Today, more than ever, if we want to have the most talented employees, we need to make sure we are set up so our employees can work virtually. Sometimes this is because our employees want to be able to travel. Sometimes this is because they are permanently located far away from our offices. Sometimes this is because employees have other responsibilities that make getting into the office challenging such as raising children or providing elder care. No matter the reason, if we provide a work environment where employees can work wherever they are located they will have less burnout. In addition, they will tend to be more loyal to our organization.

How Remote Work Helps Businesses

Providing the option for remote work has a wide range of benefits for our business. These include financial benefits such as reduced equipment costs and savings on office rental space. These also include improvements to productivity, lower employee turnover, access to a wider talent pool, fewer staff absences, more flexible work hours and even improvements to our business’s green credentials. This means it makes sense for us to determine how we can support individuals who want to work remotely.

Have Infrastructure to Help Employees Work Remotely

Choosing cloud-based infrastructure helps us to ease the pressure our business feels by offering the capacity to cope with fluctuating demand. With internet-connected employees able to access their workspace from anywhere, on any device, at any time, the cloud facilitates flexible working. Every business has different needs, so opting for the right cloud solution is vital for long-term success as a remote workforce, be it public, private, or hybrid cloud. In addition, virtual meeting tools can help make sure teams are on the same page no matter where they are logging in from. As a business owner, it is essential that we provide the necessary infrastructure so that our employees can thrive. In addition, this infrastructure means we will have our business sidelined if weather or other events make it difficult for our employees to get to the office.

Help Employees Plan for Remote Work

When our employees plan to travel and work, it is easy for them to lose sight of their coworkers back home. To successfully work remotely while traveling employees need to be able to maintain communication with their coworkers and management. This will ensure they are meeting their goals. This may be accomplished using email, instant messaging, video, and phone conversations. Having employees check in with their coworkers might also help to lessen feelings of loneliness if they are traveling alone. If employees are traveling across the country, they need to keep in mind that time zones might alter the times they are required to check in. This will also affect their colleagues’ availability to interact with them. Remote workers interested in living and working abroad can turn to several digital resources for help.

Help Employees Navigate Remote Work Visas

If our employees are going to be employed overseas, it is likely they will have to get remote work visas. More than 20 countries throughout the world, including the European nations of Portugal, Norway, Georgia, and Malta, provide specific visas that allow foreigners to live and work remotely within their borders. Spain is working to make it simpler for professionals and their families to migrate. Spain is working towards remote employees being granted 12-month visas with the possibility of applying for a three-year residency permit that is conditionally renewable for another two years. If we know that our employees are going to be working internationally we should help them determine the visas that they will need.

Helping Employees Navigate Insurance

Insurance is critical. Nothing reduces someone’s job productivity when traveling more than something unforeseen happening that could have been readily addressed with proper insurance. When traveling or working overseas, employees must ensure they are adequately insured for all scenarios. If they get sick or have an accident while overseas, health insurance will cover the costs of medical treatment. Purchasing travel insurance will cover them if equipment is lost or stolen, they miss their trip, or they misplace their luggage. If our employees are going to be traveling while working, they must get travel insurance.