In recent years, the trend towards remote work has become increasingly popular. Advancements in technology, such as business management technology, have made it easier than ever to work from anywhere in the world. However, this shift towards remote work has also had a significant impact on careers, and it’s important for professionals to understand what this means for their long-term career prospects.
Remote work has several benefits, including increased flexibility, a better work-life balance, and the ability to work from anywhere. However, it also presents a number of challenges that can impact career progression. In this article, we’ll explore what being remote from your job means for your career, with a focus on the role of business management technology in supporting remote workers.
Limited Opportunities For Face-to-Face Interaction
“One of the biggest challenges of remote work is the lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues and clients,” notes Martin Taylor, a resume writer at Discursive Essay Service and MLA Format Outline. This can make it harder to build relationships, collaborate on projects, and get feedback on your work. It also means that remote workers may miss out on important networking opportunities, such as industry events or team-building activities.
Business management technology can help to mitigate some of these challenges by providing remote workers with tools to collaborate and communicate with colleagues and clients. For example, video conferencing software like Zoom or Skype can be used for virtual meetings, while project management software can be used to manage tasks and keep track of deadlines.
Increased Reliance On Technology
Another challenge of remote work is the increased reliance on technology. Remote workers must be comfortable with using a range of software and tools to communicate and collaborate with colleagues, manage tasks, and stay organized. This can be a challenge for some workers, especially those who are used to more traditional ways of working.
Business management technology can help to alleviate some of these challenges by providing remote workers with user-friendly software and tools. For example, cloud-based file sharing platforms like Dropbox or Google Drive can be used to share files and documents with colleagues, while time tracking software like Harvest can be used to keep track of billable hours and ensure that projects are completed on time.
Potential For Isolation
Remote work can be isolating, especially for workers who are used to working in a traditional office environment. “Without regular face-to-face interaction with colleagues, remote workers may feel disconnected from the company culture and miss out on important social interactions,” says Amanda Webb, an eCommerce writer from BeeStudent and Paper-Research.
Business management technology can help to mitigate some of these challenges by providing remote workers with opportunities to connect and collaborate with colleagues. For example, team chat software like Slack or Microsoft Teams can be used to facilitate real-time communication and help remote workers feel more connected to their colleagues.
Lack Of Visibility and Recognition
Another challenge of remote work is the lack of visibility and recognition. Without regular face-to-face interaction with managers and colleagues, it can be harder for remote workers to demonstrate their skills and contributions to the company. This can impact their chances of career progression, as managers may not have a clear understanding of their strengths and abilities.
Business management technology can help to alleviate some of these challenges by providing remote workers with tools to showcase their skills and contributions. For example, project management software can be used to document a worker’s involvement in key projects, while time tracking software can be used to demonstrate their productivity and efficiency.
In conclusion, remote work can have a significant impact on career progression. While it presents several benefits, such as increased flexibility and a better work-life balance, it also presents a number of challenges that must be overcome. Business management technology can play a key role in supporting remote workers and helping them to mitigate some of these challenges. By providing tools for collaboration, communication, and productivity, business management technology can help remote workers to stay connected and engaged with their colleagues and the company, while also showcasing their skills and contributions. Ultimately, the key to success as a remote worker is to stay proactive, communicate effectively, and stay up to date with the latest trends and best practices in remote work and business management technology.
Is your business prepared to grow by 50x in the near future?
The answer is yes—if you’re prepared. A profitable business model and hardworking employees are baseline requirements, but it takes more than that to push your business over the top—it takes an all-in-one business management software platform.
In the spirit of preparation, take a minute to assess what a 50x growth would logistically entail:
The list above is surely incomplete in terms of the new costs, challenges, and variables that come into play as a business grows.
Many of these challenges can be addressed by utilizing all-in-one business management software. It’s understandable that your first thought may be “I don’t need that, at least not yet.”
The key word? “Yet”. Though business management software can help businesses of all sizes, it’s absolutely imperative to organizations that are poised to expand their business. So, don’t be behind the 8-ball—here are 10 signs that it’s time for your business to enlist an all-in-one business management software solution.
1. When Growth Is Imminent
Growth is exciting. It can also be nerve-racking, stressful, and full of growing pains.
In a hopelessly-romantic, Hollywood-esque way, it can be easy to believe that growth will hit in one tsunami-like surge—a big “aha” moment, a mega-deal with a corporate giant, or an upward profit chart akin to the likes of Bitcoin.
