Organisations across all sectors remain focused on facilitating remote and hybrid working practices. While this offers much-needed flexibility to employees, the leading platforms and infrastructure on the market today have a long way to go before it can truly prove optimal long term.

On one hand, workers can feel isolated from projects and everyday operations, if left to their own devices for too long. On the other, too much digital messaging and other platform activity can become overwhelming. A balance needs to be struck between these scenarios, for remote and hybrid working models to work effectively. Meanwhile, access to training and IT assistance can be lacklustre if skill development and ticket channels aren’t in place and operational at all times.

Here, we explore some of the most common IT-based remote work challenges, and how businesses can look to overcome them.

Notification noise

Moving to workforce communication platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom has been a vital part of keeping projects alive while staff have worked away from the office. However, if not managed properly, notifications being received 24 hours a day can create more distractions, leading to employee disengagement and burnout. 

Too many channels can spread employees thin while interrupting the completion of tasks. Research from Unily reveals that 77% of UK and US employees find work-based notifications distracting, with almost half (48%) being pulled away from their duties every half an hour.

To mitigate the possible productivity detriments involved in keeping track of messages and notifications across multiple apps, businesses should consider widespread use of scheduling tools, to dedicate blocks of time for deep work. Use of email and messaging platforms should also be minimised outside core office hours, in order to further maintain boundaries.

Meanwhile, customising the priority of notifications – for example, distinguishing whole-channel messages from direct messages sent by managers and department colleagues – can also be ideal.

IT training gaps

A possible disconnect between office-based and remote workers can lead to training gaps occurring when it comes to new IT processes and platforms being implemented. While the evolution of digital collaboration approaches is necessary for engagement and innovation, this should not come at the risk of leaving employees out of the loop.

According to WFH Research, remote workers spend 25% less time on career development than their office-based counterparts. This can come down to managers, who may spend more time in the office, failing to set time aside to properly equip staff working remotely with up-to-date skill sets. However, even having all the time in the world to train off-site employees is bound to be ineffective without the right online resources.

There are a wealth of workplace training providers on the market currently, which can be implemented into the career development pipeline. Nevertheless, all training content should be standardised with the specific goals of the organisation in mind, and this will be difficult if different providers are brought in for different departments. 

All resources should be made easily accessible with single sign-on (SSO), either via an email link or through implementation into existing HR platforms. Alongside this, all learning materials should be centralised within one Learning Management System (LMS).

Overcoming management proximity bias

Shifting to hybrid working models has led to the utilisation of performance reviews that are based either partly or entirely online. While managers are generally working to stay engaged with the interests of employees, wherever they are working, over a fifth (21%) of employees are concerned about proximity bias – the preference of staff seen face-to-face over remote staff – according to HR Magazine. Additionally, Future Forum research has revealed that

• The role of AI in improving remote work collaboration and communication

 are most concerned by inequities between on and off-site employees.

To properly maintain engagement across the whole workforce, inside and beyond the office headquarters, regular check-ins (agreed in advance, rather than impromptu) are key. This includes updates on day-to-day tasks, as well as digitally commenting and collaborating on ongoing projects.

AI summarisation capabilities built into platforms can also help get workers up to speed, should they miss any conversations or meetings. Those out of office should no longer be out of mind, by having these measures in place regularly.

Addressing hardware issues

Another common challenge around IT infrastructure is the fixing of technical issues within hardware while working from home. Partnering with IT support suppliers that can easily look into the operating systems of staff working outside the office is common. However, such suppliers often work with several companies at once, which can lead to overwhelming demand and long queueing times – extending the standstill already in place.

Addressing equipment malfunctions can also be challenging when laptops and other hardware tools aren’t standardised. For example, Windows laptops are bound to have slight, but important differences in the control panel compared to Macbooks. This calls for bespoke service from employee to employee.

When ensuring devices are secure and up to date, as well as solving IT issues along the way, support should be available 24/7. A ticketing system with automated troubleshooting, which may otherwise be used for addressing software issues, can also be extended to hardware problems – helping to reduce service bottlenecks and strain on support teams. In addition, live video chat should be made available as communication channels alongside traditional phone and email.

Solving equipment issues quickly using a combined, streamlined system bringing ticketing and communication together can mitigate issues as quickly as possible, with the need for new equipment to be delivered determined more rapidly.

• Staff expense control

Lastly, a lack of visibility when it comes to spending on equipment and software also needs to be addressed. Alongside this, global firms will need to oversee spending in various currencies and manage this accordingly. Protocols will vary from company to company, but the overriding outcomes should always be swift expense reimbursement, as well as control in line with agreed infrastructure in place.

Of course, expenses on the part of remote employees can go beyond IT equipment, encompassing client meetings that require travel and entertainment costs. Whatever is being purchased by remote workers, a digital expense management solution is key to keeping spending control and reimbursement in check. This will often come with the payroll management platform used by the organisation.

Having such a system in place will also help prevent fraudulent payments, and minimise financial complications. Real-time tracking that can be seen by the finance team and employees involved in every transaction will go a long way in closing that visibility gap that may otherwise be present when managing remote staff.