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.

This is important to note as adequate monitoring and management of remote workers ensure productivity and accountability, along with mutual trust building. While this may seem like any typical business hindrance, understanding the pertaining challenges and how to overcome them is pretty helpful. And that is what this piece will explore.

Keeping everyone productive without micromanaging

As a manager, if you have a remote team, it is vital to ensure that they remain on track with work without feeling suffocated due to continuous oversight. Excessive monitoring can eventually make remote workers feel overwhelmed, demotivated, and unsatisfied. On the other hand, minimal checking can also result in missed project deadlines and unhappy clients.

Solution: To find the middle ground, consider utilizing some popular project management tools. These tools provide easily accessible features that allow everyone to see what they need to do and when without having to wait for scheduled meetings. Also, it is your responsibility to make them feel accountable for their work, tasks assigned, and communication patterns. This way, they can work independently and get things done efficiently.

Keeping data safe and private

Employees working from home often use separate devices from official work devices, which are usually connected to unsecured networks. This poses high accessibility risks to sensitive company data. However, implementing the right monitoring tools aids in minimizing these risks to a great extent and also prevents privacy invasion of employees.

Solution: To handle such situations, enterprises must invest in remote monitoring solutions that promise strong cybersecurity tools to maintain a balance between employee privacy and data security. Security solutions like end-point security, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and two-factor authentication are often nonintrusive and help safeguard data. Also, open communication is necessary so that employees know what and why they are being monitored so that they can better understand the system.

Dealing with time zone differences

Other than remote workplaces, time zone differences create a bigger question of how to monitor remote employees effectively. Coordinating work schedules and keeping everyone on the same page about the task or project can be quite challenging. This only causes delays in task completion, making it hard to keep an eye on remote employees’ work progress.

Solution: To deal with the difference in working time zones, you can take advantage of time-tracking software. These tools help with consistent tracking of remote team members while also considering their local time. If possible, determine a time that overlaps with each member and set up meeting schedules. Additional applications like Slack or Microsoft Teams will help keep members in the loop even when remote and receive immediate updates.

Striking an adequate work-life balance

Despite the freedom and flexibility of working from home, drawing a line between work and personal life can sometimes be tough. When this thin line is blurred, employees often feel confused, exhausted, and work overloaded, resulting in decreased productivity over time.

Solution: If employees themselves are unable to set a work-life boundary with remote work, managers should help promote a healthy balance by setting clear boundaries. You can encourage members to follow regular work hours by avoiding after-work or late-night work activities, calls, and emails.

Rather than tracking total work hours, you can use the monitoring tool to track only the active work hours to prevent overworking. If the situation demands, tailored mental health support or wellness programs would be an additional aid to remote employees’ stress management and promote a more balanced life.

Overcoming technical barriers

Remote work means dependence on technology. So, if any technical issue arises, it will mess with the workflow. Say outdated software, bad internet connectivity, or incompatible devices that don’t run well together disrupt the seamless work dynamic. Then, it becomes hard for the enterprise to track remote employees efficiently.

Solution: While implementing a remote work model in the business workflow, managers must ensure that the right technology is in place with an easy learning curve so that remote employees can work well. This also means employees having their own separate work devices at home with secure internet connections and up-to-date software. If any tech problem arises, immediate remote IT support should be arranged. Training sessions can be provided for any new technology so that workers can get the hang of what tools they need.

Handling legal and ethical considerations

When determining how to monitor remote employees, the perspective should not be one way. Remote employee monitoring follows several privacy laws and ethical rules depending on various aspects, like type of industry and work location. Ignoring and not abiding by these concerns may get the enterprise in legal trouble.

Solution: Several popular remote monitoring solutions already comply with necessary legal and ethical regulations. However, it does not hurt to be extra cautious in such matters. You can consult with legal experts to ensure that your enterprise’s monitoring practices comply with local and international laws. Preparing a clear business policy of what’s monitored and how it can be helpful. You should also get employees’ consent to monitoring activities. Additionally, you should stay updated and regularly modify policies to abide by changing laws and monitoring practices.

