Remote working is not a new idea, many global companies have been working this way for many years. But with the recent COVID-19 outbreak forcing people to stay at home and not travel, many more businesses have found themselves having to gear up quickly for remote working – even if they haven’t had any experience of it before. However, Meeting Rooms, free online conference software, is here to help.
Recent research by Google has shown that 55% fewer people were working in their physical workplaces in the UK (although this percentage varied by country). However, research by the Facility Executive, showed that 88% of companies had encouraged or required their employees to work from home in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – which is good to hear.
So, are we seeing a mindset change towards remote working? Well, a little. Some companies are still not comfortable with the idea of their employees working from home on a daily basis – but there are ways that we can help to change that.
It is important to remember, firstly, that working from home is not just about online meetings and conferences with the team. There are a lot of other company operations and tasks that need to be taken online – and although this might be tricky to set up – it is doable. Let us take a look at some of the most common tasks that could be moved online:
Team Meetings
This is the most obvious one, especially when it comes to free online conference software like Meeting Rooms that can make meeting with your whole team quick and easy. As long as you have an internet connection and a device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop, you can have a one-to-one meeting or a conference online where you can not only present your work to others, but also use an interactive whiteboard to share and explain complex concepts.
Customer Meetings
If you are a business who has customers all over the world, then you are probably used to running your product demos online and talking to them remotely. However, many companies still rely on face to face meetings – which in the current situation is practically impossible. However, it is possible to get round this by having online meetings – something which is also useful for business owners such as coaches, consultants and therapists – which can help maintain their stream of income until the lockdown is over.
Remote hiring / employee on-boarding
The lockdown has had a negative effect on some businesses, meaning that they have stopped recruiting and may even have laid people off – but some businesses are expanding. The search for talent has changed due to COVID-19 and remote hiring is now an essential part of the remote working process, with online interviews and online new employee onboarding becoming the norm almost. These are just a few of the ways that free online meeting software can help businesses to stay profitable while helping to improve employee wellbeing. Meeting Rooms can help companies to swiftly adapt in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.