Attract And Retain Talent With Telepresence Robots

Surviving Australia's 'Great Resignation' is not just about attracting the right talent, it's about keeping the talent you have. Your best employees are in demand and considering their options. 

Employee expectations have changed. Many workers have utilised remote working arrangements during pandemic lockdowns, and despite a desire to return to the more social office environment, workers also wish to retain the flexibility and autonomy that comes with hybrid work arrangements. Providing effective work from home (WFH) and work from anywhere (WFA) can make all the difference. Companies are looking to offer perks and improve culture in an effort to retain staff.

Employees are no longer looking for traditional 9-5 jobs. They want more flexibility in their work schedule. Businesses that can provide hybrid work arrangements will be in a better position to attract and retain top talent. However, working from home can sometimes be seen as a ‘day off’, unless your business has the right tools and strategies in place to maintain engagement throughout the work day.

Every business will need a hybrid work plan that encompasses policy, technology, and spaces. Who will be able to work remotely, and who might have to come in? How often? And importantly, what tools do they need.

Telepresence robots allow employees to stay connected with their team, no matter where they are located.

Your employees can work from anywhere, and maintain the flexibility they crave. Allowing your employees to 'tele-in' to a robot device is a far more engaging experience than video conferencing. A robot device gives the user autonomy and a physical presence in the office, allowing 'watercooler' conversations and office banter. Using a telepresence robot requires greater engagement from remote employee’s than conference calls or video, leading to more productive collaborations and meetings, and more effective hybrid work teams.

Top Tips For Including Telepresence Robots In Your Hybrid Work Toolkit.

1. Plan Your Office Space.

• Dedicate a space for each Telepresence Robot where the docking stations are located, this might be:

• • Adjacent to a desk that is used by hybrid worker
  • A corner of the office (multiple Telepresence Robots)
  • A place at a table
    
    
• Let the Charging Dock serve as the remote worker’s “desk”. This makes it easier for other team members to find the remote worker in the office and to provide the remote worker with the sense of having their own space.
  
  
• Remove chairs from the conference room to create a dedicated space for Tele-In workers to pull into. This works best near one of the ends of the table, but it can be anywhere, since they can pivot left and right.
  
  
• Keep doors to hallways open, wherever possible, so the remote worker can get around easily.
  
  
• Ensure casual meeting spaces and lunch rooms are robot accessible, to encourage socialisation between physically present and telepresence staff.
  
  
• Multiple robots can easily operate in the same space and communicate with each other robot to robot.

2. Optimise The Home Offices Of Remote Workers

• Optimise home office space equipment
  • Use a headset with a mic
  • Use a high quality webcam
  • Ensure the face is well lit
  • Use a strong internet connection network at home
  • Consider dedicating a second computer screen to your Telepresence Robot
    
    
• Minimise remote workplace distractions
  
  • Dedicate a quiet space or room in your house to be your workplace
  • Close doors and windows to minimise outside noise. Let other people at home know your work hours and set rules around interruptions.
  • Optimise home offices to improve employee engagement via telepresence.

1. 3. Create Your Hybrid Work Team

Creating a hybrid work team will require some tweaking of company culture. Work with staff to develop flexible hybrid workplace solutions. Depending on the sharing arrangements you may set guidelines telepresence staff to:

• Be dialled in to the Telepresence Robot for 3 - 4 hours per day
• Don't just log in for meetings, stay logged in an at your dedicated Dock location where people can reliably find you
• Always return your Telepresence Robot to its Dock when possible.

Include your team in developing a hybrid work strategy, such as:

• Set a formal remote work policy, signed by all employees. Include exclusively office based staff who will be working with telepresence staff.
• Negotiate daily schedules and work hours overlaps
• Set an expectation of hours/per day an employee should tele-in,
• Identify days where in-person work is required when workers need to be physically in the office.
• Ensure part of the team is always physically present, this encourages worker socialisation and encourages ‘water cooler chats’
• Consider hot-desking physically present and remote staff to create a truly hybrid team.
• Use Double’s Fleet Management platform to ensure that a given robot is reserved for uses when they need it.
• If a worker will be on their Telepresence Robot for a significant portion of the week, consider dedicating a robot to them.
• Include discussion about remote work and telepresence requirements in the recruitment process.

To start your hybrid work journey, contact TeleIn and try one of our industry proven Telepresence robots for a trial.

If you want to keep your best employees in 2022, you need to offer them a telepresence solution that meets their needs for flexibility and productivity. A Double 3 Telepresence robot or Gobe Robot can be shared or allocated to one staff member.

For more information contact us on 1300 342 546.