Not featured on the big screen, however, is the groundwork that is laid slowly behind the scenes—years and years of trial and error, finding the right employees, and testing the waters of various markets.
Albeit slowly at first, growth can actually materialize in an instant—that marketing campaign you launched went viral thanks to some verified retweeters and suddenly, you’re fielding calls from what will end up being the largest accounts your business has ever managed.
The point here: growth is built slowly, but can unfold all at once. Don’t be unprepared for that moment. You’re confident in your business—be just as confident in your ability to produce results.
As the old adage goes, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Look at business management software in the same light—invest in an ERP for the company you want to grow into, not for the company you are at this very moment.
2. When Customer Relationships Need More Attention
Customers are the backbone of your business. Attaining a loyal customer base is hard work—it’s easy to become wrapped up in the exuberance of an influx of new customers.
Before your customers are customers, they’re leads. Is your sales staff equipped to not only handle managing additional customer relationships, but the additional amount of fresh leads coming in?
Help your employees assess the profitability and priority of each opportunity with an automated sales funnel. With an influx of new leads and customers, you may think hiring additional sales staff is the answer. While that may be a step you want to take at some point, it’s important to focus first on maximizing the efficiency of your existing employees.
Some of the biggest benefits all-in-one business management software brings to growing businesses lie in its CRM processes.
Automating marketing campaigns, visual dashboards to track the entirety of your sales pipeline, instantaneous synchronicity with the rest of your finances, and customer feedback portals are some of the tools that can help you attract and retain a loyal customer base.
3. When You Find Yourself Making “Educated Guesses”
Going with your gut is a natural instinct. In the early days of your business, it was probably even profitable. Heck, you’ve probably made a gut decision today. But as your business grows, decisions will require more than just a hunch.
Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) will enhance your productivity and profitability across the board. Every business contains nuanced differences in its approach—analyzing the data that is relevant to your business is what counts.
ERP systems with customizable dashboards and report-generating functionality bring you the information you need to make an informed decision at a glance. Your business is unique—the business management software you choose needs to mold to your needs, not the other way around.
4. When Tedious Tasks Eat Up Your Day
Some days, work might not even feel like work. On other days, an hour might feel like a lifetime. The reality is that not every part of your job is thrilling—those mundane tasks you dread are often some of the most important (crunching numbers, taking inventory, etc.)
While these are important tasks, it’s just as important to not let yourself spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on them.
Automation is the key to working smarter—automate the tasks that eat up your time, and use that time to focus on the bigger-picture goals that will help bring your business to the next level.
All-in-one business management software will help you do just that. From accounting to inventory to sales, many parts of the process don’t require immediate and constant attention.
Aside from automation, delegation is important, as well—monitoring the status of all assigned tasks without filling your inbox with unnecessary back-and-forth “confirmation clutter.”
5. When You’re Spending Too Much On IT Systems
Repair costs are a necessary evil. Laptops bear the brunt of coffee spillage, and interns overestimate how many monitors they can carry at once. It happens.
But what about the cost of non-accident-related expenditures? Software updates, new servers, and backups for those can chew up a budget very quickly.
With cloud computing, you’ll be able to exert more control over your finances. A cloud-based ERP removes the need for excessive hardware spending, costly software upgrades, and backup costs. All of these needs are handled off-site—and at a flat, fixed, predictable rate—so that you can focus on your business, not the tech behind it.
6. When You Need To Double Down On Regulatory Compliance
Regardless of the industry you operate in, you most likely have someone in your organization tasked with monitoring compliance. Whether you’re a manufacturer, contractor, consultant, or educator, rules are rules—and it pays to follow them.
Most of the work of a compliance manager will come in the form of keeping track of documents and ensuring on-site traceability. Checking off boxes may seem mundane, but it’s arguably the most important part of the job.
Another example, construction managers are responsible for overseeing the safety of their crew and all associated subcontractors. Before the job begins, OSHA compliance needs to be taken care of. If these certifications and qualifications are not met, it could set a problematic ripple effect in motion—delays in compliance could cause a project to go over budget and disrupt your timeline for other jobs (including the schedules of your subcontractors). A bid could also be lost outright due to a lack of compliance, causing an unpleasant impact on your bottom line as well as negatively impacting the trust your employees and subcontractors have in you.
