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Remote Control

When I was a child, I got a gift on my birthday, which was a car moving and controlled remotely. Certainly I couldn’t imagine by that time the importance and effect of remote control.

Remote control is in fact remote management at large and currently remote management is widely used in the current circumstances that affect the world, which is the "Corona virus."

Since communication had an effect on people's personal lives, it is understood that it affects consequently professional lives.

Communication and technology have been one of the transformative powers that have brought great support to life in the world.

The digital transformation had a tremendous influence on many areas of the world. Breaking the geographical boundaries was the first impact that many people had on contacting family members traveling abroad, increasing and maintaining social feelings, reducing social stress and anxiety. Nowadays you can manage many activities for projects delivery while you have multinational teams and working remotely and successfully deliver the projects products.

The world now facing one of the worst, if not the worst pandemics so far coronavirus COVID-19, and the world is between crisis management that requires  keeping people at home to prevent Corona virus from spreading and on the other hand the recession that will hardly hit economies when work stops.

 

Communication technology actually has solved a large part of the problem by allowing people to work from home/ remotely, shop remotely, manage financial matters without going to the banks, conduct voice and video meetings, and even remote monitoring.

Technology that used to have a bad reputation for losing jobs because people feared that technology is going to do what they are doing. Technology is saving jobs today!

Of course, other activities under which you can function on premises or deal with the situation in the field, such as but not limited to, large building projects, infrastructure projects, where certain types of workers are involved in the workplace.

Organization’s guide for remote work:

Remote concept of work: this means that workers conduct their roles and responsibilities outside the normal work place using one of the networking systems as one of the alternatives ensuring consistency of business services.

Remote work is the collective responsibility of all parties at all levels, government, labor unions, employees and organizations. Through this post, I will present my guide to staff and organizations for remote work.

Organizations efforts have to combine all departments work to have stable performance and on the top of that to prepare the remote management framework that enables smooth operation management and goals achievement.

There are famous organizations believed and implemented work remotely like for example Amazon, Dell, Kaplan, Gartner, Cisco, JBMorgan Chase, Xerox, Lenovo, Johnson & Johnson etc…

Management needs to address the following 5Ws’answers to start the practice of remote business operations:

 

1) Why do we need workers in the premises?

2) What they must do on premises and cannot do remotely?

3) How management can operate, control and accomplish goals with virtual org. structure?

4) What employees have to do regularly to assure the linkage and dedication to the organization’s objectives?

5) Where meetings that need presence can take place else than company’s premises?

 

The following patterns will help to encourage the management’s decision to improve the way the company does business remotely.

 

  • Build a virtual organizational structure through a communication technology tool. 
  • Ensure that all workers have access to a single organization communications media. 
  • Create a management framework for work remotely that fits your business model. 
  • Ensure that you have an information security test to avoid leakage and infiltration. 
  • Create an organization's monitoring and reporting tool. 
  • Working remotely is part of company’s business continuity strategy, it is important not to be pleasant to have. 
  • Ensure that your network allows remote access and that you have a policy on computer protection from abuse or personal usage during working hours.
  • Convert PCs to laptops to resource mobility.
  • Ensure that asset management rules are in place.
  • Review the organization's requirements for broad workspace and monthly spending commitments.
  • Employ virtual reality, mixed reality technologies in the business areas.
  • Create a zero-employee in premises program and conduct business effect analysis.
  • As a technology, jargon' Going to DR' means operating from a data recovery center “Remote work” practice and make it regular practice.
  • Practicing work remotely will increase the proficiency of the outcome “and will introduce the corrective and preventive steps to handle the remote actions of employees.
  • Remember, “Job is essential however, working in company premises is not”.
  • Make sure that to use the video to make sure all people attention and note the body language that may be misinterpreted due to connectivity issue.
  • Staying at home for workers does not mean that we are all living in the same home so be careful not to arrange meetings after work hours except in case of emergency calls.

There are expected benefits for organizations while applying work remotely, here is a list of some benefits that organization will gain from remote work:

  • Determine the level of engagement and define the real good staff.
  • Eliminate indirect cost of premises.
  • Improve the moral of employees.
  • Enhance work –quality of life balance.
  • Gain employees satisfaction and happiness.
  • Foster faith and commitment to employees.
  • Strength of organization resilience.
  • Eliminate the business results tough fluctuations.
  • Improve the ability of the organization to handle the crisis.
  • Share in enhancing the world pollution elimination.
  • Share in making the world happier.
  • Eliminate the bad side effects of the capitalism.

Employee’s remote work guide

Imagine that you are waking up opening your early morning window, taking your shower, listing to the morning music and started to get your first business call instead of losing two hours at least till you have reached the workplace!

There are other benefit than just getting up while you have saved your temper and nerve from riding to workplace.

  • Thank God, every day that you're employed and you're not jobless.
  • Be connected when needed and be committed to the work hours plan.
  • Prepare your home/ remote work place with comfortable seat and work zone, adequate internet connection to cover your use for family and business requirements, own Wi-Fi speakers with a clear voice, ensure that you have a power supply and a switch that meets all your needs (laptop, phone charger, speaker charger, etc.).
  • Wear smart business clothes to let you know that you're working and not on holiday.
  • Plan all of your meetings in advance to handle your business in order.
  • As you've saved some fuel and transportation expenses, you can change your home and equipment to a better spot.
  • Manage the after work hours to enjoy going out to avoid the boring feeling.

 

Benefit for employee working from home/ remotely

  • Increase the professional development chance.
  • Build your own emergency preparation and contingency plan.
  • Show commitment and increase your chance for management trust.
  • Use the period to enhance family bonds.
  • Think and offer ideas to enhance the work from home/ remotely practice.
  • Save costs of clothes
  • Save at least 44 hours a month of effort and driving from- to workplace.

 

Conclusion:

People need more flexible employment conditions, more workplaces to work from to invent and operate business.

It is noted from my experience that working remotely eliminate time waste, increase resources utilization and eliminate the stress level, actually, people are productive remotely than being on premises.

Remote work will soon become an action standard, and it is important for this practice to improve by providing a comprehensive solution for individuals and organizations that must be established based on (Technology, information security, Compliance, Efficiency, Training, Rules and Regulations) that should be developed.

In the near future, intelligent management will become a key player, which can operate remotely and achieve its aims and business goals.

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Walid Gamil

About author

PMO executive

Veteran and goal-driven executive with results-charged career overseeing multi-million-dollar engagements in projects portfolio management, operational excellence, general management and digital business transformation with dual focus on the top-line growth and bottom-line performance and broader palette of skills addressing both revenue and cost challenges organizations face.
Outstanding strategist with success achieving strategic goals, executing transformation, change management, portfolio of projects, optimizing operations performance, delivering significant cost efficiencies, discovering potential & supporting business growth opportunities and effective risk management.
Added value areas are optimized operations performance, delivering significant cost efficiencies, executing transformation and change management, discovering and supporting growth opportunities for business, ensuring effective risk management, and managing functional departments.
Superior operations analyst with strong experience in functional departments (Finance, Supply Chain, Planning, Budgeting, Sales & Marketing, Manufacturing, Costing, CRM, HCM) gained through deep diving in setting and implementing ERP solutions in manufacturing and non-manufacturing environments for large scale organizations in Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution, Education, Utility, Health, Banking, Consulting, and Government sectors.
Value added areas are optimized operations performance, delivering significant cost efficiencies, executing transformation and change management projects, discovering and supporting growth opportunities for business, ensuring effective risk management, and managing functional departments.

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