Enhanced engagement and connection

An organized orientation program promotes a feeling of inclusion for team members. Staff who sense they are part of a team tend to be more involved in their tasks, which is why online social team presentations, along with frequent updates, aid in cultivating connections. Such exchanges offer recruits chances to seek clarifications and contribute thoughts while grasping the dynamics within the team during remote employee onboarding.

Clear expectations and objectives

Establishing expectations from the start of a new employee’s journey with the company is important. During the training phase for new hires, it’s essential to provide them with in-depth insights into what their job entails, what tasks they are responsible for, and how their performance will be measured. Giving them instructions helps avoid misunderstandings, enabling them to concentrate on meeting their goals. Having well-defined expectations enhances productivity and minimizes mistakes.

Access to resources and tools

Companies must make sure that remote workers have access to the resources they need to do their jobs right from the start. Setting up a user hub with all the important documents and helpful materials, like tutorials and guides, is key. This kind of access gives employees the ability to work on their own and tackle any issues that may come up along the way.

Consistent communication

Effective communication plays a role in ensuring an onboarding experience for new employees by incorporating regular meetings and feedback sessions to keep them updated and engaged in the process of integration into the team culture and work dynamics. Maintaining channels of communication enables the flow of ideas and encourages a cooperative atmosphere within the workplace environment while also enabling early detection of any challenges that employees may encounter for prompt resolution.

Building a positive culture

Fostering a positive work atmosphere can be done by implementing an onboarding process for new hires that includes introducing them to the company’s core values and goals. Effectively aligning personal objectives with those of the organization is essential in cultivating a positive work culture that promotes employee retention and inspires individuals to give their utmost dedication and effort.

Skill development and training

During the onboarding process, employees at a company or organization have a chance to improve their skills and expertise in their roles through tailored training sessions and ongoing learning opportunities such as workshops and webinars aimed at nurturing professional growth among the workforce. This shows a dedication to supporting employee success and enhancing overall morale levels.

Higher retention rates

Starting a job properly influences how long employees stay in the company in the long run. When new hires receive support and appreciation, it increases the chances of them staying for a long period. A planned orientation process decreases turnover rates and helps save time and resources used for hiring and training new employees. Holding onto staff members contributes to having a seasoned workforce.

Improved performance and productivity

When new employees are given the resources and support to excel in their roles and tasks from the start through an organized onboarding process, they can grasp their responsibilities and carry out their duties effectively. It boosts their confidence and leads to increased productivity levels for the company as a whole. A workforce that is fully engaged in meeting organizational goals also boosts the company’s overall productivity.

Feedback and continuous improvement

Getting feedback is crucial during the onboarding phase as it helps companies enhance their strategies continually and make them more effective in welcoming employees onboard through feedback sessions that foster a culture of improvement and innovation by listening and valuing the experiences shared by employees for better results.

Also read:

• • Challenges to monitoring remote employees and how to overcome them
  • How to keep your employee productive: remote monitoring and management
  • Best cybersecurity practices for remote employees

In summary, a well-defined remote employee onboarding procedure brings advantages for companies and staff members alike. Improved involvement, transparent expectations, and the availability of tools all play a role in creating an introduction for recruits. Regular interaction, skill enhancement, and a nurturing environment promote staff retention and efficiency. By giving importance to a thought-out onboarding plan, companies can guarantee achievement in the changing realm of remote work.

The post The Benefits of a Structured Remote Employee Onboarding Process appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

In the last decade, we have witnessed that remote working in software development has gained the utmost attention because it gives high flexibility to companies as well as to employees. Remote hiring and development don’t seem to cease anytime soon. The COVID-19 pandemic also acted as a catalyst and fueled the growth of remote development services in the IT industry. No one knew that the closure of the offices would lead to a completely new way of working i.e. remote development.