In short, it pays to stay on top of regulatory measures by keeping all pertinent documents in one centralized, easily accessible location.
7. When You Need To Back Up Your Data
These days, data security isn’t solely the responsibility of your tech-savvy staff—it’s everyone’s job. Having a data security infrastructure in place is key, and probably something you already do to some degree. But how much of your data is backed up? And more importantly, where and how?
If you are not currently leveraging any ERP solutions, the odds are your data is not sufficiently backed up. Sure, you may have redundancy measures in place on your local system, but more can be done.
In 2021, global cybercrime damage costs around $190,000 per second. Cybercriminals are everywhere and are unrelenting in their efforts to undermine legitimate businesses. If your data is stored in a singular, localized location, you may think it’s safer. But in all reality, this is not the case. If this one data center is breached, your systems will cease to function.
By utilizing a cloud software system, your data is not only decentralized and duplicated across servers, it’s backed by world-class cybersecurity professionals. Sure, your computer’s firewall is great—but having that firewall and a cybersecurity infrastructure tailored to your business needs will prevent any malicious actors from disrupting your business.
8. When Working Remotely Isn’t Efficient
Remote work is here, and it probably isn’t going anywhere for quite some time. In many respects, that’s a good thing—workers are achieving higher productivity levels, both companies and employees are saving money, and every organization’s talent pool has gone global.
There are many prerequisites to achieving successful remote work habits. Deploying proper management strategies, project management techniques, and a new kind of HR department are some of the adjustments that need to be made. But the common theme here is what lies underneath the human-based element of successful remote adaptation: using better technology.
The right all-in-one business management software doesn’t just need to be able to crunch the numbers and track your inventory, it needs to enable your people to be more effective in their roles. Track the status of projects, customer leads, and even new hires all from one place.
If your employees are able to have a centralized location where they can both find all of their work-related data and chat with their co-workers, they’ll be able to be focused and efficient no matter where they’re working from.
9. When You’re Unsure Of Your Employees’ Day-To-Day Schedules
Managing is a tricky job. On one hand, you want to be actively involved in your employee’s work. Their success is often a reflection of yours. On the other, most managers are savvy enough to know that micromanagement is not typically a successful method.
If you’re unsure about what your employees are doing on a daily basis, that’s a problem. Now, you don’t want to go breathing down their necks and asking them what they’re up to every day—that wastes both your time and theirs. The answer lies in the middle.
While you and your employees almost certainly use some sort of calendar app, are these calendars synced? Do you have a uniform, master calendar to access?
Not only should you have access to a universal calendar, but you should also have access to all of the tasks and projects that your team is working on. Instead of sending a dreaded “Hello! Just circling back on the status of this project! Kind regards!” type email, look to your software system for the answers. This way, you and your employees can be less focused on updating each other through emails and chats and be more focused on producing high-quality work.
10. When You Can Tell Your Employees Are Stressed
Hearing employees complain is never easy, especially when it comes to things beyond your control. Sure, there are some things that you wish you could provide them, but not every request is feasible or grantable.
Duplicate data sets, missing files and links, incomplete financial records, chicken-scratch notes strewn across an office—all of these problems slow down employee productivity. Even if your employees don’t verbalize their complaints, read the room. Frustration bubbles to the surface in different ways for every individual, and some may be more prone to silence than outward voicing of complaints.
At fixed monthly payments with top-quality customer support included as part of the base package, an all-in-one ERP is a much better solution to employee complaints than to Frankenstein together with various software that may or may not communicate with each other.
The best part? Most top-quality software is free to use at first.
It’s Always The Right Time For All-In-One Business Management Software
No businesses are alike. Products, customers, strategies, and everything in between all vary to a large extent depending on your industry’s specific needs.
However, people are a lot alike—we are stronger when working as a unified, coordinated front, climbing towards a common goal. While it’s people that allow your business to be successful, it’s software that allows them to reach their full potential.
The world is becoming increasingly digital, synchronized, and competitive. Enlisting the right all-in-one business management software for your business will help you stay ahead of the curve.
Working remotely on a laptop used to promise a different kind of freedom. You’re somewhere outside of the office— preferably a beach. The weather’s warm and you’re feeling simultaneously relaxed and productive. As you check in on your business from your cloud software in a comfortably remote location, you revel in the fact that you’re not “chained” to your desktop back at the office.
You remember the office, right?
