Hi there,

The past year has forced huge changes to the way we work and brought a new meaning to work/life balance and flexibility. Here are six tips for remote working success for small businesses.

If you implement the ideas or have any questions about what is in this email, please let me know! My email is: karen@latituderecruitment.com.au

Flexibility is embedded in the Latitude culture. I have been working from home since Latitude started, it really was a necessity as the mother of invention situation – I had young kids and it was easier to be at home than in an office combined with the costs of an office space being prohibitive for a new business. Setting up flexibility from the start was the best option for me as an owner and to enable the business to grow. It was a great selling point when hiring staff and I believe I have happier, highly engaged staff members because of it!

So why is flexibility so important?
The demand now for flexibility is bigger than ever – research has shown that 92% of millennials rate flexibility as a top priority when looking for a role and 80% of women and 52% of men want flexibility from their jobs. Studies have shown that flexibility has positive connections to improved productivity and employee engagement as well as an increase in revenue generation. With all of those great benefits – can you afford to not offer flexibility to your team?

WFH – The new normal
Working from home has been the BIGGEST change in the past year to the way we work, previously it was something that some companies offered, but many thought it just wasn’t necessary – how 2020/21 showed them! Working from home has given parents especially the flexibility once dreamed of. Post COVID most people are wanting a hybrid model where they can work from home but still go into the office a couple of days a week.

Recruitment made easy
Working remotely is magic for small businesses because your talent pool just widened exponentially. If you can have your team work remotely, could your next hire come from another state or city? Now we have gotten used to not having our team physically sit near us – does it matter if they live further away?

6 TIPS TO REMOTE WORKING SUCCESS

1. If you are starting to offer flexible working practices, start small and gradually increase the opportunities with your comfort level – remember to communicate any changes and seek consultation with your team to see how they want to work.

2. Could you offer your team the opportunity to work from home, even part time? If you need to physically have people in the office with you could you offer flexible start and finish times?

3. Have weekly or daily meetings – ideally using video to keep everyone connected and build team morale.

4. Make sure you have the right tech – ensure you can share documents easily or use chat or video call functions so productivity and collaboration remains high.

5. If you do hire someone outside of your area or a 100% remote worker, you will need to go above and beyond for onboarding and keeping in touch with your new team member – making them feel welcome and a part of the team will be crucial to keeping them engaged and productive.

6. Try to still meet with your team in person regularly if it’s possible, it could be weekly, monthly or quarterly – this will help build team morale and keep the team engaged.

Meet your local Latitude Recruitment team! Bianca (left), Karen and Cathie.
Photo: Amy Agnew Photography

Stay tuned to our next monthly newsletter for more tips/tricks from your local HR and recruitment specialists.

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