Building trust and transparency

The most crucial element of any working relationship is trust. But it can be tricky to form one with remotely working employees. If the company is not entirely upfront and open about the business dynamics with the employees, the business relationship will lack trust, build resentment, and ultimately lead to disengagement from work.

Solution: So, enterprises should emphasize encouraging a transparent culture in the business workflow where monitoring is perceived as a supporting tool for work success instead of constant surveillance. When deciding on the monitoring tools, you should inform them about their work purposes and get their opinion. Open communication channels and regular feedback sessions also build trust and promote work transparency.

To conclude, monitoring remote employees will never be easy. There will be difficulties at some point. The organization must determine ways to resolve these possible issues. The goal here is to guarantee a positive and productive workspace.

The post Challenges to Monitoring Remote Employees and How to Overcome Them 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.

With the pandemic still raging in many countries, the WFH trend is likely to continue. PowerPoint presentations evolved as a strong tool for virtual conferencing among all of them. They became the industry standard for conducting webinars, virtual conferences, and online office meetings.

Presentations provide a tremendous platform for business professionals to differentiate themselves from their competition. Your audience is at home during a remote presentation session. As a result, it becomes even more important to make it top-notch in order to keep their attention.

A dreary and drab presentation will undoubtedly put your distant stakeholders and customers to sleep. But how can you create fascinating and captivating slide presentations while managing your home life? This article will work as your go-to resource for creating jaw-dropping presentations.

Here are six pointers to help any working professional to create captivating remote presentations:

1. Pick a Vibrant Color Scheme

With so many different colors to pick from, you don’t want your remote slide deck templates to seem drab and dull. To impress your virtual audience, be sure to include a colorful charm in your decks.

Like nothing else, dynamic presentations with brilliant color schemes can wow your WFH audience. When choosing the colors for your slides, keep color contrast in mind. For maximum impact, use dark text on a light background and vice versa.

To keep the color constant, avoid utilizing more than 2-3 colors across the slides. Another great suggestion is to use your or your client’s logo colors to make your presentations look amazing.

When it comes to color schemes or branding your company via presentations, design consistency is essential. You may utilize professional PowerPoint templates to guarantee pixel-perfect design from start to finish.

2. Leverage Attractive Slide Templates

Stock templates with uninteresting slide patterns are a thing of the past. They often fail to differentiate your deck from the crowd of presentations sent every day. Professionally designed Slides templates are a game changer for making remote presentations engaging.

Furthermore, the Google Slides themes help you save time since you no longer have to construct a presentation from the start. Professional PowerPoint slide deck templates can help you assure consistency, design expertise, and increased engagement in your presentations.

SlideUpLift offers bright and appropriate slide templates for creating impressive presentations. Their 100% modifiable and five-star templates can flawlessly polish any slide deck, leaving your audience speechless.

To boost your slide content, use corporate-ready layouts that correspond to your branding niche. These templates capture and hold your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. Engagement is a game changer for presentations when you’re speaking remotely! You can do the same thing with the aid of ready-to-use templates.

3. Use Multimedia for Better Engagement

Every presenter should understand that adding pixel-perfect visuals to their slides gives them a certain appeal. Remote presentations need slide decks that are infused with maximum visual appeal in order to keep your audience glued to the screen.

You don’t want them to fall asleep with all text and no pictures. The problem is that no one wants to read the text directly from the slides. Visuals can aid your presentation in unexpected ways.

Someone once said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Integrate vector pictures, captivating iconography, GIFs, and HD videos that are relevant to your theme. Make your remote slide presentation visually appealing to ensure its immediate success. Remember that graphics can also help your audience understand your presentation concepts.

4. Stick to 1 Concept Per Slide

In the absence of face-to-face engagement, corporate leaders must create visually consistent presentations. A chaotic slide presentation will only add to your audience’s frustration. To keep them simple and tidy, simply include one concept on each slide.

Keep in mind that your internet customers are easily distracted throughout your remote presentation. As a result, a simpler slide layout will draw people into your slide deck and make the slide concepts more logical. To prevent visual clutter, avoid adding too many themes on one slide and stick to just one.

5. Integrate Data Visualisations

All entrepreneurs and business professionals must understand that figures and statistics provided in data visualization elevate your PowerPoint. Your remote audience’s attention span is less than that of in-person presentations.

