Remote Development – iView Labs

Is working with a remote tech team for long sustainable? Here’s why most companies are adopting the remote model.

A survey by Owl labs reveals 59% of employees would be more likely to choose an employer who offered remote work compared to those who didn’t. So, perhaps the question of ‘whether remote-work is sustainable’ is rather misplaced and should fact me ‘how can you establish a sustainable remote-work model in your organisation?

While several businesses have transitioned into a remote or hybrid setup, business managers need to be aware of a few caveats this move bears. But once these challenges are addressed, the business impact of embracing remote work can be astounding. We have already discussed why having a remote workforce makes good business sense.

But, long-term success requires a planned approach and a sustained effort to transform the organisational culture.

But if it’s so much effort, why are businesses adopting remote working in the first place? Think of less office workspace, fewer rentals, less commuting, fewer trips, higher productivity and greater employee focus- when you look at the perks and incentives for both employees and employers, remote work starts seeming more effortless than an office setup with full strength.

So, how can businesses make remote work sustainable

By enabling employees to work from different cities around the world and change their compensation accordingly, remote setup can save larger organisations millions of dollars. The only need is that businesses make their initial investment in establishing the right processes in place.

Let’s go through some solutions that can help us face the special challenges of remote working and make it healthy and sustainable for the long run:

Plan it: Of course, the success of remote work depends on having a solid plan. The move to a remote setup requires close collaboration with other organisational executives, feedback from the team on the goals, and provision of the necessary equipment. Establish processes, methodologies, and protocols to be followed for all day-to-day operations so that everyone who joins your projects is aware of the entire modus-operandi and can do their bit as desired.

Build the right digital infrastructure: Remember that providing the appropriate tools is perhaps the most crucial step in guaranteeing the successful operation of a remote model for any firm. In order for smoother collaboration, you might need to invest in the right software that can allow teams spread across geographies to communicate and collaborate effectively. Integrated tools that can easily be accessed Businesses can use various solutions managed by professionals like iView Labs that can guide their operations in the proper direction.

Master the hiring and training process: Working remotely is no exception to enhancing employee performance through learning and skill development. There are several ways to set up and manage remote training depending on the needs of a business, and the procedure works differently for different organisations. Making all training programmes accessible while maintaining their engagement is a great place to start.

A remote recruitment service can look for specialised abilities and experience matching an organisation in time-friendly countries. You can consider having a reliable recruitment partner to manage your remote workforce needs. This will help businesses master their onboarding and training process. Remote recruiters increase the talent pool by looking for prospects everywhere.

Take care of employees: Remote work raises stress levels by disrupting work-life balance or escalating friction between work and personal life, according to a study. Many studies have shown that people who work remotely often struggle with overworking, increasing their labour hours. So you need to ensure that you touch base with your employees regularly, understand their challenges and find ways to address them on a continuous basis.

Remote work is not just sustainable for your business but also for the environment

Lockdown memories of rush-hour silence, and fading haze at dawn during the pandemic support the notion that remote working intrinsically benefits the environment. Consider commuting: transportation is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Eliminating millions of people’s daily commutes and replacing them with WFH policies appears to be a simple climate win. Reduced foot traffic in large corporate buildings can cut paper, furniture, and food waste. As a result, WFH may have a net positive impact on waste management techniques.

Furthermore, organisations can simultaneously increase employee productivity while reaching sustainability objectives by implementing sustainability policies that provide co-benefits (such as financial and environmental rewards).

Remote working is more likely to stay than not and will become an even more important part of how we operate in the future. Businesses should begin preparing for this “return to the new normal” as soon as possible.

[Footnote]

At iView Labs, we offer technical team talent on demand to supplement or add to businesses’ current capacity and meet their needs for technical development. In accordance with the talents required by the business, we match, build, manage, and operate their technical teams for a more sustainable functioning. This broadly fits with the core principle of the digitisation movement, in which technology should ease your life and allow free creative minds to reach new heights. Rest assured that our team will continue to put our best foot forward to deliver astounding results. Want us to become a part of your growth journey? Get in touch today.

To know more about iView Labs, kindly log on to our website www.iviewlabs.com and to get in touch with us with your queries and needs, just write us an email at info@iviewlabs.com and sales@iviewlabs.com. Download the latest portfolio to see our work.

Let’s talk about the challenges you might face working remotely (and how to address them)

Without a doubt, working remotely has become a norm in the post-pandemic era. There is no dreadful commute; no supervisors or co-workers are looking over your shoulder, and there is no need to get up early to be ready for work. [Add Business leader perspective here– how remote work helps in cost-savings, happier employees etc. Also, working from home is amazing!

