Less stress, more free time and higher productivity are the benefits that the home office is supposed to bring. With the help of the following tips, you can ensure that the home office is a success for you and your employees alike.

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The most important facts in brief

• Make clear agreements and ensure effective communication - this creates transparency, motivation and security.
• Ensure a good infrastructure - this is the only way to achieve effective digital leadership in the home office.
• It is essential to observe labour and data protection regulations, even in the home office. 
• Support your employees: in setting up a productive workplace and in terms of their work-life balance and mental and physical health.

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How do I promote communication and cooperation?

The lack of a culture of presence, virtual meetings, digital leadership - home office does not only mean a considerable change for employees. With the help of the right organisation, you can give your employees more flexibility in the home office and also manage your company in a digitally productive way. 

Regular agreements and good project planning are prerequisites for the success of working from home. However, without direct contact with employees, colleagues and superiors, communication can quickly become a problem. The following measures help you to guarantee internal cooperation in the home office:

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1. use digital tools!

Digital software solutions offer a uniform information basis, promote uncomplicated data exchange and ensure transparent processes. The following tools should not be missing in the home office:

Communication programmes: You can exchange information quickly and easily with programmes like Slack or Zoom.

Project management tools: View responsibilities and project statuses transparently at any time - this is made possible by online project management tools such as Asana or Agantty.

Cloud-based programmes: Cloud-based solutions that allow you and your colleagues to work together on documents enable an efficient workflow. Appointment entries in digital calendars transparently show who is available and when. One of the most popular solutions for this is Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) with Google Drive.

2. observe meeting rules!

Efficiently and productively organise your meetings even in the home office: with meeting rules that all parties adhere to. This way, you not only achieve respectful cooperation, but also increase the motivation of your employees:

• Set meeting content in advance.
• Create a roadmap to guide you and your team through the meeting.
• Define goals.
• Determine a time frame.
• Appoint a moderator.

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How does digital leadership succeed?

Working from home and increasing digitalisation may present a new situation for managers and their employees. If you want to maintain or increase the performance and productivity of your employees, you need to keep motivation high even in the home office - and learn to lead digitally.

3. make clear agreements!

If all employees work in a home office, the demands on a manager increase considerably. Ensure clear communication to prevent uncertainty. Regular updates via video message or email will keep your employees informed of current developments, while fixed times for queries provide additional security.

4. create a suitable infrastructure!

Expand or adapt the necessary infrastructure to enable smooth and secure mobile working. Provide digital solutions and identify the appropriate contacts for any technical difficulties.

Establish routines and rituals!

Working effectively in a home office requires discipline. Introduce routines and rituals - this will help your employees maintain a high level of self-discipline. For example, the team video conference every morning is a popular measure. In this you exchange important information and distribute pending tasks. But informal rituals also increase motivation. Read Tip 17: Increase the 'we' feeling.

6. focus on results instead of behaviour!

Digital leadership is always accompanied by a little loss of control. After all, when working in a home office, presence times have less weight than the work result. Many people find this reorientation of priorities difficult. Serve as a role model for your employees: formulate clear objectives and communicate expectations clearly.

7. keep the closing time!

Mobile working makes working hours more flexible. Your employees gain the freedom to decide for themselves when to tackle which tasks. However, mental and health problems can arise if they feel they have to be available all the time. As a manager, you are responsible for preventing this and establishing fixed time periods for your employees' availability.

8. show your appreciation to your employees!

The topic of employee retention is often a challenge for managers with employees in home offices. Those who only see their supervisors and teammates on their computer screens tend to feel little connection to the company. That's why you should show your appreciation for your employees - especially in difficult times. With promotional gifts such as mugs, T-shirts or pens in the corporate design, and benefits, you not only leave a positive impression on your employees, but also increase their motivation.

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What do I have to consider in terms of data security and legal aspects?

You must also implement the obligations for employers in the home office. Observe the regulations on occupational health and safety and data protection as well as the working time regulations in order to avoid fines.

9. pay attention to occupational health and safety!

As an employer, you must fulfil your duty of care(§ 618 BGB) even if your employees work at home. Since you have only limited influence on the private workspace of your employees, employee training and regular education offer an extra level of safety.

10. carry out a risk assessment!

If your employees regularly work in their own homes according to a contractual agreement, you as an employer are obliged to carry out a risk assessment on site. In doing so, you must identify risks of occupational accidents and take appropriate measures. 

Good to know: Crisis situations such as the Corona pandemic, where employees work from home for protection reasons, are an exception to this rule. A risk assessment is not mandatory.

11. pay attention to reasonable working hours!

Ensure that your employees comply with the legal requirements for maximum working hours and breaks as set out in the Working Hours Act. A digital time tracking tool like Sawayo will protect you in the event of a dispute. It protects your employees from exploiting themselves through overtime in the home office.

12. ensure that data protection is respected!

Data protection and data security have the highest priority, even in the home office. Take appropriate measures to prevent sensitive company data from falling into the wrong hands:

• Restrict access to sensitive data.
• Provide all work computers with encrypted data carriers.
• Secure access to important content with passwords.
• Use a secure VPN access to the company network.
• Make regular backups.
• Set up remote maintenance software on remote PCs or laptops.