The attention span is challenging to maintain, especially in distant meetings. Professional but appealing images can increase engagement in a variety of ways. Constantly bombarding your audience with information will cause them to leave your presentations.

Beautiful data visualizations can help you structure your data. To illustrate your data, use color-coded charts, timelines, bar graphs, histograms, and shapes. It also makes your data more accessible to your virtual audience.

Your audience would want to make some conclusions at the end of your presentation. You can’t start a call to action if they don’t grasp the statistics. With exceptional charts, you can credibly present your sales research and anticipate trends.

6. Stay Energized and Interact

To keep the communication line open, your customers are constantly in front of you via in-office presentations. Every presenter’s primary responsibility is to excite, communicate, and maintain a continual conversational flow. Make your slides tell a fascinating story and deliver them with excellent communication.

To solve their doubts, arrange Q&A sessions with your stakeholders in the middle or conclusion of the presentation. To get people to engage in your presentation, highlight crucial topics and perform polls and timely surveys. It will also help to keep kids busy and aware. Also, don’t forget to add some comedy to make it seem less robotic.

Wrapping It Up
You’re all set with the finest ideas and strategies for creating unique and engaging remote slide presentations. Presentations that combine attractive designs, pleasant layouts, and data visualizations serve as show-stoppers for your presentations.

As the global workforce transitions to remote working, transformative virtual conferencing and presentations are here to stay. To attain professional heights, all business professionals should build and present their remote decks using these recommendations.

ALSO READ: TOP 3 PROGRAMS FOR CREATING THE PERFECT PRESENTATIONS

The post 6 Helpful Tricks to Spice Up Your Remote Presentation in 2022 appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

So, we partnered up with our friends from EsportsHeadlines.com and created our list of gadgets that could improve your home office, regardless if you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer, or remote worker.

Smart Cup or Mug

Smart cups and mugs can keep your drink warm for hours. It’s perfect for slow drinkers who like premium or single-cup pour-over coffee. You’ll save on expenses for coffee or tea, ingredients, and hot water heating. Not to mention the time and effort it takes to make a new cup.

These modern smart cups come with various features, including:

• Stainless steel and ceramic exteriors.
• Self-stirring details.
• Temperature control.
• Auto sleep function for battery saving.
• Smartphone app for various controls.
• Charging or conductive coasters.

The best smart mug models are waterproof, so you can hand wash them in the sink like any ordinary mug. One such mug is the Ember – the world’s first temperature control mug. Aside from its beautiful designs, the Ember mug keeps your drinks at the right temperature. Conveniently set it through your smartphone and choose from 120 to 145 ℉. You can also keep it on its coaster throughout the day to never run out of battery.

Ergonomic Upgrades

Ergonomic upgrades are essential for anyone looking to enhance their home office setup for both comfort and productivity. These include items like adjustable chairs, sit-stand desks, and ergonomic keyboards designed to support the body’s natural posture. Such enhancements are crucial in preventing the strain and discomfort that often accompanies long hours of sitting in a poorly designed workspace. People often like to view keyboard trays that elevate their keyboards at an angle, providing a more natural typing position and reducing the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome. By promoting a more comfortable working environment, ergonomic gadgets can significantly reduce the risk of developing repetitive stress injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders. This is not only essential for your physical health but also for sustaining productivity levels and maintaining focus throughout the workday.

Furthermore, investing in ergonomic upgrades reflects a commitment to overall well-being and can lead to enhanced work performance. An ergonomic chair that adjusts to your body’s needs or a desk that allows you to alternate between sitting and standing can drastically improve your energy levels and concentration. This adaptability enables workers to tailor their environment to their personal preferences, ultimately fostering a more dynamic and flexible work setting. Additionally, the psychological benefits of working in a comfortable and health-conscious space should not be underestimated. Feeling cared for by your environment can boost morale, making the home office a place where creativity and productivity flourish.

Monitor Lightbar

Your computer monitor can cause eye strain when you don’t work in the correct settings. Lighting up dim rooms with RGB lighting can be trendy, but staring at a bright light source deteriorates your vision.

