Most CIOs are currently asking themselves if remote IT going to be a long-term trend or are IT staff eventually return back to the offices. But the most relevant question should be how CIOs can ensure the on-going productivity of IT staff, and how to measure the effectiveness.
Here are some of the answers to these questions and how CIOs can make remote IT be more effective and productive.
Remote IT as a long-term trend
Remote work exists in IT for many years so it is not entirely new for most tech companies. But with Covid-19 the capacity for the solutions that make remote work possible has been changed from a small percentage of workers to the whole IT staff. Tools like video and web conferencing are used for effective collaboration and a more productive work process.
Remote IT will continue to be a trend and IT organizations need to be prepared with the capability and capacity of the tools and solutions that make it possible. Covid-19 has definitely put the focus on digital transformation and digitization and this has already proved to be a successful working pattern.
Important metrics to measure remote IT effectiveness
Measuring remote IT effectiveness is based on traditional methods (work time/overtime, talent retention, attrition) but also on new metrics that gauge the fine line between business needs and results. These will include the way the remote workers deal with any disruptions in the remote working process, how often they use online tools for collaboration, outcomes of completed tasks and results, as well as customer satisfaction with a remote workforce.
CIOs must focus on using more dynamic collaboration tools to improve communication not only between the remote workers but in the relationship with the clients as well.
Top challenges of managing a remote IT staff
The biggest challenges of managing a remote IT staff are ensuring productivity and maintaining personal connections and communication. To ensure productivity, CIOs need to focus on deliverables on both individual and team levels, as well as task quality, velocity, and completion. In addition, regular communication and interaction are important to build trust and confidence within the remote IT team.
Most effective tools for remote IT teams
There are a lot of online tools for collaboration and it is important that CIOs are aware of how they are used and what tools should be used together. This will help to minimize the channels the team uses and ensures that communication is more effective.
Tools like GoRemote, 24Stack, as well as social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp can be used to unlock teaming, communication, collaboration, and awareness – but it is the job of the CIO to help the team understand when and how to use them.
Security as a major challenge for the remote IT workforce
With a remote IT workforce, security can be a challenge but can be overcome. Apart from adapting digital remote tools to address the security requirements for remote working, other measures need to be taken to ensure physical security. CIOs need to ensure that there are company policies on password and device security protection and that employees are trained to protect not only themselves but also the company in a remote working environment.
In conclusion, remote work is not only a style of work but a different mode of work and needs a different focus. CIOs should train and guide employees to adapt workflows that aim to find hidden efficiencies and make the working process more productive.
