Advances in technology, efficient communication tools, and an increasingly scattered workforce have fueled remote work culture across the world. According to the latest data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a significant part of the workforce within the US now works from home.
Many businesses, however, are not equipped to run operations with a fully remote team. If you have not run remote business operations before, it can be daunting to make the switch, especially in a time of crisis.
Recent events compelled businesses across the world to make a full and sudden switch to remote operations. While this comes with many challenges, the key challenge remains how to effectively manage remote workforce.
Why it matters
High performing employees form the core of any strong business and it is important to harness that energy, especially if your team is scattered. Employees can lose motivation without the familiar environment and routine provided by a physical location. Lack of access to information and loss of face-to-face interaction can further deteriorate engagement levels.
Make sure you provide regular check-ins with employees and equip them with the right tools during this time. Here are five ways asset management software can empower your employees and help you effectively manage remote workforce.
1. Assign customized access to employees
Deploy your asset management software company-wide and bring everyone on board to maximize collaboration. While most systems offer predefined user roles, every company is different and might want to configure unique roles for each user.
For this purpose, you can create custom roles. This enables you to grant granular access to your employees. Based on the role restrictions you apply, you can set detailed permissions for the role and grant restricted access to asset and location data.
Once you have defined a custom role uniquely suited to your workflow, you can assign a team member to this role. This enables you to run a seamless operation from anywhere.
You can also create custom teams for specialized purposes. For example, an IT team can only be allowed access to a company’s IT assets. This way, you gain complete access control by restricting employee access to information and their ability to take actions.
Read more: Custom Roles in EZOfficeInventory
2. Communicate via customized emails
Team collaboration and effective communication do not have to suffer because of scattered staff. Design and send customized notifications and emails to your staff right from within the app. Attach any relevant documents and reports to further illustrate your point.
Want to collaborate on a particular project, or send reminders regarding a purchase order, or just update stakeholders? You can customize an email for each of these scenarios and send them to the relevant members. Within an asset tracking application, you can also restrict users to only receive alerts or emails for actions they are involved in.
You can also customize the way you send emails across the organization. Design emails that are aligned with your business needs and culture. Add all relevant details, personalize them, and get your employees’ attention no matter where they are working from.
3. Generate custom reports on employee perfromance
Want to ensure your employees are using assets responsibly? It’s simple with custom reports. Design reports that can offer a detailed account of employee interaction with assets.
Generate and schedule these reports based on the data stored within the system. Apply filters to gain actionable information and get focused reports. For example, you can create a custom report for management to review actions on assets — i.e checkout frequency, check-in frequency, pending requests, maintenance, etc.
Crack down and eliminate unauthorized use or misuse of assets and establish accountability and transparency across the organisation regardless of location. You can identify underperforming workers and create tailored training programs to create a more responsible workforce that requires less oversight.
Businesses face fluctuations and uncertainties all year round. These are only enhanced in the current environment. It is important to harness your business data and utilize it to optimize remote employees’ performance and effectively manage remote workforce.
4. Track and audit assets in employees’ possesion
With employees working from home, there might be an increase in the number of items they require. Some common assets include laptops and related hardware.
You can run periodic audits on your assets. As part of the audit, send item verification requests so your team members can acknowledge possession of items checked out to them. For example, if you want to verify the status of IT equipment checked out to your remote employees, simply send them a custody verification request. Now, your team members can acknowledge or deny possession of items checked out to them.
One of the main purposes of audits is to ensure that your employees remain responsible and accountable. You can see who has custody of a piece of equipment and hold them accountable in case of loss, damage, or theft.
5. Remote team collaboration with work orders
Now more than ever, it is important for businesses to have complete visibility into assets and resources. A robust asset management solution enables powerful management of work orders spanning large teams and locations. This means employees across multiple business locations can stay on top of equipment maintenance and other operational tasks.
Create work orders and effectively communicate jobs to employees working in different locations and track their progress. Manage entirely through the app and eliminate the need for individual follow-ups. Receive automatic updates on the status of work orders and take required actions.
Empower remote employees
A robust asset management solution will help inculcate employee responsibility while encouraging transparency and productivity. By allowing employees to focus on what they’re really good at, equipping them with the necessary tools, and ensuring they have enough time for allotted tasks, asset tracking software boosts workplace productivity from any location.
About EZOfficeInventory
EZOfficeInventory is the leading asset management software. It enables you to track, maintain and report on equipment from anywhere, at any time. We offer a free 15-day trial – no credit card required!
