3 steps to successfully implement teleworking in companies

The implementation of teleworking is now part of strategies to retain staff. It allows employees to work from home or from spaces where they feel more productive, thanks to new technologies.

However, the widespread adoption of remote work is not yet unanimous. While some companies reserve this option for periods of crisis, others are considering keeping part of their workforce remote, by changing the rules of work organization.

So what are the prerequisites for implementing remote work within a company? Is it necessary to call on external expertise? What are the most effective digital tools to supervise a remote team? Answers in this guide on setting up teleworking.

Analyze the needs for good conditions for the implementation of telework

The implementation of teleworking primarily requires a phase of analysis of the needs of employees and the company. This step allows the company to ensure that it can effectively adopt remote work, depending on its industry.

It also makes it possible to verify that employees are ready to engage in this new dynamic and to make the efforts required for full success. A good needs analysis can help predict the impact of decisions on the company’s turnover.

Analysis of the company’s needs

Defining the company’s needs for remote work requires the employer to ask themselves some specific questions. This involves looking at:

• Personnel management policy;
• The hourly mass necessary to carry out projects or tasks in the company;
• Statistics of tardiness and absence;
• The number of jobs in the company that can be performed remotely;
• The cost of a change in working methods;
• The form of teleworking adapted to the operation of the company.

At the end of the definition of needs, the HR manager will have to choose between full-time telework and alternating telework.

Full-time teleworking allows the employee to work completely outside the premises of the structure. It is suitable for jobs that do not require regular team interactions.

Its main advantage is that it converts hours of driving into hours of work for jobs that require a lot of concentration and thought. It also helps to reduce travel allowance costs.

Alternating teleworking obliges the worker to divide their working time between the company and their home. It is for the employer and the employee to define the number of days of presence in the company.

This form of teleworking is compatible with jobs that can be carried out remotely, but which require interactions. It allows the company to reduce part of its personnel management costs and avoid the risk of isolation.

Analysis of employee expectations

The health crisis has lifted the reluctance that many managers had for remote work. Several have even noticed that this way of organizing work contributes to improving performance management.

This observation motivated them to choose to implement teleworking after the experience of confinement. However, the law does not allow the employer to make telework mandatory in the absence of a crisis situation.

It is then necessary to discuss and collect the opinions of employees. This can be done through a meeting or a questionnaire on Google Forms.

The meeting will allow the employer to present their plan for implementing telework. To ensure the effectiveness of the session, the company can set up brainstorming. This will be an opportunity to conduct an open debate and diagnose previous experiences of teleworking.

Employees will be able to share positive points and areas for improvement.

The questionnaire will encourage employees to give honest answers taking into account respect for anonymity. Data collection will provide details on:

• The number of employees who wish to work remotely;
• The ability of employees to work independently;
• The equipment needs of employees;
• The training needs of employees for the mastery of digital solutions;
• The productivity rate of teleworking employees.

It is also possible to request a specialized platform for the collection of employee opinions.

In fact, employees have realized that working from home can promote a better work-life balance. However, they need the company to take steps to ensure that their rights are respected in this process of implementing telework.

Define rules to frame the implementation of telework

This is the second step in the implementation of teleworking in companies. It consists in defining the rights of the different parties in order to frame teleworking in companies.

Conditions for the use of telework

The Labour Code recommends that employers use a charter or collective agreement before teleworking is implemented.

In the absence of a charter or a collective agreement, the employer may proceed to the implementation of teleworking by simple agreement with the employee. It is recommended under these conditions to have the employee sign an amendment to the contract.

The method of formalizing remote work chosen by the company must specify:

• Company employees affected by teleworking;
• The procedure for requesting teleworking by the employee;
• The form of teleworking;
• The provision of equipment by the employer;
• Means of monitoring the employee’s performance;
• Respect for working hours.

The lack of respect for hours is one of the most difficult teleworking issues to manage. Labour law does not provide a clear provision on normal hours and overtime for remote work.

