Remote working has been slowly rising in prevalence for several years. That was fast-tracked in the 2020 pandemic when up to 60% of the UK workforce was forced to work from home. Since then, remote working has remained essential for many organisations to continue operating.
But it’s also become more of an attractive option going forward. Having experienced better work-life balance, lower costs and in many cases increased productivity, employers and employees are considering remote working permanently.
With that in mind, remote working has become an essential consideration for charities, both short- and long-term. But to make it a practical option, you need the right tools and systems in place. In this post, we’ll look at three remote working essentials that can allow your team to work from home without any compromise on productivity or staff morale.
1. VoIP
One of the biggest concerns about remote working is your phone system. Using your mobile can look unprofessional, as well as compromising on call quality. On the other hand, forking out for landline calls for all of your employees can soon stack up.
Fortunately, there’s an easier solution. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows you to take work calls through your broadband connection. Calls will be crisp and clear, and they’ll come through the same telephone system as your main office – so clients won’t know any different.
2. Dedicated workspace
When remote working was a novelty, many staff took to their sofas, dining tables or even their beds to get through a day’s work at home. While that might have been fine for a day or two, it soon hit home that remote working would be essential for several weeks and months.
A dedicated workspace is truly essential for anyone working remotely. It enables better productivity because you’re away from the distractions in your home or elsewhere. That will also provide a better work-life balance and protect your mental health, allowing you to ‘switch off’ and move away from work at the end of the day.
Make sure your workspace has plenty of storage such as drawers and shelves, so you have everything you need on hand. On top of that, you should invest in a proper office chair to avoid the lower back and neck pain that has become synonymous with an unsuitable remote working set-up.
3. Collaboration tools
Working remotely doesn’t mean working apart. Or at least it shouldn’t. Charities should make sure they have the right collaboration tools in place so staff can still work together, wherever they’re based. As well as a reliable phone system, consider:
- Screen-sharing – allowing people to work together on the same documents
- Audio-conferencing – so entire teams can work together at once, rather than having to make multiple calls
- Cloud storage – giving everyone access to the latest files
- Project management software – keeping everyone on the same page when it comes to assigning tasks and tracking progress
Remote working essentials for your charity
Effective communication and collaboration are essential when it comes to remote working for charities. At VS Group, we provide dedicated VoIP services for charities. We can build bespoke packages to suit every need to make working remotely a breeze.
Our virtual office platform includes screen-sharing capabilities as well as audio conferencing, so you have everything you need to work effectively from home. To find out more, book a virtual meeting with one of our specialist charity consultants, who can explain how everything works and answer any of your questions.
