Remote Working in Singapore – As companies begin to focus on recovering from the pandemic, uncertainty circumstances, however there is one thing to be clear, remote working is still here to stay. Most businesses will not return to the old orders of crowded offices and face-to-face meetings, or it might be happening again but not anytime soon. Furthermore, companies that were ‘remote-friendly’ before or during the crisis may be about to shift to being ‘remote-first.’

Thus, this article will give you information about remote working and the tips to build safe remote-first companies in Singapore, especially the year of 2021. Let’s keep reading!

READ MORE: Viettonkin Consulting service to help you build successful remote working culture

Overview of Remote-first Company

Remote-first is a strategy that makes working remotely the primary option for most or all employees. In addition, remote-first means that few people (if any) regularly require to perform their jobs from a centralized office. The employees can work from another location, such as a home office or co-working space.

This might be not a brand new approach, but remote-first began receiving a lot more attention because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many companies to adapt their business operations to start working from home.

In a remote-first workplace, working outside of a main workspace or corporate office is the default mode of working rather than an exceptional occasional practice. Nonetheless, it makes things different from a remote-friendly company. 

In a remote-friendly company, it enables some employees to work outside the office for various reasons, but it still conducts most of its daily operations in person. A remote-friendly company might allow employees to work remotely a certain number of days a week, or hire remote staff for specific job roles, but this is not the company’s primary mode of working.

For instance, in a remote-friendly environment, a person working from home one day per week might join a conference room where most of the other employees are meeting face-to-face. 

Conversely, remote-first companies operate a physical workplace of some kind, which is available to employees who need or prefer a traditional office space rather than a home. The majority of people in a remote team work most often from home or another location outside the corporate offices.

These remote-first companies culture establish remote work as the norm rather than something approved for only in certain circumstances. The number of companies that plan to become remote-first on a permanent basis are growing, because they realize the benefits of shifting to a work-from-home model during the COVID-19 crisis.

Tips to Build a Safe Culture of Remote Working in Singapore 2021

There are some tips to create a safe remote-first company in Singapore, especially the year of 2021. The tips indeed ensure the remote-first transition is seamless for everyone involved in the company. Thus, these are the tips for you to understand:

1. Do Your Homework

It might be a little complicated to switch from in-office to remote-first work, but it is possible to do. Therefore, you must have a solid game plan for how to transition your company to remote-first life. It includes all the details about how and when you plan to make this happen.

If your rent prices push you out of your office lease and you know you would not renew it, then you need to have a firm starting date for your official remote transition. You will also want to have a list of what each employee needs to do their job effectively out of the office.

You also need to consider things, such as “will you be providing employees with a remote work setup? Like a computer, internet stipend, and office chair?”

However, this is the time to start researching tools the most successful remote companies use for your teams as well.

2. Do Invest In The Right Remote Work Tools and Software

Communication and project tools may seem like an added cost, but they are worth the investment. They ensure that everyone on your team knows what is going on and can easily reach out to each other if something comes up.

Communication tools like Slack, Twist and Help Scout make great choices for staying in touch with remote team members and customers alike.

Project management tools like Trello, Basecamp and Asana also help show your team what is going on and when milestones or projects are due, which keeps everyone in the loop and accountable.

In addition, you can be more open to try out a few options to see which are really worth the investment and which are wasting money.

3. Don’t Rework Your Company Policy; Have a Remote Working Policy in Place

You should create a remote working policy, before you make the transition. This document outlines your policies, sets expectations, and creates a standard of fairness that everyone must comply.

It will give your team a sneak-peek into what they can expect once you turn remote-first. They need to use the list of all tools, such as Slack or Trello, so they know exactly how to manage their projects and stay in touch despite working remotely.

It is great for helping people see that the transition will not be so alarming, especially since there is a plan in place.

4. Don’t Keep It a Secret Until The Last Minute

Once you have the details worked out, the formalities taken care of and have a remote working policies in place, you should tell your employees that the company is planning to be a remote-first. 

Though, keep it in mind that remote work might not be for everyone. You will likely find that some team members may not want to switch to this way of working.

If you wait until the transition is started, then someone decides to back out, you will be left contending to hire someone last-minute while you go through the turmoil of transitioning. It will be going to stress you out towards the situation.

Hence, you must give your team a heads up by holding a meeting to address your plan, what everyone can expect, and how this would affect them moving forward. Let your team know that they should think about whether this is a good fit for them or not. Lastly, encourage them to let you know if it is not as soon as possible.

5. Do Consider Hiring Remote Employees for Remote Working in Singapore

You should examine to hire people who have experience in the virtual workplace and actually prefer remote working. As they would not need to go through a transition, and they might help guide your in-office team members on their remote-first journey.

Additionally, post your job advertisement on We Work Remotely, and you will have applicants from all over the world with the skills and experience you are looking for.

These tips are important for those who are in transition from an in-office company into the remote-first company. Since the idea might be a little shocking for most of your employees, but this actually might be working best for your employees and your company. In conclusion, despite the hassle, you would want to consider the tips to build a safe remote-first company in Singapore in the year of 2021.