The dichotomy between beach and cubicle used to represent the difference between cloud business management software and desktop solutions. Cloud software felt like a luxury, though perhaps lacking the “workhorse” qualities of your tried-and-true desktop solution. That time is over.
Two things have happened to give businesses (and business leaders) the opportunity to see cloud software in a new light. Firstly, the cloud has advanced in functionality, usability, and security. As desktop solutions maintained the status quo and respectably powered traditional office settings, cloud services drove innovation in the places where it matters most. Secondly, the Great Pandemic changed traditional office structures overnight.
There is no doubt that, in the coming year, we will want to continue work as normal. However, the ways we manage operations and communicate with customers, vendors, and partners will shift permanently. And the picture of the lone employee wearing palm tree shorts on the beach and working on a laptop is outdated, too. Instead, the cloud will uphold traditional business operations while transforming them into modern, agile solutions.
Amidst what will be a confusing time, one thing is clear: the small businesses that adopt cloud based business management software solutions will edge out their competition.
A Familiar Model Made New
Software in the cloud has already become the gold standard for big businesses that face sharp competition and more pressure to innovate. Often, smaller businesses have the perceived luxury of getting comfortable with how they do things and prefer not to make changes. What worked simply worked. But our current situation has forced us all to re-examine the ways we do things.
Writing in InfoWorld, David Linthicum notes that “Business seems to change around pain. In the past weeks companies that had already migrated to public cloud had a strategic advantage over those still operating mostly in traditional data centers.”
Here’s what modern cloud based business management software has to offer, and why it suits both our present and future small business landscape.
Know What’s Happening (Right Now)
When do you need access to documents, files, and links? Hopefully, the answer is either always or right now. One of the biggest benefits of cloud software is centralized document storage. While it used to be a convenient perk to help with internal organization, it has now become a necessity.
Whether you have employees who are in the field, working from home, or connecting from separate offices, you’ll need to keep everything in one place. As traditional office structures give way to increased remote configurations (home offices, etc.), all employees will benefit from a central location to access data.
And “knowing what’s happening” doesn’t stop at accessibility. It’s also about reporting— the ability to see that 360° view of your company. Ask yourself if you’ve ever really had that ability. Most companies operate in multiple software systems, and moving to the cloud gives you an opportunity to either integrate or consolidate those systems.
Why It Matters Now: The information you use to make decisions is more important than ever. So much about our economic climate, and our collective future, is uncertain. It doesn’t benefit you, then, to have crucial data locked away in desktop systems and wait weeks to interpret it. If waiting was the standard, it will soon become a central factor for failure.
More Employee Mobility
The beauty of most cloud management solutions is that they are available anywhere, on any device. Whether the software comes in a mobile app or is simply just browser-friendly, the mobility alone will be worth the change.
In a recent Washington Post article, Jena McGregor discusses the physical changes that are likely coming to offices in the near future. Among those changes, she writes, “office workers could see…the spacing of desks to maintain distance, ‘every other’ seat arrangements.” That may work for some offices, but it will undoubtedly involve a great deal of reconfiguring. Giving workers not just the flexibility to be at home, but to work from more separated spaces in the office can be more easily facilitated with phones, tablets, and laptops.
Why It Matters Now: All employers must develop a plan for sending employees back to work, whether it’s phased, all at once, or new remote opportunities that become available. Desktop software prohibits mobility, but working with software in the cloud can help you develop a more flexible plan and schedule.
More Efficient Communication
The reporting and centralized storage, discussed above, work well for understanding team performance. But cloud software can do so much more than that. Used smartly, it’s a fully accessible communication hub, a task tracking system, a shift scheduler and shared calendar, and an internal discussion interface. There are many cloud tools with these features; it will be up to you whether you choose to integrate, consolidate, or just try some out.
Why It Matters Now: Every traditional form of office communication has come to a halt, and you now have an opportunity to re-evaluate how you work with others, both internally and externally. In this post-pandemic world, are you still going to send faxes? Will you rely on emailing desktop spreadsheets for organization? Your competitors won’t, and they’ll be faster and smarter for it.
Evaluating Cloud Solutions
Choosing the right cloud-based business management software doesn’t happen overnight. However, we are currently hurtling toward the future of office work in a very changed environment. The choices you make today can have long-lasting effects on how competitive and resilient your business will be. That’s why you owe it to yourself to dig in, do some research, and figure out what your needs will be as we come out of this crisis. Only then will you find the right solutions to match.
