More people are working from home than ever before. That can be a good thing! Many employees love the flexibility of working from home, while others find that it’s much easier to concentrate. Because everyone is at home, it can cut down or even eliminate costs in the office too!

That doesn’t mean working from home is all good. It comes with a lot of challenges too, especially when it comes to tech. Follow these tips if you want your employees to be successful working from home.

Use SD-WAN

Employees working from home may be used to relying on their internet to get work done, but that can spell disaster. With others in the house using the same internet, things can get slow. Not to mention, the security of sensitive information can be compromised as employees access company programs and data from their home offices. An SD-WAN can help.

SD-WAN can help with branch office routing and offer better cloud app performance, as well as WAN optimization. It’s commonly used by offices and corporations, but it is also popular with public service workers in the healthcare and education fields. Many providers are even contemplating offering it to residential users for streaming videos and playing video games.

Just make sure it’s secure. Security vulnerabilities of SD-WAN do exist, so offering it in conjunction with DDI services from a reputable provider is essential.

Use the Right Collaborative Software

There’s no denying that email, texting, and online chatting are all convenient ways to communicate with your team, but that doesn’t mean they are efficient. It’s much better to put in the time and choose collaborative software that the team can use while they’re out of the office.

There are a lot of great software choices out there! A few include:

• Asana is great for managing tasks within teams
• Slack is great for messaging, among other things
• Basecamp can be integrated with other services
• Smartsheet is great if you like managing spreadsheets
• Trello offers customization with boards you create

The key is to choose one or two options, depending on the needs of your team, and stick with them. You and your employees will end up wasting more time if you’re always switching between platforms or are always trying to learn the latest software.

Connect Everyone’s Calendars

Knowing what everyone is up to in the office isn’t a huge challenge. Walking by the conference room will tell you that your coworker is in a meeting, or the person sitting next to you can let you know that the coworker you want to talk to has taken off for the day.

It’s not so easy to know what everyone is up to when everyone is working from home. You can make it easier for everyone if you give all of your employees access to your calendar. For example, if you use Slack, you can install the Google Calendar App to let everyone know what you’re up to and when you might be back at your computer. Your employees can do the same and then everyone will know what everyone else is doing.

Upgrade Audio and Video

When you just check in with mom and dad over video chat every once in a while, it’s not a big deal to have grainy volume and a so-so camera. It’s not a good idea if everyone is working from home, as important information can slip through the cracks. Not to mention, it’s frustrating to be in a meeting and not be able to hear everyone clearly!

Make sure your team is equipped with the right audio and video equipment. That might mean buying dedicated video cameras for home computers or buying everyone headphones. It will make sure everyone can see and hear everyone else clearly, which makes for a more productive meeting.

Help Them Cut Out Distractions

It’s easy to get distracted from home. Consider purchasing or recommending apps that help your employees cut out distractions. Look into apps like:

• WriteRoom eliminates all other distractions so all you can see is text
• Dropcloth can hide clutter on your desktop before taking screenshots
• OmmWriter turns off email and chat notifications
• SelfControl can block sites that are timewasters, like social media

Letting everyone work from home can be a great way to make everyone happier and more productive, but that doesn’t mean that’s automatically the case. Set everyone up for success by thinking about the needs of your team, then equip them with tech that can solve their biggest problems.