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How do I set up a productive workplace?

The arrangement of the workplace has a great influence on productivity and motivation. Therefore, actively support and advise your employees in setting up their home office: 

13. pay attention to the technical requirements!

Powerful technical equipment is crucial for effective work at home. In addition to a laptop with an external screen or a remote PC, a keyboard and a mouse, a solid internet connection, access to data in the cloud and secure VPN access are also necessary. Support your employees if they do not have these requirements.

14. set up a permanent workplace!

Elementary is a fixed workplace - both for your employees and for you as a leader. This way you develop routines that help you stay focused, your work tools are all within reach and you create a boundary between work and leisure that has a positive impact on your mental health.

15. make sure that the set-up is ideal!

Once you have found a suitable place for your permanent workplace, you need to consider a few things when setting it up. An incorrectly set up workstation will distract you or, in the worst case, lead to musculoskeletal disorders.

• Ideally, work in a separate room with at least eight square metres of space.
• Make sure there is at least 1.5 square metres of space for movement.
• Make sure there is enough light - daylight is best.
• Keep the noise level in your office as low as possible. Use noise-cancelling headphones if necessary.
• Place your screen at right angles to the window.
• Align the top of the screen with your eye level.
• Adjust your table height so that your forearms are horizontal on the tabletop.
• Adjust your office chair so that your legs are bent at 90 degrees.

16. use ergonomic equipment!

If you want to work effectively and healthily in the long term, you need an ergonomic desk chair and a height-adjustable desk. Offer to lend your employees healthy furniture for the long-term furnishing of their workplaces at home.

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How do I promote a healthy work-life balance?

Only those who ensure a balanced alternation between stress and relaxation are healthy, satisfied and happy. Promote the healthy work-life balance of your employees through important impulses and your own offers and support their mental health in the long term.

Increase the sense of unity!

The joint lunch break. The short chat in the hallway. In the home office, personal exchange with colleagues is quickly missing. However, this strengthens cooperation and creates a positive working environment as well as a better sense of community. To maintain this effect, you can, for example, communicate that telephone exchanges between colleagues are desired and appreciated. Thanks to digital services such as Slack and Wonder, you can easily exchange information with your employees via (video) chat. 

18. promote interest groups!

Short conversations outside of the workday are also important for team cohesion. Offer group chats via video, such as sports or music chats, to stimulate exchange in the home office. However, make sure that work and free time are clearly separated.

19. offer video dates!

Virtual coffee breaks, lunch dates or digital theme evenings are good alternatives for joint breaks and team events. They not only offer variety, but also increase team spirit and motivation. At Sawayo, for example, we have a daily lunch call to which all team members can voluntarily join to spend their lunch break together.

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20. publish a work from home magazine!

A company magazine in which you publish stories on important, exciting as well as funny topics strengthens employee loyalty, informs comprehensively and provides small breaks for reflection.

Here are a few ideas for possible topics:

• Tell stories and anecdotes of the colleagues. This way they can get to know each other in a whole new way.
• Share milestones and anecdotes from the company.
• Announce online events (see tips 18 and 19).
• Introduce relaxation exercises (read tip 22).
• Give inspiration for leisure activities.
• Introduce quick, healthy recipes.

21. support childcare!

School and daycare absences, as well as afternoons without childcare, are a challenge for parents. Support your employees in keeping children occupied during working hours - for example, with recommendations for virtual events such as reading sessions, craft and coloring templates, or lists of learning platforms.

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How do I protect my health and that of my employees?

Working effectively at home while pursuing a healthy lifestyle is an act of balance. Here, too, you can support your employees.

22. inform about relaxation techniques!

Stressful situations always arise in life. Integrate regular relaxation exercises into your daily routine to create a balance. Encourage your employees to do the same - for example, by taking a digital fitness break together. You can find numerous videos for short fitness exercises on the internet.

Try the following techniques:

• Meditation
• Yoga
• Autogenic training
• Breathing exercises
• Qi Gong

Move! 

If you spend a lot of time behind your computer screen, you need to make sure you get enough exercise. Support your employees with a digital fitness programme or encourage them to make phone calls while walking. In-company competitions such as counting steps or cycling encourage more movement and increase team spirit at the same time. 

24. eat healthy!

If you work alone in a home office, it is easy to skip your lunch break or grab a ready-made meal or fast food from the snack bar around the corner. Make your employees aware of how important it is to observe fixed lunch breaks and a healthy diet. Support them with recipes for quick healthy meals on the intranet or in the company magazine (read tip 20 again) or link to recipe ideas in nutrition apps.

Offer external counselling for your employees!

To further protect the mental health of your employees, it is worth hiring external counsellors. Confidentially and anonymously, your employees can turn to them in stressful situations.

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Conclusion

Mobile working presents challenges for both employers and employees. However, there are many ways you can effectively support your employees in the home office and promote productive and motivated work.

Sawayo supports you in this. Data-secure document management, legally compliant time recording and sophisticated personnel management tools - Sawayo. Sawayo offers employers in the home office practical solutions and makes administrative work easier than ever before!

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