The remote development method has a lot of benefits, but it also poses a particular challenge: management of remote developers which are located in different countries and obviously at different time zones. The management of time zones of the remote development team can be a challenging task if not done effectively. It is a key component in working with remote teams, requiring smart techniques for a streamlined, smooth, and effective collaboration for a successful project.

We explore the different methods and key points for your team to work across different time zones without any difficulty.

Considerable key points to work across different time zones with your remote teams

1. Hire dedicated and professional resources

You must have trust in your remotely hire mobile app developers who are working in various time zones. Each employee would have the competency to work on his own with minimal supervision and effectively manage the time. Not every employee has the capability to work remotely and that’s why you must give special attention while curating your remote development team.

You must invest your time in finding and hiring developers who are reliable, professional, and self-motivated, and can self-manage their time and work. They must be able to collaborate with their team members working in different time zones and get the project done.

At Developerperhour, we make sure during hiring that our developers: :

• Have good communication skills with fluency in English
• Possess the required aptitude to work in a distributed environment
• Manage stressful situations wisely
• Could work independently
• Manage multiple priorities effectively
• Take responsibility for completing deliverables before deadlines

2. Engage in agile methodology

The agile methodology makes the remote working quite smooth and the remote teams also prefer this way of working. Remote developers prefer agile development methodology because it helps in improving the team’s efficiency, and performance, improves the client’s satisfaction, and also increases the versatility of the project.

Agile is a great solution if the developers in the team are located in different time zones. Here’s how agile methodology is helpful:

• The whole project is divided into tasks which are further divided into sprints
• Regular meetings are conducted by the scrum manager during development sprints. Some of the common meetings are sprint planning, daily scrum, spring review, and retrospective meetings.
• At DPH, we also use an agile project management tool like JIRA to manage all the sprints and make sure our deliverables are on time.

3. Consistent and clear communication

Advanced technology offers us various communication channels for professional communication. It doesn’t matter anymore where your teammate is located, either at the other corner of the office or another corner of the world; tools like Zoom and Slack, keep you connected through chats, screen sharing, video calls, and 24×7.

Most companies prefer multiple tools such as Zoom, Slack, Asana, etc. for different purposes of communication.

E.g. in asynchronous communication, we have to know who is working on what, and when. Asynchronous communication is required to ensure the project runs smoothly, mention and address roadblocks, and timely delivery. For this, we prefer Asana, Slack, and any other tool that the client also suggests.

For real-time, synchronous communication, Zoom is a reliable tool. It gives you a plethora of options while doing face-to-face video meetings such as screen sharing, access to others’ screens, etc.

4. Ensure to have overlap time

To start with, you must note down the working hours or the available time of each of the developers of your team. If there is a minor time zone difference, then there will be no such issue, but if the difference is huge, you can always find a couple of hours of overlapping to keep everyone in sync. For instance, if your remote development team is located in Asia, and the other part is in the UK, then there are a few hours when both teams are available. The team in the UK would be available from 12 PM to 2 PM, while the team in India would be available from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. The UK developers will explain their tasks for the day, and the Indian developers will explain what they did during the day.

At DPH, we take a further step toward proper communication, and our developers are available at the client team’s preferred time. However, we always prefer to have overlapping hours, so that all the team members can communicate in their comfortable time.

5. Have a shared calendar

If your team members are working from different countries worldwide, their holidays would be different. For better transparency and synchronization, you must use a shared calendar like Google Calendar. It will help you synchronize the meeting schedules with your daily tasks.

On a shared calendar, every team would be able to put vacations, national holidays, and other important festive holidays on which they wouldn’t be working. As you have the calendar at your disposal, you won’t find it strange why a developer hasn’t given any update in the last two days.

6. Proper planning and regular meetings

Whether it is a water-cooler conversation for team bonding, or you want to schedule a formal meeting, you must try to select the hours that seem sensible for all the team members. It may not be always possible, however, you have to find the right hours for the meeting considering the international schedules. This will make the team members feel included and that their time and schedule are also being respected.

