A remote workforce takes more planning and moreattention to how to keep your team productive, cohesive and happyin their new work experience. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The dream of working from home suddenly has become our newreality. Prior to COVID-19, there were 3.9 million Americansworking from home at least half of their workweek, according to aFlexJobs State of the Remote Marketplace report.

Today, with stay-at-home orders in place and business locationsclosed until further notice, that number has spiked significantly.A recent Gartner survey of 800 global human resources executivesshows that in mid-March 2020, 88 percent of organizations wereeither encouraging or requiring employee to work from home.

That means plenty of companies are learning on the fly that aremote workforce is more than simply sending employees home withcompany-issued laptops. The transition takes more planning and moreattention to how to keep your team productive, cohesive and happyin their new work experience.

Related: 10 best states for working fromhome

For the insurance industry, there is more than a transitioningworkforce to contend with. Brokers and insurers are alreadycombating a shrinking pool of candidates and an exodus of talented,veteran employees heading off to retirement.

Even with the coordination challenges that are inherent in awork-from-home arrangement, a remote workforce answers more thanjust the immediate pandemic-related issues for brokers andinsurers. Because remote workers can be located anywhere, thetalent pool is broader and organizations can locate right-fittalent more easily.

Whether you're expanding your workforce or staying with yourexisting staff, getting them all on the same page requiresattention to what a remote workforce needs. When transitioning youremployees, pay attention to what your remote team needs in order tobe their most productive, successful selves.

Keep your team talking

The largest factor in the success of any remote workforce iseffective communication. Each individual team member needs to feelpart of the organization. Engage daily with each employee. Opt forvideo calls, open chat programs, email, and messaging apps to alloweasy flow of communication between you and your employees. Check indaily to see how each employee is doing. Encourage anytimecommunication, and make sure all employees have access to eachother via these communication channels.

Keep your team collaborating

Likewise, your team needs to connect to one another as a groupon a regular basis. Set up group meetings, and make sure everyonegets a voice and a role in the overall success of team efforts.

Make use of project management tools that allow for all teammembers to follow projects throughout the project lifecycle. Useshared folders and make sure every employee has access to the listof ongoing projects, and understands how his or her role fitswithin the overall goals of the company.

Keep your team in the loop

In order to keep your employees feeling like they are activelypart of your organization, make sure to communicate company updatesregularly. This includes keeping the staff informed about COVID-19timeline, new hires, retirements, terminations, industrycommunications, etc. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings can help youupdate your team on company business, as well as initiatives beingconsidered and milestones met.

Also, don't forget to celebrate together. Birthdays, holidays,and meeting project goals are a great time to show yourappreciation for your employees' efforts. Make sure to create thesame kind of camaraderie virtually that your employees would enjoyin an in-house environment.

Keep your team protected

One critical issue that all remote workers face iscybersecurity. Your company should have strong cybersecuritypolicies, and should be sharing them frequently with employees.Smart companies will put regular training in place to ensurepolicies are being followed.

Other cybersecurity must-haves include:

• User login with strong passwords that are changed regularly andmust be entered manually in order to access company servers
• Secure, private wireless connections or a virtual privatenetwork (VPN) when working in public places
• Updated operating systems and software that are set to updateautomatically
• Antivirus software that is updated regularly and renewedannually
• Who has access to what company files and systems

Another must-have: policies that are easy to understand and arecommunicated regularly to employees. Written cybersecurityexpectations should include how to set automatic updates, theimportance of logging off at the end of the work day, and what theprocess is for reporting issues.

Keep your team safe from hackers

The best way to educate your employees on preventing hacking isto have a simple system that is communicated regularly to everyone.Establish one secure system of file sharing, and don't allowemployees to share files by any other method.

Your organization should have policies that prohibit unsecureddevices to be used for sending or receiving company information orfiles. Employees should not be allowed to store company proprietaryinformation anywhere but on company-approved servers.

All employees must understand the following:

• How to detect phishing and hacking attempts
• What devices are permitted or prohibited for business use
• What company cybersecurity procedures are and what's expectedof each employee
• Where and how to report potential cybersecurity threats

Also, company devices should not be used for downloading otherapplications without company permission. Many of today's popularapps may seem innocuous, but often contain malware or maliciouscode that could allow hackers an easy entry into your entirenetwork. Employees must restrict personal surfing and downloadingto personal devices only.

Keep your team productive

To keep your employees on track with their own productivity,schedule regular one-on-one meetings. Work with your employees toset work goals, to discuss productivity issues or challenges, andto talk about anything that may be on their minds – family,financial pressures, upcoming milestones.

When employees set goals, the details should be noted in ashared folder. Encourage employees to refer to the folder weekly tocheck their progress against the stated goals. Holding one-on-onesessions with each employee can help you identify potential issuesor weaknesses. From there, you can help them overcome challengeswith coaching, more collaboration, or more training.

One suggestion for managers: relax. Focus on outcomes instead oftime spent on tasks. Shift the perspective from what employees aredoing to what they are achieving. Be goal-oriented in how youmanage your remote workforce.

Moving forward together

Whether your remote workforce is for the interim or you haveplans to make it a more permanent option, adopting a virtualbusiness model requires more focus on the elements that made yourin-house work culture a success.

Remote workforces call for a forward-thinking approach tooperations and active management of communications, expectations,performance and outcomes. By setting up a process that is inclusiveand focuses on outcomes, your organization can make a smoothertransition to flexible work arrangements and help your employees beproductive, engaged, and successful.

Sharon Emek, Ph.D., CIC, is founder and CEOof Work At HomeVintage Experts (WAHVE), an innovative contract talentsolution that matches retiring, experienced insurance, accountingand human resource career professionals with a company's talentneeds. WAHVE bridges the gap between an employer's need for highlyskilled professional talent and seasoned professionals desiring toextending their career working from home. 

Read more: 

• Remote working: Preparing for the long-termworkplace shift
• Working from home means skipping the commute—andthe shower
• Business continuity & social distancing: 3 tipsfor transitioning to a work-from-home model