What is a monitor lightbar for? The gadgets’ purpose is simple: to provide light from above and in front of you, lighting up the surface of your desk. Then why not just buy a lamp? Lamps have a wide light range because of the way they’re designed. Thus, a lamp can reflect on your screen, creating glare and shadows. It also takes up space in your work area.

A lightbar has a rod-like shape to better control where its light falls. It’s portable enough to sit on top of your monitor, too.

On top of reducing eye strain, a lightbar like the Xiaomi Mi Computer Monitor Lightbar can provide enough illumination for video calls. You only need to point the lightbar towards you to get good lighting and adjust the brightness, so it doesn’t affect your vision.

Acoustical Foam

Contrary to popular belief, acoustical foams are not sound blockers. They absorb sounds to decrease the room’s echo and improve sound quality in the room. Why is it important to reduce echo?

Echo makes your natural voice’s quality drop when it goes through a call. Voice is critical in speech since it helps us engage and keep our audience’s interest. You need to have a strong voice and efficiently relay it to your listeners even when you’re not physically with them. It’s so you can deliver your ideas clearly and communicate effectively.

Here are other advantages of having acoustical foams in your workspace:

• They reduce outside noise for undisturbed calls and meetings. Plus, a tranquil workplace helps you concentrate and make you more productive.
• They offer privacy so you can talk about your confidential work details freely.
• Depending on the brand of the foam, they are safe, lightweight, and fire-resistant. Others also have thermal insulation and heat endurance.
• They are easy to install. If you can hang a picture frame, you can set up acoustical foams.

Rechargeable Hand Warmer

Autumn and winter are just around the seasonal corner. One challenge of having a home office is keeping it warm but not so cozy that your blood pressure drops and makes you feel tired and sleepy.

Typing also gets more difficult during the colder seasons since the temperature numbs the nerves in our fingers. Get rechargeable hand warmers to deal with sleep-inducing periods and clumsy fingers. These nifty little gadgets are just what they sound like, and they can even keep your hands warm in between matches while gaming.

• Hand or wrist pain.
• Raynaud’s arthritis.
• Joint pain.
• Skin cracks.

Other advantages of a rechargeable hand warmer are:

• It’s environment-friendly.
• Compared to disposable hand warmers, rechargeable ones can be reused.
• It’s non-toxic versus the air-activated hand warmers. Choose a rechargeable hand warmer if you have a pet to avoid accidental ingestion.

Using a hand warmer is a breeze. Just hold or wrap your hands around it to heat your hands and fingers. These are not only for indoor warming. You can also bring these gadgets and keep them in your pocket to warm your outside trips.

One of our most recommended hand warmers is the OCOOPA 7800. This rechargeable gadget also works as a 7800mAh power bank. It’s compact and can easily fit in your bag or pocket with three temperature modes from 95 to 131℉.

Nintendo Game & Watch Console

Let’s be honest – there are days when your sheer determination isn’t enough to sit through long and tedious online meetings. It’s easy to doze off and risk missing important discussions. To stay alert, consider buying a Nintendo Game & Watch console to shift your attention discreetly.

Why get an old-school Game & Watch console? Since the games on this Nintendo micro console are simple, you won’t have to spend all your brain power focusing. Playing a battle in Zelda or jumping on a few goombas in Mario won’t distract you (too much) from the meeting. Just don’t forget to keep a poker face when you’re at it.

Plus, the item is small enough to place right under your computer monitor. It also has adequate controls and long battery life. Relive your childhood memories with this console’s retro look and functions and get a piece of history with Nintendo’s first handheld gaming system.

Apple’s Magnetic Wireless Charger

Because of the power and functionality of most Apple devices, many people use their iPhones for work and play. Whether you use yours as a secondary screen or a primary working device, you must keep it charged to finish your tasks.

You can’t put your meetings on hold while you wait for your phone to charge. A magnetic wireless charger won’t only keep your main and audio jack almost new, but most importantly, it will eliminate charging as a distraction.

Never deal with a low bat iPhone again, especially if you use it for video conferences that take up more than an hour. When you need to charge your iPhone, you can mount it onto a tripod or gooseneck with a magnetic charger. It’ll give you an excellent angle for the video call and make it more convenient to adjust lighting and other movements.