It may be tricky for certain time zones to schedule a meeting. For instance, if you are based in the USA and your remote team is located in Asia, it would be slightly difficult to find a time that fits into everyone’s schedule.

If you have to plan a virtual meeting for people on your team late at night or early in the morning, try to compensate for the inconvenience in some way to demonstrate that you care about your colleagues.

7. Use project management tools

With technological advancement and project management tools, team members are no longer required to be working from the same workplace. There are a plethora of tools available like instant messaging apps, task management software, ticket creators, progress trackers, etc. These tools will keep all the tasks and communication synchronized among your team members.

These tools will not just allow people to work on the same project from different countries or different time zones, they also allow all the team members to stay on the same page regarding the different aspects of the projects.

Benefits of effectively managing remote teams with time zone differences

There are a lot of advantages to hiring remote developers. To enjoy these benefits and leverage the full potential of your development team, overcoming the barrier of time zone differences is a must. The benefits of effectively managing your remote teams would be:

• Increased productivity

With remote teams working together, they bring their experiences and expertise to the table. Thus, they all bring their understanding of the subject and excellence they can deliver adding to the productivity of the team as a unit.

• Enhanced communication

With properly organized meetings, there will be a streamlined flow of information which will result in fewer or no misinterpretations, expedite interactions, and avoid unnecessary delays.

• Better work-life balance

A proper scheduling of tasks and meetings gives a perfect work-life balance to the employees as they don’t have to work in off-timings. They can maintain a good balance between their personal and professional obligations.

• Positive motivation

With high diversity and inclusion, employees feel motivated for the work and interact with their colleagues despite being located thousands of miles apart.

• Global expertise

Employing remote workers from several hemispheres allows businesses to tap into a diverse range of global perspectives and skill sets, enabling an inventive and creative workplace.

In conclusion, in today’s time, the physical presence of a developer is no longer a mandatory obligation, that’s why businesses prefer to hire mobile app developers from different countries with high proficiency and low development cost. At DPH, we have a dedicated team of remote developers who have extensive experience working remotely for clients while giving proper updates, finishing tasks within deadlines, and providing a streamlined flow of communication.

The developers are well-versed in working in different time zones and can adjust to your work pattern easily.

The post How to Manage Time Zone Differences in the Remote Development Teams appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Embracing Technological Solutions: The Power of Transparency and Collaboration

Technology is the beating heart of the remote work revolution, creating connection despite the physical miles. Take, for example, employee tracking apps. While an employee tracking app might spark initial apprehension, its potential lies not in intrusive monitoring, but in fostering transparency and shared accountability. These tools illuminate work patterns, revealing areas where resources could be better utilized or workflows optimized, transforming data into a potent catalyst for growth.

Moreover, secure and reliable communication platforms are the lifeblood of remote teams. From video conferences that bridge physical distance to instant messaging that fuels quick exchanges, these platforms keep teams in sync and projects on track. Cloud-based technologies further empower remote work by ensuring document accessibility and seamless collaboration, regardless of location. Remember, communication transcends mere work updates; it fosters connections and a sense of belonging, even in the virtual sphere.

However, with great power comes great responsibility. As we embrace these digital tools, robust cybersecurity measures become paramount. Secure data storage, access controls, and regular training are the cornerstones of protecting sensitive information and maintaining trust.

Building a Culture of Trust and Support: Where Connection Thrives

While technology provides the stage, a vibrant remote team culture isn’t built on tools alone. It thrives on a bedrock of trust and support. Imagine it as fertile soil, nurturing collaboration and engagement. Here’s where the magic happens:

Shared Groundwork

Setting clear expectations and measurable goals is akin to planting sturdy seeds. Everyone understands their role and sees how their efforts contribute to the team’s collective harvest. Regular check-ins provide gentle nurturing, ensuring alignment and addressing concerns before they sprout into obstacles.