But everything nice comes at a cost. While remote work is becoming more common, there are still challenges, especially if you have a team of employees working remotely.

As per a United Nations Labour Organization report, employees who work outside the typical office are more productive, but they are also more likely to work longer hours at a faster pace, experience work-home interference, and, in some cases, experience higher levels of stress.

Working remotely, whether from home or another location, can be isolating, lead to ineffective time management, and present technical difficulties. So today, we have highlighted some of the challenging aspects of managing a WFH team along with solutions.

Your tech trips you up

Office technology is usually speedy and of high quality. Without active IT support, high-end equipment, and a reliable internet connection, one may frequently encounter problems at work. Similarly, if your team collaborates on projects and uses specific tools, you should ensure all your team members have access to those same tools.

How to address this?

Although it might seem like a minor problem, many remote employees have tried and failed to work from places where phone coverage and internet speeds are inadequate for the task. The most important step is to invest in high-quality technology, especially crucial office equipment like a strong router, extenders, and power backup. Employers can allocate a separate budget to ensure a seamless office-grade tech infrastructure at home for employees.

Team communication is patchy

Video calls are an effective strategy for one-to-one communication, although technical challenges and outages may leave employees in the dark. When the intended message is not successfully communicated across the team, miscommunication can occur. Remote teams that rely mostly on emails and chats are particularly prone to this issue.

How can this be addressed?

Using an efficient process can help in creating an efficient, error-free communication pathway. For instance, using channels on Slack for tech support and social media where employees can share ideas/report complaints that they might be facing at home. Moreover, using available communication channels, including voice calls, video meetings, emails and chats, can make the whole process more efficient. Use grammatical checks, for instance, before sending an email to prevent mistakes that can obstruct communication. A smart idea would be to choose the appropriate channel for a given situation.

As we discussed earlier, getting the right tools is crucial. Your business should choose which tools to employ based on your employee strength, frequency of communication and work culture. in addition to Skype, Slack, and Zoom, to make these alternate work arrangements successful. For instance, employees could use an internal messenger for direct communication. Ensure not to use too many tools as that can lead to scattered communication. Having an integrated communication tool helps – so whether you are broadcasting a message to everyone or want to discretely assign tasks to specific teams or people – you should be able to do so with one tool. Also, ensure this tool has an easy UI and can be operated from mobile- as that’s the most preferred device for quick communication these days.

Lack of a balanced work-life schedule

According to a study, telework elevates stress levels by disturbing work-life balance or increasing work-life conflict. Additionally, research demonstrates that those who work remotely frequently engage in overworking, which leads to an increase in working hours.

How can we address this?

With over a gazillion tools at disposal, employers can ensure that their WFH staff isn’t overworked through proper micromanagement and planning. Setting targets for employees at the beginning of the day through team meetings can help them plan their day better. Moreover, tools such as ASANA can help track the team’s daily activities, which can keep the staff motivated.

For employees they need to ensure that try to stick to a schedule. They have several alternatives for planning their daytime schedule. Furthermore, taking pauses as needed may be an excellent way to unwind. Setting reminders to step away from the desk is one method for achieving this.

Lack of leadership approachability

When working remotely, employees frequently feel a little lost because they cannot stroll over to a senior’s desk and ask for assistance. Team members can interact with paperwork, items, projects, and each other without any practical restrictions when they are in the same office.

However, since there is no physical presence, it can be difficult to follow individual efforts, and communication can be more difficult, especially for large teams and complex projects.

How do we handle this?

Effective communication is the first thing you need for distant collaboration. Email is simply inadequate for communicating with a remote workforce. You require an immediate, responsive, and flexible solution. Employers can have virtual meetings and group discussions where they can bring up the issues they face. Moreover, mentoring and reverse-mentoring (senior employees learn from the younger staff) to ensure the team remain coherent.

Moreover, employees can calendarize feedback loops that will help ensure you understand the issues and real-life challenges in existing processes so that they can be addressed in the long run

Thankfully, there are tools available for practically every challenge a remote team manager might face. You will mostly require project management software to assign tasks and track progress. To this, there are a number of alternatives.

How Can iView Labs Help?

At iView Labs, we’re firmly convinced that technology, if leveraged well and when clubbed with well-thought processes, can provide a smooth remote working environment for both employees and businesses. This broadly fits with the core principle of the digitisation movement, in which technology should ease your life and allow free creative minds to reach new heights.

Rest assured that our team will continue to put our best foot forward to deliver an active, engaged and sustainable remote workforce. Want us to become a part of your growth journey? Get in touch today.