The charger and the tripod-gooseneck combination also work well for emergencies. If your laptop dies, you can switch the video call to your iPhone camera without worrying about running out of battery.

Modular Portable Power Station

Most company offices have backup generators to prevent data and productivity loss during sudden power outages. However, the average home office lacks this safety backup feature. When an unpredicted brownout, blackout, or electrical issue arises, you won’t be able to do your office projects. You might even get behind schedule.

To solve these unexpected problems, purchase a modular portable power station, such as our top recommendation, the Bluetti EB150. This small but mighty product has a 1000 W power capacity.

On average, a desktop computer with loudspeakers and a printer uses 200 W per hour. A laptop uses 50 to 100 W per hour, depending on the model. So you can use your desktop computer for 4 to 5 hours or a laptop for 10 to 20 hours more with this gadget. Paired with your 5G network for high data speeds, you’re ready to go through your daily remote office duties.

Other features of this modular power station include solar charging, wall charging, and a solar power generator. The product weighs 35 lbs, so it’s easy to carry around. It’s also one of the market’s more affordable modular power stations.

Fidget Cube

Do you have to stream live reports to bosses, colleagues, and clients as part of your work? Even if it’s an inescapable part of your job description, not all of us want to be the center of attention.

A great way to deal with jitters is to play with fidget cubes. These are great for nervous ticks or anxiety from giving presentations. Fiddle with a fidget cube when you’re explaining something — it’s better than touching your neck, playing with your hair, or doing other actions that show anxiousness or lack of confidence.

Fidget cubes help you focus by redirecting your energy to doing something else. It also promotes creativity and fresh thinking. Additionally, these gadgets assist in releasing stress, so you don’t feel burdened by only interacting with your computer all day. Fidget cubes stimulate your senses, calm your nerves, and distract you from an overwhelming situation.

You can purchase many fidget cubes, all with varying designs and sizes. Such as fidget blocks that connect and twist, clickable fidget switches,  and decompression fidget toys.

Conclusion
These are the eight gadgets to include in your home office for optimal productivity and comfort. Use them to improve your focus, enhance creativity, and increase work quality at home.

ALSO READ: DESK ACCESSORIES DESIGNED TO ELEVATE YOUR WORK-FROM-HOME PRODUCTIVITY

The post 8 Gadgets to Improve Your Home Office appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Lockdown after lockdown. But the business environment, unpredictable as the weather, needs to be governed.

That is why the gospel of businesses invoking business resilience and sustainability plans has been one of the most pronounced in a span of a year.

Businesses ought to create business resilience and sustainability plans to sail through the effects of the pandemic.

If you have a business, or are thinking of starting one, here are some of the key considerations you should have in mind.

It is important to understand that resilience is being able to deal with shocks.

Life is unpredictable and any business, small or big should prepare to deal with any shocks thrown at it. That is the essence of a resilience plan. Simply put, a plan B for businesses.

The right time to create a resilience plan

One challenge we have seen during the pandemic is that businesses wait for the shocks to plan for them.

A resilience plan should be created the minute a business is set up.

In the telecom industry, a resilience plan can be based on a product or project.

If a business has partners in a project, the business ought to understand the continuity risks with that partner lest you risk failure.

That is why the resilience plan needs to be done at the initiation of a project or product and needs to be refreshed periodically.

You can set a minimum as to when you must review a plan. It is recommended annually, but should also be revised as and when the shocks are emerging or there has been a material change in the process.

How to create the plan

A resilience plan has two fronts; Internal and external.

The Internal aspect of a plan deals with features inside a company for example staff and technology.

In regard to technology, a business needs to have a resilience plan for loss of data or information through for example a natural disaster ie earthquakes.

This can be mitigated by disaster recovery through possession of a backup.

The other aspect is staff for example critical staff deemed important to the resilience of the business.

It is paramount that a business is designed to have redundancy if person A isn’t available, B can take on the role.

The same applies for service providers; always have a buffer such that if one has challenges, the other can take up the service.

The external aspects are even harder to predict as you may not have control over them. These may not be predictable, but there are those that are.