Open Dialogue: Beyond Performance Reviews

Communication blossoms beyond formal reviews. Picture an open garden, where feedback flows freely through dedicated channels and casual conversations. This fosters understanding, builds trust, and allows issues to be nipped in the bud before they take root.

Nurturing Connections

Remote doesn’t have to mean solitary. Imagine virtual water cooler moments, team game nights, and even lighthearted chats during meetings. These social interactions act like sunshine, strengthening team spirit and camaraderie, making the remote work environment a flourishing landscape.

Happy Employees Flourish

Remember, content and engaged employees are the fruits of this garden. Forward-thinking companies recognize this, offering mental health support and encouraging healthy work-life boundaries. By prioritizing well-being, they cultivate a thriving ecosystem where productivity naturally blossoms.

Empowering Employees with the Right Tools: Investing in Success

Forget the tired trope of “tooling up” — think investing in human capital for exponential returns. Sure, technology and culture are on the stage, but without empowering the actors, the play falls flat.

Ergonomic equipment, comfortable workspaces, and access to the necessary hardware and software are essential for physical and mental well-being. But empowerment goes beyond the physical. Investing in training and development opportunities to adapt to new technologies and upskill individuals is crucial for long-term success.

Forget “empowering tools,” think about empowering people. Invest in their well-being, growth, and mastery, and watch your organization soar to new heights.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Work is Flexible and Tech-Driven

The physical confines of the office recede, replaced by a boundless landscape of remote-first, flexibility-driven arrangements, fueled by the potent elixir of technology. As artificial intelligence ascends, it shall assume the yoke of repetitive tasks, liberating the human spirit to soar towards its true zenith: the realms of creative ideation and critical discernment. Imagine, if you will, virtual and augmented realities weaving intricate tapestries of collaboration, dissolving the very boundaries between the physical and digital realms.

Yet, with this transformation come challenges. The ever-shifting world of cybersecurity necessitates constant vigilance and agile adaptation. To ensure an inclusive landscape of remote workers, we must bridge the digital divide, ensuring equitable access to technology’s potent tools. Navigating this uncharted territory demands a spirit of metamorphosis, and a willingness to embrace the winds of change while nurturing the well-being and growth of our human capital.

To sum up, the tide has turned on traditional work models, not merely receding, but reshaping the professional landscape entirely. This paradigm shift, known as the “remote work revolution,” demands both strategic adaptation and proactive leadership.

Organizations that harness the power of technology to cultivate trust and empower their workforce will not just weather this change, but thrive within it, actively shaping the future of work for the mutual benefit of individuals and businesses alike. The time for action is now, and technology serves as our invaluable guide on this transformative journey.

The post Remote Work Revolution: Adapting to Change with the Latest Technology appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

1. Remote work options

You’ll get access to the biggest possible talent pool by introducing remote work options. You’ll get the privilege of hiring anyone in the job market regardless of the location, allowing you to filter only the best.

Most importantly, you’ll save money on office space, furniture, and even hardware. After all, more and more enterprises have a BYOD policy. This is essential for security since some people will take work-related documents home and use public networks to access work-related platforms. All of this can work if you’re proactive enough and educate your staff (as well as set some ground rules in advance).

2. Give flexible work hours

Next, you need to consider giving your employees flexible working hours. You can consider their work done as long as they work for X hours that week. Even better, you should give them a deadline instead of work hours.

This is a scalable method and works great with remote work. This way, your employees will have all the liberty they need. For instance, if they need to make an episode of a podcast for your marketing, as long as it’s done by the due date, you shouldn’t even inquire about their work hours.

Also, if you’re hiring globally, the least you can do is give people with a different time zone a chance to choose when they will work. With flexible work hours or a deadline system, this will never be a hindrance.

3. Create multiple streams of revenue

Ideally, all your income would come from a single best-selling product/service. However, the open market is not ideal, and what works changes occasionally. This is why the only way for your business to stay resilient to change is to have multiple income streams.

