The six types of remote workers and how to support them

Does your company include people who do their best work at night, after office hours? Or perhaps you’ve engaged the services of a strategist from out of state who needs access to important files anytime, anywhere.

For these and other members of the growing remote workforce, maintaining access, connectivity, flexibility, and security are crucial for their success. Your company’s ability to accommodate their specific technical needs-whether they’re out of range or on the go-will greatly improve their productivity and your bottom line.

Meet the six types of remote workers:

1 – The night owl

Key tools: Microsoft Teams | OneDrive | SharePoint

With hours of meetings and other distractions, the workplace is sometimes the last place where you can actually get work done. That’s why night owls crave long stretches of uninterrupted time in the evenings to do their best work.

• Microsoft Teams helps night owls maintain crucial contact with colleagues during working hours and beyond, as working out of sight can potentially put them out of mind.
• SharePoint and OneDrive, seamlessly integrated across the whole Office 365 suite, give night owls all-hours access to the files and data necessary to get the job done.

2 – The jet setter

Key tools: Advanced Threat Protection | Microsoft Teams | Mobile Device Manager | OneDrive | OneNote | SharePoint

Imagine that you have a presentation in the morning, but you’re in an airport with weak WiFi and a dead laptop battery. Welcome to the life of the jet-setter. The best tools for jet-setters are those that enable accessibility and security as these workers hop from one city to the next.

• SharePoint, along with the entire Office 365 suite, work across any device, so jet-setters can use a tablet or phone to access the documents they need if their laptops are out of juice.
• OneDrive enables them to work on files offline if the WiFi is patchy. Changes will automatically sync once they’re back online.
• Microsoft Teams lets them view notifications and conversation tags on mobile devices, and even join a meeting in high definition to view presentations with animations, the same way they would on a desktop.

3 – The road warrior

Key tools: Microsoft Teams |Mobile Device Manager | OneDrive | OneNote

For salespeople and marketers who are constantly on the road, there are often limited times and places to access the Internet. When they do get back online, these road warriors need to be able to sync with their teams and company database.

• Microsoft Teams offers road warriors the flexibility to use any mobile device to get updates quickly in their spare seconds between meetings and conference with their team in real time.
• OneNote lets them review and add notes to files on the fly and share from their mobile devices.
• OneDrive works even when road warriors are out of range. Productivity doesn’t have to stop when they’re offline – they can share files once they’ve reconnected, keeping the team and work moving, just like them.

4 – The commuter

Key tools: Advanced Threat Protection | Microsoft Teams | Mobile Device Manager | OneDrive | SharePoint

Commuters are usually partially remote, living just far enough from the office for the drive in to be a challenge and opting to work from home a few days each week or month.
Whether at home, on a bus or picking up the kids from football practice, commuters can use Office 365 to securely access files and communicate with everyone at the office as though they were in the same room.

• Microsoft Teams enables commuters and their colleagues to touch base, message a quick question or video call for a conference.
• SharePoint ensures that commuters have access to the latest company files.
• OneDrive gives commuters the power to co-author in real time with team members wherever, whenever – across all devices.

5 – The migrator

Key tools: Microsoft Teams | Mobile Device Manager | OneDrive | SharePoint

If your lead strategist who works on your biggest account lives in a different country, how do you overcome access and communication problems that can lead to unnecessary and unproductive downtime?

• OneDrive and SharePoint enable migrators in different time zones – or even on other continents – to coordinate with company headquarters and get server access whenever, wherever.
• Microsoft Teams provides instant communication and collaboration to make migrators feel like they’re always part of the team.
• Mobile Device Manager gives your IT team the power to remotely wipe devices with just one click if your migrators move on or misplace a piece of equipment.

6 – The industry expert

Key tools: Microsoft Teams | Mobile Device Manager | OneDrive | SharePoint

Even remotely hired industry experts don’t want to be left to fend for themselves. So why let things such as time zones get in the way of their valuable expertise?

• SharePoint enables your company to only share the files, data and apps necessary for experts to do their jobs while keeping your sensitive data under wraps.
• OneDrive enables experts to feel in control and connected – never micromanaged – which allows them to share and collaborate with team members on their own time.
• Microsoft Teams lets you chat, call or conference with your experts. Co-creation and editing capabilities power ideation – with the option to jump into a chat or meeting to ensure alignment.
• Mobile Device Manager takes care of removing remote experts’ access to company and confidential information across all their devices when the working relationship comes to a close.

For more information on how Office 365 can propel your business to new levels of productivity, contact us today. We’re happy to help.