For instance, forex. It is common for many businesses to spend quite a bit in investment and operational expenditure using forex.

Whereas you can make short term plans, you have to keep watch of changes in the exchange rates because they can affect your business plans.

A resilience plan, often created on an annual basis, should bear points at which it can be invoked for example; when a covid-19 wave evolves, you invoke certain aspects of the plan.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, MTN had already developed a robust business continuity or resilience plan to ensure uninterrupted service delivery to its customers in times of adversity.

We tried out the WFH (Work-From-Home) model by positioning some of our call center staff in a different location outside their work premises just as a preparation plan way before Covid-19.

Therefore, when the pandemic emerged, we seamlessly adopted the WFH model primarily to protect the staff from infection exposure, as well as in compliance with the government of Uganda guidance and directives.

On average 70% of staff are currently working from home.

The plan is to be used as and when those shocks happen or for certain shocks you can see in the horizon, for example forex depreciation.

It often comes gradually meaning you can set in points at which you invoke your plan for example if it gets to this rate, this is what we do.

Monitoring is critical

You need to have a means of monitoring the micro and macro environment to determine when to invoke the plan.

One of the tenets can be the positivity rate for staff. It can help you plan for worst case scenarios for example when someone resigns, there has to be a period of transitioning.

There are exits of critical employees, you need to invoke the plan.

There are international standards on both resilience and sustainability however, the big three are people, process and technology.

As you design any business resilience plan, look at it on the people side, processes side, then from a technology side.

These can be distilled further e.g liquidity/cash flow plans. A business ought to have a solid cash flow plan for sustainability.

While it is important to have a resilience plan, monitoring and refreshing cannot be neglected. Most of these shocks trend over time before they create impact.

Resilience feeds into sustainability.

Sustainability can be affected by ability to innovate. E.g Kodak, Yahoo. You might be doing well now, but oblivious to changes from emerging competition or way of life of your customers.

So if you don’t have a good innovation framework to introduce new products or agility in delivery, you might not have a sustainable business.

If you had sit-in arrangements for your restaurant and the pandemic hit, yet you were without an online delivery solution, then the business might not be sustainable.

If you don’t innovate and the competition does, then you might not be sustainable.

As a business, sustainability and resilience plans are provisions for longevity, but it is key to remember that without the technical capacity and frequent reviews, the plan remains yet another document in your stock pile.

The post OP-ED: What businesses should consider when developing resilience and sustainability plans, with Samuel Gitta appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

After all, as the Covid-19 global pandemic showed us when we need to, we make do. Workers can still carry out a 40-hour workweek…but do those working hours all need to be at the same time and repeated in the same way daily?

Not really. And here’s why.

Letting the Data Speak About the Working Week

When you take a deeper dive into the data supporting these assumptions, it seems that people from all sides of the spectrum are largely in agreement, that:

• Flexible schedules work well for employees, with 73% of them saying it makes them feel more satisfied.
• This promoted a higher level of productivity, with fewer hours worked in longer spaces of time actually working better.
• Flexible schedules are an attractive benefit of a job, with 77% of job hunters and employees stating this is a key factor in their search and consideration to take a job.
• Flexible schedules can be a deciding factor in taking a job, with 33% of employees considering leaving if this isn’t offered.
• Flexible working fosters a better work-life balance, and that 90% of employees stand by this.

It seems that flexible schedules are the key to employee happiness, motivation and even can be a recruitment tool!

But, from knowing this knowledge to actually planning and executing it, there’s a huge gap. This is where things get complicated. But actually, once you know the options with flexible scheduling, you can plan better and keep your employees happy and productive!

Here’s everything you need to know:

Flexible Work Schedule Options
Here are a few different flexible work schedule options available, with no ‘one-size fits all’ option:

The Compressed Work Schedule

This is the most common of all flexible scheduling options, where instead of 40 hours over 5 days, employees work 10 hours over 4 days instead. This means an extra day off for employees so they can rest a little more. It also saves time on commuting and so forth.

