COVID 19 has changed the way we work and live. This pandemic has proven to be a huge remote work experiment around the world. For health and safety concerns, the transition to remote work has been very rapid within organizations around the world. According to a March Gartner Survey of 800 global HR executives, 88% of organizations have encouraged or required employees to work remotely, whether they showed coronavirus symptoms or not. Remote work has been growing by about 10% annually even before the pandemic hit the world. However, it’s more likely that the current situation will likely speed up growth. The duration of this pandemic is not certain. So, many employers are actively seeking to hire employees who are skilled in remote work. Let’s take a look at the essential skills for working remotely that every remote employee should have.

Remote Work Is Here To Stay

We have been navigating through this pandemic for more than six months now. The coronavirus has spurred some changes that are going to outlast the pandemic. Some aspects of our society are definitely going to stay remote for the rest of our lives. Another Gartner survey reveals that 74% of companies intend to shift some employees to remote work permanently. Not just that, but also 41% of employees are likely to work remotely at least some of the time post coronavirus pandemic.

In the post-pandemic world, the number of employees working remotely will increase. So, companies will be required to hire employees who have certain skills other than just technical and interpersonal. Employees must have certain skills to become best suited for remote work. Although it may seem that many employees are welcoming the remote work shift with open arms, many of them still lack the essential skills for working remotely. We have gathered these six most essential skills that you need to look for in your prospective remote employees. Let’s start!

Great Time Management Skills

Working from home or any other space than the office seems easy, but it’s actually not. The flexible hours of remote work can become a problem in the long term. Working from home means your remote employees are going to have a lot of distractions. To be a successful remote worker, having a proportionate work-life balance is absolutely important. In order to achieve a great work-life balance, remote workers need great time management skills. To do this, remote employees should be able to create the same schedule and workflow as they used to have in their physical offices. They need to track their work time strictly in order to be productive.

Strong Communication

Since remote work has a completely different environment, communication can be tricky for remote employees. Unline in physical offices, remort work doesn’t give the workers a chance to interact face-to-face with their co-workers. Communication using online platforms can be misconstrued. Communicating in a remote and digital setting requires a different skillset. In a remote work environment, asynchronous communication through group chats, emails, and comments in different project management platforms become common. Meetings are conducted through online video conferencing platforms. That’s why remote employees should have a strong verbal as well as written communication.

Highly Motivated

The pandemic has led many employees to work from their homes probably for the first time. As appealing as remote work seems, it also includes some soft skills. Self-motivation is one of the most important soft skills that remote workers need to have. Without face-to-face motivation that they get in office, staying self motivated can be a little challenging for remote employees. So, remote employees should be self-starters and capable of taking initiatives to get things done. They should have a sense of accountability for their productivity. Remote workers should have a zest to be equally productive as they would be in physical offices.

Collaborative

While working remotely, many employees often tend to isolate themselves and work alone. However, collaboration is the most important skill that remote employees need to have. It is very vital for remote workers to collaborate to be productive and work successfully. Remote employees need to have an understanding that even though they’re working from their homes, they’re still a part of a team. Your remote employees must have collaboration as a part of their the skill set to connect with their coworkers and superior.

Adaptability

Remote work brings in a lot of flexibility, sure, but that simply doesn’t mean that remote employees can work whenever they want. However, it simply means that remote workers should have great adaptability. To succeed in a remote work environment, remote workers should be naturally adaptable. Remote employees should readily prepare themselves to adapt to the new ways of working, uncertain situations, and unexpected changes.

Digital Fluency

It goes without saying that remote work requires a certain level of digital fluency. Even if the remote employee’s role is not technical, they definitely need to feel comfortable in using the hardware and software as a part of their remote work. Without the right tools, your remote workers won’t be able to perform their duties and communicate with everyone else in the team. They need to be able to use various virtual communication tools. Also, they need to be well acquainted with the virtual tools that will help them get their jobs done. It’s impossible to work remotely and be productive if your remote employees don’t have the knowledge of the technology.