The effects of the Coronavirus outbreak are now starting to impact businesses in Australia, particularly related to supply chain issues for goods coming from China.

As the virus spreads, how Australian businesses are impacted may change. If the virus were to break out in Australia, the risk to many Australian businesses could become lack of human capital available to fulfil the operational requirements of the business, with absenteeism rates set to rise in the event of a pandemic.

For some businesses, particularly those in the professional services sector, there may be opportunity to offset the lack of “in office” resources by allowing employees to work from home.

Is your business and its employees ready to take on the challenge?

I worked effectively from my home office for three years in a senior leadership role. I started off a bit shaky, but over time I developed strategies that worked both for myself, and my team of remote resources, to make working from home a productive and functional way of operating.

For business owners and leaders, it will be critical to have the following made available and ready before allowing remote working;

1. Secure access to the full suite of company resources including software and communication tools to fulfil their job roles
2. Company issued devices to complete their job role from home (To protect company resources from unmanaged devices connecting in)
3. A series of clearly defined metrics and goals for remote workers
4. A way to measure and track remote worker output and productivity (Such as billable hours or call logging)
5. A system where employees availability can be easily monitored, and open communication channels (Such as Microsoft Teams)
6. Video conferencing capability (You wouldn’t believe how much of a difference this makes when engaging with remote workers)

For employees seeking to work from home, I would make the following suggestions to ensure you’re in best position to complete your job effectively;

1. Get ready for your work day like you’re going to the office (Ie, Get dressed for work)
2. Have a location to work from that has ZERO distractions (Quiet area, no TV, no kids, no interruptions)
3. Check in with your colleagues as soon as you start for the day to make it known that you are working and accessible. If you don’t walk in to the office, they don’t know!
4. Plan what you are going to complete for the day, and request additional tasks early.
5. Work like someone is watching you, or listening in to every conversation (Sounds creepy, but it will keep you focused)
6. Document and account for every little thing you do. At some point you will be questioned about what you spent your day doing, and it’s always best to have an answer!

With the combination of business and employee preparedness, working from home may become a feasible solution to what could potentially be a disastrous outcome for the business in the event of a local pandemic.

And who knows, if (God forbid) Coronavirus doesn’t affect us here down-under, then you might just allow employees to work remotely anyway. I can tell you from experience, they won’t hate it.

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