Daily Flexible Schedule

This is, as it sounds, a much more flexible schedule: your employees could choose to –

• Arrive early and then leave earlier in the day
• Arrive later and then leave later in the day
• Take a little more time during lunch, and then make up the time they used later

Flex-time

This is the most complicated-sounding of schedules and involves a lot of employer-employee trust.

Employees can arrive and leave when they want, and the focus is shifted to how tasks are completed rather than the time that is worked. Employees are responsible for their time, and as long as they meet their goals, everything is fine.

Employees can work any hours they like, from the office or at home, as long as they are on track and on-task.

Managing Flexible Work Schedules with Automation

Sounds complicated? It can be…but luckily, there are some automated solutions to help you and your team manage their flexible working schedules.

Scheduling apps, such as Connecteam, take all of the complications and hassle out of tracking and scheduling your employees’ working hours.

It’s even more than just an employee scheduling app: with its in-app chat features, self-guided training and more, you’ll love it (and so will your employees), no matter where they are, and when they’re working.

When it comes to flexible scheduling, you’ll be able to create, assign, and deploy a range of shift options across calendar views and more. Leave a note, leave a shift to be claimed by team members – it’s totally up to you.

You can even set recurring shifts, or one-off jobs, add notes and even see all potential scheduling conflicts.

You’ll be wondering how you’ve ever managed to manage your team without it! Connecteam has a 14-day free trial and pricing starts at just $39 a month for up to 50 users), or there’s a Forever Free plan.

The post You Need a Flexible Work Schedule in 2022: Here’s Why appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Working from home—or telecommuting—gives employees the flexibility and freedom to perform their work tasks from their home offices. However, working from home often requires an internet connection so you can collaborate and network with your colleagues. While some companies might provide internet for their employees in order to carry on with their work tasks, some companies might not and the employee has to incur the costs of internet themselves and these costs might or might not be paid back by the company.

An employee spending their own money to buy internet has to plan effectively. With this in mind, ISPs are making their internet more affordable —either by reducing their prices, increasing data size, or introducing tailored work from bundles, so as to make one’s planning effective. ISP like MTN Uganda introduced a work-from-home bundle as part of the company’s plan to support the fight against Covid-19.

MTN Uganda introduced the work-from-home bundle in 2020 right in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic to encourage people to work from home other than at their offices to combat the spread of the deadly virus.

The work-from-home bundle is a 1GB data package priced at UGX2,000 valid from 9 AM to 5 PM. According to MTN Uganda CEO; Mr. Wim Vanhelleputte, the time interval selected for the bundle is the same as the normal working hours.

To activate the work from home bundle, dial *150*19# or use the MyMTN app and you can buy for yourself or another person. We believe the data is capped, thereby it won’t be consumed quickly. 1GB isn’t much, therefore, we recommend no heavy downloads, deactivate updates, avoid streaming. If you require to do more, we recommend purchasing a different bundle other than this.

Notably, for the 42-days lockdown, you can get a monthly package. MTN offers a monthly package of 30GB for UGX100,000 that we can recommend you purchase since it is more effective.

The post MTN’s Work-from-Home Bundle Could be Effective in this 42-days Lockdown appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

With the outbreak, a number of measures were put in place to prevent and slow down transmission. One of the best measures according to WHO, is to protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face. But other measure have been by respective governments in various countries and one we shall look at in this article is, working from home.

H.E President Museveni during one of his national addresses on COVID-19, called on all employees to work from home as a measure to fight the transmission of the Coronavirus. To back his measure, various companies for instance MTN Uganda supported this and also introduced “Work From Home” internet bundles.

The work from home bundle is a 1GB data package costing UGX2,000 which is vaild from 9AM to 5PM. According to Mr. Wim, the CEO of MTN Uganda, the time interval was selected because of the normal working hours. He called on employers shut down their offices and transition their employees to remote work.

With that aside, working for some business or most business is handling of calls i.e. making and receiving calls. Our team of reviewers came across the MTN Kigale Fixed Line, a desk phone that comes with uninterrupted free calls valid for six (6) months.

So we thought the device would be a good or not, one of the best accessories to have while working from home.

The MTN Kigale Fixed Line is priced at UGX138,000 and comes with a fixed MTN SIM card. The phone comes bundled with 6 months of free calls and your business is entitled to 100 MTN minutes plus 20 local network minutes (calling other networks) every month.