So, you want to diversify your offer, create seminars to monetize your skills and knowledge, and set some of your funds for potential investments. Here, you want to diversify.

Your immediate priority is to create passive income to improve your cash flow. At the same time, you want to set a small portion of your funds to invest in assets with growth potential. One such option is crypto, and you should study a list of the top projects and pick the most suitable options.

4. Set a personal development budget

The next thing you want to do is provide your employees with a chance to learn something. People are more inclined to think about what you can do for them rather than what they can do for you. Money is not their only motivation; some are concerned with gaining experience and achieving personal development.

So, you need to set aside a budget that you’ll use to send some of your employees to seminars and pay for courses at your own expense. This way, they’ll be incentivized to stay. You also want to start a great mentorship program. If you employ specialists and experts, everyone will want to work at your company.

5. Hire freelancers

Sometimes, it’s smart to employ freelancers and temporary workers. This is because the model in question is scalable. When you hire freelancers, you can lay them off when there’s no need for their assistance anymore. If some are invaluable assets for your organization, you can always ask them to stay.

You can never know if an increased workload is a fluke or not. When hiring freelancers, you’re not taking any chances. Sure, you have less control, but you also have less responsibility. You should be fine if they sign an NDA and you check their reputation.

6. Set performance-based salary

When you put people on a performance-based salary, you incentivize them to give their best. People on a salary see extra work as a problem or a nuisance. People on performance-based pay or a commission see it as a chance to earn more. There’s a huge difference in intrinsic motivation between these two groups.

However, this is a slippery slope. You see, if you pay them for the quantity of work that they do, the quality may falter. They may rush to finish so much that the quality plummets and the result suffers. You must be very careful when setting up this system and do your best to prevent exploitation.

7. Foster a sense of ownership

People need to feel like they own the business (in a sense), and there are several ways to achieve this. First, you must be transparent about your goals and business’s financial state. During meetings, everyone gets a say, and everyone gets a vote.

Then, you can give people a chance to decorate their workstations. This is a lot easier in a cubicle setup, but it’s not exclusive to it. Also, you could go beyond and give people a share in the business. This way, they’re unlikely to leave, and they’ll become extra concerned with the actual status of the business.

8. Fire troublemakers

Some types of employees are not necessarily bad when it comes to performance but have a bad effect on everyone. Some employees just distract others, others make people feel uncomfortable, or just love stirring office feuds.

As we’ve said, they’re not bad individually. It’s not like their evaluation performance will come up badly. They won’t have bad personal results, and their absenteeism won’t be extraordinary. It’s just how they affect the rest of your team and how they increase the employee abandonment rate that’s problematic.

9. 4-Day work week

It’s not about the number of work hours; it’s about the effective work they put into it. If you motivate people to work harder and achieve great deadlines, there’s nothing wrong with having a 4-day work week.

In fact, according to some surveys, this is amazing for productivity in general. Most importantly, it will make your organization more desirable for potential talent. Many specialists and people of authority, which you otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford, will come to work for you because of a 4-day work week. A 4-day work week is great for work-life balance and your staff’s mental well-being.

10. Pet-friendly workplace

In the majority of workplaces, pets are banned by default. Why not change this and introduce a huge change in the workplace? This will improve employee productivity and even earn you a personal favor with some of your pet-owning employees. This is also a great PR move for your business.

Pets in the workplace can reduce anxiety and make it more pleasant to be around. Some employees rush home to be with their pets or worry about leaving them for too long. This way, they won’t have trouble pulling longer hours. Also, this decision is great for everyone’s mental well-being.

Think about the long-term benefits

You can’t just fixate on the immediate payoff when making business decisions. You also need to consider the long-term benefits of your decisions. Sure, a shorter work week can make your current processes slower, but it will earn you a talent and reputation that you couldn’t get any other way in the long run. Always think about the bigger picture.

The post 10 Unorthodox Decisions That Will Benefit Your Business in the Long Run appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.