Work-from-home (WFH) is becoming the new norm as people are ordered not to leave their houses during the coronavirus. WFH technology is like a prey treasure hunt for many first-timers that have never performed their duties from home before.
The role of technology in the workforce has remained stagnant due to companies not wanting to spend money on new Internet technology. But the coronavirus has shown businesses that every enterprise, not just a tech company, should incorporate WFH.
The WFH concept is being thrust into the workforce, pushing the need for technology in the home that allows workers to continue working from home into the mainstream. Many companies that took advantage of this option once or twice a week found it difficult to transition to the full-time remote workday.
The Singapore FinTech Association quickly adapted technology to the change with cloud-based tools and video conferencing. Other companies floundered without knowing what steps to take to bring their operations online.
Companies That Put Their Workforce on WFH Technology Early
Businesses have either shut down their services, remain open as an essential enterprise, or have chosen to bring their processes to the WFH concept. Major tech companies across the United States decided to use home technology to allow their workforce to stay afloat.
The major technology companies that acted quickly were:
- Apple
- Alphabet
- Microsoft
- Amazon*
- HP
- Intel
A lot of them started with a “work from home if you can” method. The initial steps involved encouraging people to use their own home technology to continue working. Eventually, many of these companies decided to push their employees to the WFH concept to curb the virus.
HP was able to put the majority of their workers to the concept, but it’s not possible for all of them. Amazon, which sells most of the future home technology, was able to allow tech personnel to use equipment to work from home. The key issue is that the company’s warehouses are overflowing with people, and the virus is spreading as a result.
These organizations have a lot of the infrastructure in place to allow workers to use technology in the home to connect to the company’s servers and work. Small businesses have a much harder time.
Catalysts Occur When Pandemics Hits
Catalysts are always going to occur, and pandemics leave many things destroyed in its path; that’s why humanity has to adapt. If you look at Asia back in the early 2000s, the SARS virus hit and devastated many economies.
But we saw that technology allowed the world to change, primarily for the better.
A lot of the biggest companies in Asia adapted and changed the way that they ran their businesses, and today the whole world relies on them, consuming their goods and nearly every possible service one can imagine.
Technology and the ability to adapt are a good thing.
The organizations that have changed the world and got their start during one of the last pandemics include Taobao, a Chinese e-commerce company, with over 700+ million active users. Taobao is an Alibaba company that was founded to offer products B2C rather than B2B like Alibaba has been known for since they first opened.
Transitioning to a WFH Employer
Smart home technology isn’t enough to allow workers to work from home. Techniques need to be put in place that enables key individuals to perform their duties from the comfort of their houses. Each business will have to determine which positions can be adapted to this and which require an in-person worker to fulfill.
The following occupations can be switched to WFH:
- Developers
- Graphics designers
- HR
- Customer service
- Accountants
- Many more
The key is to provide your workforce with the technology they need to be able to work from home confidently.
A few of the most common tools that are going to push the catalyst of WFH and in-home technology are:
- Conferencing apps are huge right now. Zoom, Facebook, Skype, and others enable face-to-face communication with employees. What you choose depends on how much power and security you need from these programs.
- Documents and spreadsheets can be accessed on the cloud with numerous cloud options from Google Docs to Microsoft’s Office and Apple Pages.
- Collaboration tools keep workers connected include Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and several others. They allow workers to collaborate together quickly.
- Communication is not going to be as easy as walking up to someone’s desk. Tools that help people communicate include Slack, Zoom, and Skype, to name a few.
- Remote access software is even more important when you need to access your work computer. Splashtop Remote Access, RemotePC, TeamViewer are among the most frequent choices.
You’ll also want to make sure that the staff has basic security measures in place, including antivirus and malware technology. One of the biggest concerns of a business going to the WFH model is that workers do not have the right means to secure business files and documents.
Technology will be the backbone of the work-from-home movement. COVID-19 is definitely changing the world as we know it, and it’s going to be a long time before everything returns to normal – if it ever does.
Technology will allow more people to work from home, and businesses will be able to consider the time spent during the coronavirus as an example of why more people should WFH if they’re allowed.
Do you look forward to working from home and the change it will have on the world of business?