Your free minutes to all networks, will be automatically activated every month, for half a year, from the day you buy and activate your phone. Any unused bundle minutes are automatically carried forward till the six months expire.

If you already have an MTN Kigale Fixed Line or if your six months expire, you can buy the 100 MTN minutes and 20 minutes bundle at UGX36,000. Simply dial *160*53# and follow prompts.

Having bought the MTN Kigale Fixed Line, inside the box comes in;

• 039 series MTN Number (Compatible with a free 0800).
• A Base Fixed Line Phone.
• Phone Holder.
• Base to holder Transmission cable (RJ11).
• Battery.
• USB Cable.
• USB Charging Brick.
• User Manuals.

Stay safe and work from home.

The post Working From Home with the MTN Kigale Fixed Line appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

For employers the benefits of telecommuting include reduced overhead costs and the potential to source top talent from around the world rather than being geographically limited.

At the same time, while there’s been a lot of conversation about telecommuting, it’s usually theoretical. Fewer businesses are actually willing to take the leap, but the coronavirus might be changing that.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, employers all over the world have asked their employees to stay home whenever possible, and many are pointing to the fact that things may stay this way even after the immediate threat of the virus has passed.

There’s so much technology available, including intranets so employees can receive news and updates, communication platforms, and video chatting apps. It makes it more feasible than ever before for people to telecommute on a larger scale.

The following are some things to know about the coronaviruses’ effects on the world of remote work.

What Employers Need to Do

For employers who haven’t already done so, or who are working toward making telecommuting more permanent even after shutdowns lift, they need to have a strong infrastructure in place to make it work.

Employees need not just have internet and technology access but they also need to understand the protocols for privacy and security.

You’ll need to make physical materials digital, and you’ll want cloud-based tools that make it easy for employees to work and access the information they need. Once you have a strong telecommuting and remote work infrastructure, it becomes easy to scale it up and make it an enduring part of your business.

Along with the technology-based infrastructure, you need guidelines for working remotely. Set expectations for employees, so they know how and when they need to communicate.

New Risks

While telecommuting and remote work have reduced risk in terms of spreading the coronavirus, the situation can create new risks.

One such risk is called cyber hygiene by SHRM.

This refers to the fact that remote workers are less likely to follow stringent cybersecurity protocols when they’re working at home as compared to working in an office environment.

This can be an even greater risk once people are once again out and about more and instead of working from home are perhaps working remotely from somewhere like a coffee shop. Employees may use unsecured public Wi-Fi networks, and that makes it critical that employers have a strategy for dealing with the unique cybersecurity threats that come with remote work.

Bringing People Together

We’ve heard a lot of slogans encouraging social distancing in recent weeks, like “together apart.”

The idea with social distancing is, of course, that we are putting physical distance between ourselves to cut the spread of the coronavirus.

In a remote work environment, there is inherent social distancing, whether there’s an imminent virus threat or not.

Employers have to think about how to tackle the limitations this can bring about.

Technology increasingly offers the solutions needed. For example, tools like Zoom and other virtual meeting apps and screen sharing apps should be a regular part of the workday for your employees.

This will help them feel connected to thecompany and one another, and that sense of collaboration and interaction can reduce some of the pitfalls of remote work, such as isolation, loneliness, and a loss of productivity brought about by a loss of engagement.

Employee Wellness

Employee mental and physical wellness cannot be forgotten when they are working remotely.

When employees work in a traditional setting, health and wellness programs are often part of the workplace.

For example, you might have group exercise classes or special health programs.

When employees work remotely, they still need that and it should be part of what you offer your employees.

Of course, it might be offered in a different format.

For example, maybe you subsidize the cost of an online fitness app for your employees or have a mental health professional send out regular email reminders that are relevant to the people who work for you.

The coronavirus has been an awful situation for the world, but there may be valuable takeaways, including the importance of harnessing the power of technology so that employees can work remotely more often.

If you’re an employer, now might be the time you start to think about how increasing long-term telecommuting could look for your organization and your employees.

The post Could Coronavirus Make Telecommuting the Norm? appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.