How to build a remote team from scratch quickly and effectively

As more and more businesses start warming up to new ways of working, remote teams are becoming widespread. Needless to say, hiring remote teams is one of the best business decisions a leader can take today to keep pace with the changing corporate world. However, establishing remote teams also presents some peculiar difficulties. To ensure that you hire talented workers, engage extensively in their training, and actively seek to boost their morale, you must plan smartly.

So, what does it take to build a productive remote team? Broadly, employers may ensure the following to build a productive remote working setup:

A proven and effective hiring process
Open communication channels
Productivity-boosting incentives
A mechanism to measure and monitor progress

Hiring the right employees

When you plan to hire remote employees, often the recruitment process will likely be remote as well. So you’ll need to adopt a different strategy than you would for employing regular employees. First of all, since your employees will be working alone for the majority of the day, recruiting self-motivated individuals is a wonderful skill set to look for. You can also look for employees who have already worked in a remote setup and are comfortable working and collaborating with remote teams.

It often also becomes important for the business to hire individuals that don’t require to be trained extensively and can demonstrate proven expertise in the field for which they are being employed. Employers can test candidates by asking open-ended as well as specific questions to test both their attitude as well as aptitude.

Time-zone of your employees is another point to factor in. If you need to have in-person team meetings, target your geographical locations accordingly. On the other hand, if you’re looking to expand your team in a way that your business stays active 24×7, you can look at locations in time zones complementary to yours- this can also be based on where your client is located.

For instance, we hire the right people to fulfil your business needs at the right time. Send us the tech team brief, and based on your requirements, our team will recommend the most suitable profiles. Once we receive a favourable response, our staff will present the profiles most compatible with the role.

Deciding your hiring model structure

One of the numerous benefits of remote hiring is to be able to choose staff members according to a project. You can choose to hire part-time employees, freelancers, full-time employees or mix and match in a contract-based setup.

Decide the perks and benefits you wish to offer while also freezing the pay structure, schedule and modes. You can always take external assistance to help you manage the entire human resource planning for remote work.

Based on the skills you need, the number of employees needed, and the length of the project, iView labs may assist you in finding the ideal tech team, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Getting the tools right

Your business can employ a variety of remote work tools, in addition to MS Teams, Slack, and Zoom, to make these alternate work arrangements successful. For an added layer of security, you can also get dedicated white-labelled solutions customized for your business.

To make remote-work easier, employers must also make sure that necessary tools, such as project management, time monitoring, and communication, are available to employees. Also, set sprint meetings to check on daily, weekly, monthly progress as and when required- having a SCRUM master could be quite effective in this case.

And while you pick the right tools from those available in the market, also ensure you don’t overwhelm your employees with too many of these products. Security and privacy issues must also be taken care of with due diligence. The tools should work in assisting employees make their tasks easier and should not serve as an obstacle to speed and productivity.

Maintaining high engagement levels

Remote employees are more prone to feeling isolated from the rest of the organisation. The impact of this issue on the business may be significantly greater if the entire team works remotely. Disconnected feelings can impact productivity and can lead to higher attrition rates, consequently impacting both top and bottom line.

As a result, a business needs to invest in the right processes for engagement. Additionally managers, and human resources can take proactive measures to guarantee that workers are actively engaged, such as:

Holding team meetings weekly or bi-weekly;
Check-in with each employee one-on-one, especially those who live alone;
Participating in enjoyable activities such as virtual games, quizzes or anything else that may foster a sense of teamwork.
Rewarding milestones or sending a written note of appreciation to employees.

A system to monitor and track progress

As previously stated, implementing tracking tools is one method of holding employees accountable for respecting workplace standards. Building an integrated app that allows you to assign as well as track work can go a long way in building the right remote working culture. It should be easy for the higher as well as middle management to visualize progress towards a goal, set milestones and assess team and individual performance. This will lead to a streamlined and transparent way of working with business leaders feeling in control even when the organisation is scattered across geographies.

If you are looking for a Technology Talent partner, we at iViewLabs will be happy to help. Just fill in this easy form to get in touch with us with your queries and needs. You can also write to us at info@iviewlabs.com and sales@iviewlabs.com.

Why having a remote team makes good business sense

Without question, over the past year and a half, the workplace has changed significantly. Working from home all the time limits employees from seeing the subtleties of office interaction, such as birthday celebrations, water cooler chatter, or overhearing talks that could help you better understand the company.

However, by hiring fewer people, a business may be able to reap numerous benefits. How? Think about a typical office situation: do you picture a bustling, active office, or do you picture some vacant desks while you wait for the new hiring of the following year?

According to a Standford University study of 16,000 employees conducted over a nine-month period, businesses can reduce their office space rent by roughly $2,000 per employee by simply making better use of the available space.

