennials comprising most of the workforce in the present day, promoting remote work has become a surging trend. The millennials tend to keep quality of life and comfort working amongst their top priorities and remote working allows just that. Companies should start off by making gradual changes in order to promote remote work and off-site employees. With the advancement in technology, it is hardly a drawback to not have an employee physically present in the office. The modern-day tech, lets the employer be well connected and in sync even with the remote employees. Failing to offer and implement remote work can put firms in a compromising position and with a competitive disadvantage. If your firm isn’t on the remote working trend yet or doesn’t have policies in accordance with it, then now is just the right time to get started!

A coworking space is not just about getting out of an unhealthy work situation or a rented desk, it is a source of inspiration, networking, collaborating, making new friends, getting work done and a source to create new opportunities for your business.

Whether you are a freelancer, have entrepreneurial goals or are running a small business; if you have decided that it is time get out of an unhealthy work environment, let Starbucks have its corner table back and join a coworking space now.

Let’s discuss the best ways for entrepreneurs or freelancers to network in a coworking environment in order to get the most out of their coworking experience, personally and professionally.

Get to Know Your Coworking Members or Coworkers in order to Take advantage of The Networking Opportunities

The biggest benefit you are likely to find with coworking spaces is the potential for networking.

A coworking space is nothing without its members; it is about the people, not about the space.

Coworking is all about the built-in community of like-minded professionals working across different industries.

The best way to get something out of your coworking community is to constantly interact with your coworkers after you introduce yourself.

Make an effort to visit the most social areas of the coworking space but be appropriate about networking during coworking hours.

Grab a coffee, go out to lunch or go to networking events in the space to get to know your coworking members or coworkers. Make sure to attend a mix of social and professional events to best build relationships and get the most out of your new community

You are working alongside like-minded professionals who might be able to help you solve a problem or give you advice, so the best way to know about who is in the space and about their business is to study the space’s member directory.

As you successfully network with other coworking members, you have the opportunity to collaborate with others, which will give you a competitive edge that could possibly lead to new and exciting future projects as well as gain you potential clients.

Conclusion

Clearly networking at coworking spaces can have a lot of perks and advantages for your business or for your professional career. It all depends on how you take advantage of the networking opportunities to shape up your experience but the benefits are there for you and your business.

Emma is a qualified internet marketing consultant who offers a variety of business services for the online entrepreneur specializing in mobile development and mobile design. Her primary goal is to work with businesses to achieve a greater online presence in growing their respective business and brand.

Coworking is a way of working that is not only an opportunity for bootstrapping a startup, but also for overcoming the entrepreneur’s blues. It’s an inexpensive means of support and office space.

Sharing space and talent

Coworking is an emerging trend for a new pattern for working. As well as entrepreneurs, work-at-home professionals or independent contractors, or people who travel frequently end up working in relative isolation. Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.

Some coworking spaces were developed by nomadic internet entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to working in coffee shops and cafes, or to isolation in independent or home offices. The ‘movement’ is spreading and more spaces are opening across the US and in many countries round the world. The phenomenon is international and the term ‘coworking’ is even used in other languages, as in ‘©spaces coworking’ in French.

Coworking is growing fast

Estimates suggest there were some 760 coworking places in the US in 2011, up nearly 90% over the year before. The rise in coworking places is due to technologies like cloud computing and more women and freelancers in the workforce, as well as startups.

As Jane Hodges of the Wall Street Journal says, “Telecommuters, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed all grapple with the logistical challenges of working alone. At home, workers face isolation and domestic distraction. At the corner coffee shop offering free WiFi, there’s insufficient privacy, too few electrical outlets and the nuisance of latte orders shouted out throughout the day.”

Different coworking spaces have slightly different takes

Office Nomads in Seattle say, “Coworking is not a desk rental business. It’s not about the printers or the conference rooms. Coworking is about people. Coworking spaces bring together independent workers and provides them with a space in which they can work alongside one another in community.”

New Work City in New York say pretty much the same: “We’re the gathering spot for a community of like-minded individuals who need somewhere to work that’s both creative and social, and professional and conducive to working. We’re not an office space. We don’t rent desks. There are lots of businesses in NYC that offer those services; in fact we’re part of a coalition of them. Instead of renting desks, we offer memberships.”

Conjunctured in Austin, Texas say they, “provide a creative environment for entrepreneurs that encourages collaboration. Through a workflow, cursory needs are fulfilled, leaving you with the freedom to find or fuel your passions. Innovation occurs while collaborating with individuals with a shared purpose.” It’s a coworking space with a growing community of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and mobile workers who have grown tired of working alone.

For people on the move, coworking spaces exist all over

A ‘coworking visa’ is a new idea that allows active members of one space, when traveling, to use another coworking space, gratis. Current participating spaces are located in 25 cities in the US with a growing number in other cities outside the US. Loosecubes brings places with spare workspaces together with those needing them. They’ve found that coworking can lead to new jobs, partnerships, referrals, and friendships.

Coworking spaces can be had on all kinds of different pricing plans. Some are based on monthly arrangements and vary by intensity of use. Then there are often rentals on an ‘as needed’ basis, by the day or week, or it could be just for the use of a conference room. Additional services may also be available- such as printing, copying, a mailing address or storage locker. Deals generally include the use of coffee. Regus, the managed office space company, offers Businessworld, a subscription service with membership cards for their 1,200 locations.

Directories of coworking will connect you

As coworking become a very normal practice, generally in cities, all around the world, there are directories popping up so that you can always find a space on the move. Some directories are limited to geographic areas or countries. LiquidSpace is an example of a mobile app that connects people seeking workspace with venues that have space to share. High-end business centers, hip startup co-working spaces, hotels, and private spaces are listed.

The term coworking is not the only term in use-it includes desksurfing, desktime and shared desks. The more widely interpreted terms such as business centers, shared offices, and even wifi cafes. Though the concept of wifi cafes will even extend to McDonalds, most of which have people working on their laptops these days. But they are not dedicated to work and don’t lend themselves to extended work use.

In corporate offices, the term hot-desking has been in use for a long time, as companies make reductions in overheads. Some of the coworking spaces are in fact made available by companies with surplus space.

 

William Keyser, a veteran entrepreneur, is Managing Director of Venture Founders LLC: How To Start a Business. Startup Owl offers a wealth of free information and advice to would-be and early stage entrepreneurs.

Will is a veteran entrepreneur with VC experience and he is committed to help business startups to: clarify their business purpose; sharpen their business model; better their business plan; speed their market entry; offer customer value; finance their business right; grow their business strongly; survive their business challenges-more effectively than they might do on their own.

Will teaches strategy and entrepreneurship on an MBA program, and serves on non-profit boards.