However, the employer can help the employee by suggesting a specific time slot for work, or by specifying the number of hours worked on a daily basis. Thus, the employee can organize themselves as they wishe, but respect their professional hourly quota.

Management of remote work by the employer

The implementation of teleworking involves the development of new strategies for managing human resources remotely. It is recommended to start with an information session to explain the rules of telework to all employees.

In addition to the communication session, the company can share the charter or collective agreement on teleworking.

Then, it will be necessary to define a new clocking system that can take into account all working hours. In addition to the time system, a device that provides information on the daily or weekly tasks performed by employees will also be useful.

Finally, it is necessary to define a common weekly meeting slot through digital channels. This will allow all teams to discuss priority tasks and objectives to be achieved.

It will also require a specific professional channel for exchanges and a frequency of transmission of activity reports. All this will help employees to be productive and maintain usability.

Equipping yourself technologically

When the employer and employees agree to implement telework, the company must make technological arrangements.

Collaborative tools adapted to the implementation of teleworking

There are several collaborative work tools that facilitate the implementation of teleworking. It is up to the company to choose the one that suits it according to its activities and mode of operation. Here is a selection of these digital solutions:

• ERP;
• Zoom;
• Trello;
• Google Calendar.

ERP is an enterprise resource planning system that centralizes information on the work done by all departments. Human Resources departments use it to track time recording, absences, leave and other aspects of personnel management.

Zoom is a useful video conferencing solution for organizing team meetings or trainings. It allows you to add a large number of participants to an online meeting and share files. Another feature of Zoom is the option given to participants to raise their hands. This can help to know the opinion of employees on an important topic.

Trello is a business-friendly app that organizes the execution of tasks in the form of projects. It allows you to divide a project into sub-activities to which you can assign managers. Another advantage of Trello is that it allows each team member to know the status of ongoing projects.

Google Calendar allows you to merge multiple calendars. Thus, the company has the possibility to remind all staff of events. It can also remind deadlines for submitting tasks or reports.

The protection of company data

Teleworking is facilitated by the dematerialization of data management and storage. This ensures flexibility in the execution of tasks, but exposes the company to risks of theft of sensitive data. Common risks are:

• Loss or corruption of data;
• Contamination of the company’s system caused by a security breach in the employee’s computer;
• The contamination of files useful for the execution of a task.

It is therefore necessary to anticipate protection against these risks through several actions.

The first action is the adoption of a remote connection authentication system. It consists of assigning employees single-use usernames and passwords.

Whenever workers want to connect to the company’s platform, they must use their access and the associated VPN network. This first level of protection prevents attempts to access data by people outside the company.

The second action is updating cybersecurity systems. This involves regularly updating antivirus, operating systems and data backup systems. It is a measure that makes it possible to fix bugs and solve security vulnerabilities.

The third action is to raise staff awareness of the importance of protecting company data. In teleworking, it is common to find that workers access the company’s platform with their computers.

Awareness ensures the adoption of safety actions planned by the company in such situations.

In summary, the implementation of teleworking can be successful, provided that the needs of the company and employees are well analyzed. As far as possible, an expert should be called upon to collect and analyse employees’ opinions.

Then, it is necessary to define the rules for the organization of telework, based on the directives given by the Labour Code. Finally, employees must be equipped with the right collaborative work tools, and ensure data protection in all aspects in the implementation of teleworking.

Do you want to successfully organize teleworking in your company?

The opinions of your employees can let you know if the current implementation of teleworking by your company is good or if it needs to be improved.

Custplace provides your company, through Avisalarie.com, with a page on which the employees of your structure can leave opinions on its operation and other aspects. You will also be able to respond to these reviews and thus start the discussion.

This is a great opportunity for your company to have feedback from your employees, on the subject of the implementation of teleworking, in order to make the decisions that will contribute to its success. Click here for more information on this offer today.