Other advantages include

Higher productivity levels
Lower real estate costs
Decreased absenteeism
Lower turnover

Employers should assess whether components of a role are best performed at home or in the office rather than how many days employees should be in the office. Creating a hybrid schedule can take many different forms depending on the role and industry. However, because the bulk of jobs in the future will be remote and hybrid, organisations must constantly enhance their operations.

Wider talent base

Many people have dubbed the COVID-19 pandemic as the Great Resignation, which has devastated the global employment market. Over the previous two years, businesses and startups have had trouble attracting and keeping employees. Being an employer of choice is more crucial than ever since it is harder than ever to recruit and keep great individuals.

The upshot has been a rise in wages and a sharp increase in labour market competition. According to numerous studies, firms can use a range of other tactics besides salary to persuade their top employees to turn down a job offer from a competitor.

Greater flexibility, for instance, is thought by employees to be the second most important feature that would cause employees to reject a job offer from a rival company. Successful businesses usually encourage remote work for all employees who are capable of it. Research from the previous 20 years has demonstrated that companies with strict regulations regarding remote work had greater output levels, employee engagement, and key performance indicators.

Smart savings

One of the many advantages of contract and remote work for both organisations and people is cost savings. Businesses hire contract staff temporarily; they are not paid on a yearly basis.

Similarly, companies are not obligated to invest significantly in staff training and development. Choosing remote and contract labour thus saves firms a lot of money.

Another way remote work may help businesses decrease costs is through executive mobility. Executives are free to work from their preferred locations. Because not everyone wants to stay in big cities due to higher living expenses, employees can move to tier II cities with reduced living costs. By building a diverse remote team and allowing staff to work in different cities across the nation and alter their salary accordingly, this move might save larger corporations thousands.

Many large corporations, like Facebook, Twitter, and Stripe, have recently made headlines by announcing pay reductions for remote employees who choose to move to less expensive and centrally located places. Although one may disagree with this approach, most employees appear to be open to accepting salary reductions in exchange for additional effort.

Improved productivity outcomes

Contrary to what is commonly believed, employees who have access to all of the modern amenities of home don’t actually result in lower production levels. Employees that work remotely benefit from flexible scheduling, a better work-life balance, and a more enjoyable working environment. In actuality, remote workers seem to be putting in long hours while still maintaining a better work-life balance and experiencing less stress.

Furthermore, remote workers are putting in longer hours because extended in-person meetings and commute times are avoided. Remote workers have a better work-life balance, and finally, they are less stressed. Businesses may also profit from remote employment by permitting applications from around the world, attracting even more talent, despite the country’s extremely low labour costs. China, Brazil, and Romania are just a few nations that provide labour at a lower cost than India.

The secret to happy employees

Employee feedback favours remote work. Several studies have revealed that the capacity to work remotely is substantially related to job satisfaction. Employee satisfaction, for instance, decreases as commute times lengthen, while an additional hour of sleep can improve workers’ all-around performance. On the other hand, unhappiness can lead to a reduction in sustainability and performance that is even more severe than in an empty office building.

Employees in remote positions “experience more positive effects on their daily work, are more engaged, and have a feeling of well-being more than those in non-remote positions with minimal flexibility,” according to a McKinsey study.

We are here to help

Coming back to our earlier question, can businesses genuinely save money by allowing employees to work remotely? The answer is unquestionably yes. Remote work is a fantastic alternative for businesses looking to reduce their costs, even after taking into account the additional investments required to set up an adequate remote office and technological infrastructure. It’s time for both employees and businesses to embrace the new workplace trends and think about the advantages of working remotely now that digitalisation is at its finest.

At iView labs, we often assert that while opportunities are unequally distributed, talent isn’t. For business owners trying to employ top talent, remote work is bridging that gap in a way that makes financial sense.

Whether you are a startup, an SME or a growing company, we help you to find the perfect tech team. All you have to do is send us a tech team brief outlining the skills you require, the number of people required, and the project duration, and we’ll take care of the rest.

If you are looking for a Technology Talent partner, we at iView Labs will be happy to help. Just fill in this easy form to get in touch with us with your queries and needs. You can also write to us at info@iviewlabs.com and sales@iviewlabs.com. Download the latest portfolio to see our work.

How to Manage Distributed Product Development Teams

An important tenet of the Agile Manifesto is that successful product teams must collaborate daily from a shared co-location. But, we wish to challenge this notion. Remote product teams (spanning continents, cultures, and time zones) are very much the need of the hour. And, with sophisticated collaborative tools available, distributed teams can be as productive as co-located ones. A changed mindset from product managers and some flexibility from team members is the only requisite.

Continue reading How to Manage Distributed Product Development Teams