Kane William 
Many employers tend to worry that their employees will be less productive when working from home. It is easy to see why, but in recent years studies have shown that working from home could actually boost productivity instead – if you approach it the right way.
The key to boosting the productivity of your employees who are working from home is to encourage the right habits:
- Set up a schedule
Having set work hours and a fixed schedule can provide structure and give employees a routine to follow. This will keep them focused, and you can use an employee performance management tool like Controlio to track their working hours and ensure they stick to it.
- Encourage employees to take breaks
Taking short but regular breaks is a proven way to increase overall productivity. Talk to your employees and encourage them to try things like the Pomodoro technique so they’re taking 5 minute breaks after working for 25 minute stretches.
Because Controlio is able to track whether employees are active or idle you can use it to check whether or not they’re taking regular breaks. If they aren’t, you can bring it up in one-on-one meetings and use Controlio’s data to highlight how it affects their productivity.
- Help employees eliminate distractions
It is impossible to eliminate all distractions, but minimizing them as much as possible is a good idea. Get your employees to set up an office-like space to work in, and maybe turn their phone on silent during work hours.
The reports from Controlio will provide you data on app and web usage, as well as performance trends and a productivity score. Based on that you should be able to identify employees who are frequently distracted, and advise them on steps they can take to avoid it.
- Promote to-do lists
To-do lists are a useful way to organize and prioritize tasks, which can help employees stay on track. Foster the habit of keeping and updating to-do lists, and maybe even discuss them during daily or weekly meetings.
- Foster work relationships
One of the biggest challenges of remote work is the fact that it can be isolating. That’s why it is important to ensure employees connect with one another and foster work relationships.
A good way to start would be by using video conferencing and getting employees together on a weekly basis so that they still feel like they’re part of the team.
Implementing these tips should be a great start to boost your employees’ productivity. As you’ve probably noticed it will help a ton if you have a way to monitor your employees’ activities – and you should check out our review of Controlio to see exactly what it can do on that front.
With the right approach, letting your employees work from home can provide tons of benefits. Not only is it something that many employees will relish, but if done right you may find that your employees end up spending more time effectively working in the long term.
