A software development company, Zoho, has urged businesses to take the best of both onsite and remote approaches to business operations.
Mr Andrew Bourne, Region Manager, Africa, Zoho, revealed that business could leverage on the two approaches to get the best out of their businesses.
Bourne said that most businesses had been heading toward a hybrid model where some employees were remote and others worked on-site, which needed not be problematic.
He said that both offered distinct advantages, according to the function or individual task being fulfilled.
According to Bourne, with the right approach and technologies, it is possible to leverage the benefits of both without falling prey to any of the disadvantages traditionally associated with them.
“Companies around the globe have had to adopt remote working in a short period of time.
“Some have thrived and will not go back to the office model, with the likes of Twitter, Quora and Slack, all indicating that they will either be fully remote or remote-first for the foreseeable future.
“Others, however, have struggled with the transition and are hankering to get their teams back into the office.
“The ideal solution is probably somewhere in between these two extremes with employees able to work remotely when it is suitable and returning to the office as needed,’’ he said.
Bourne said that assessing needs and utilising technology could help businesses take a best-of-both-worlds approach to their operations.
According to him, bearing in mind that due to comfort zones and habits, staff members may feel the function needs to be onsite when in fact it may be more cost-effective or more efficient to do remotely.
In Bourne’s viewpoint, if your teams collaborated really well and were far more creative in the office, office space was worth the investment.
He noted that, similarly, employees might feel more comfortable approaching management face-to-face than over email or video call.
The region manager said there was also the issue of mental health making remote work not suitable to everyone, and some people might need human interaction to enable them to cope with being stuck at home.
“It may not be a daily interaction, it may just be a staff social event once a month, each circumstance or function should be assessed on a case-by-case basis to make the best decision for the future of the business.”
He revealed that technology could also help with another oft-cited headache when it involved balancing remote and on-site work, which he tagged project management.
Read also: 5 Ways Chatbots Can Improve Workflows – Zoho
