There are many benefits to a fully remote workforce. Many employees prefer working from home, and businesses can save on rent and utilities for office spaces. However, transitioning to fully remote work takes time and effort. Here’s how to make that transition possible.

Have the Right Tools in Place

One of the disadvantages of remote work is that it is more difficult to meet and share work than in an office. Luckily, technological tools such as Slack and GitHub make it easy to share information and collaborate.

Before switching to a fully remote workforce, make sure that your company has the tools in place to continue communicating even once people are out of the office. You should also adjust the tools that you have on hand to your company’s needs. For example, some companies rely on frequent video chats while others communicate mostly via internal forums.

Maintain a Strong Team Culture

Maintaining a strong team culture is hard when people do not get to meet face to face. However, putting in the effort to build a strong team culture will improve morale and incentivize employees to work harder even when they are remote.

One way that some remote workforces strengthen company culture is by hosting occasional in-person meetings. Meet-ups allow collaborators to get to know each other personally and understand their respective communication styles. Companies also keep cultural fit in mind when hiring new employees.

Have a Keen Eye for Advantages or Disadvantages

Before switching to a fully remote workforce, you should think hard about whether this decision is right for your company. Switching to a fully remote workforce might be the right choice if most of your competition is doing the same. Otherwise, employees who have gotten used to the autonomy that working from home provides may go elsewhere.

Your remote workforce should operate in a way to preserve that autonomy. If employees have to sit through hours of Zoom meetings a day, they will get tired and look for work elsewhere.

If done right, switching to a fully remote workforce can help your company retain talent and improve productivity.

This article was originally published on JosephMcInerney.co