We all appreciate that working remotely can affect your productivity both positively and negatively. Staying productive as a remote employee or employer is no walk in the park, especially for people who find strength and motivation in teamwork.

But, for others, remote work environments can be a game-changer, boosting undisrupted concentration and allowing full creativity.

Yet, working with a remote team means relying on technology to become an essential part of communication, creation, completion, and everything in between. So how do you make it happen?

Give your team a point of contact when things go wrong

A Windows update gone wrong. Blue screen of doom. Frozen application. Regardless of the issue, it is unfair to expect your team to sort it out and carry on with their day. Your employees may not have the relevant skill set to solve IT issues. Besides, it could be a source of stress and frustration, wasting valuable time in their work day. So, rather than asking everyone to manage their laptops proactively, it is more effective to implement managed IT services, providing your team with:

• helpdesk desk when and where they need it
• proactive upgrade and security service
• an interlocutor to help manage ad-hoc requirements and issues

Invest in quality online meeting equipment

Nowadays, every laptop has an in-built camera that provides good quality for video calls. However, when it comes to the audio system, it can get tricky for employees who work in the middle of a loud area. People who live next to large urban infrastructure, for instance, may find that traffic noise can interfere with day-to-day calls. Similarly, if other members of the household also work from home, each other's calls can be disruptive. Helping your employees with an adequate headset can make a huge difference:

• Noise-cancelation feature
• Smart microphone that picks up the conversation but not surrounding noises
• Automatically mutes music playlist when you receive a call

e-sign tool for contracts and agreements

The typical process when an employee prepares a sales agreement with a customer or a supplier is to print out the document, sign it and send a scanned copy per email. Yet, it is an unnecessary paper waste, especially for home-based workers. Investing in a tool that enables them to annotate, sign, and place their initials on a PDF or any other digital document can speed up the process and reduce waste.

A grammar-correction tool

Not everyone is a confident communicator online. Yet, working remotely increases dependence on chats and emails. Therefore, it can make a big difference for your staff to include a tool such as Grammarly, which can correct grammar and improve readability on the go, keeping communication clear, flowing, and meaningful.

A second monitor

The idea that only tech staff requires a dual monitor setting is incorrect. Every employee can benefit from receiving an extra screen (or more than one depending on requirements) to:

• Compare data rapidly
• Separate communication tasks and work on different screens
• Keep the screen visible during a video call
• Use a screen for search (data, online, etc.)

Remote teams rely extensively on IT technology. Therefore, it makes sense to increase productivity and flow with strategies to support and prevent IT problems, improve communication clarity, speed up processes, etc.