Thanks to the pandemic, remote working plans have gone from lasting weeks to months to maybe forever. Many companies have fully embraced remote work, with some tech leaders even introducing permanent policies. Why? Shorter commutes, larger talent pools, and increased flexibility for employees.

But, given the many benefits of remote work, a common downside is emerging — productivity loss. In a study done by Aternity for their new “Global Remote Work Productivity Tracker,” productivity was down 14% in the US between March 26th and July 9th of this year. That’s like losing three-quarters of a work day per worker per week. During this time, the number of workers working from home has also stayed relatively constant, at about 85%, which suggests workers become less productive the longer that remote working continues. 

So, why is that? Research points to two key factors: failing digital tools and a lack of connection to other employees. Let’s dig into both issues, and how to solve them.

Employees Need the Right Tech Tools to Succeed Remotely

In a recent survey by software company 1E, 98% of workers surveyed said they had become completely dependent on their devices for work. The survey also found that 18 million remote employees have been left unable to work due to IT disruption. Why? These devices (think personal phones and laptops) aren’t as powerful as those they had in-office, which means they don’t function well within legacy systems. This can cause problems with even basic tasks, like accessing files. Put simply? Almost every worker surveyed relies on their device to work each day, but companies don’t currently have the right tech tools in place to help them work remotely effectively. 

Restore a Sense of Employee Connection

You can have the greatest tech tools in the world, but without proper employee connection, productivity will still suffer. We’ve talked all about the benefits of knowledge socialization in a previous post, but if you’re not all caught up, here’s the need-to-know: People can add real-time, real-world color and detail that a document never could. When employees can’t access the real people in their network, they have to bounce back-and-forth between platforms to source the insights and answers they need. This is a huge drain on productivity. Creating a digital water cooler between colleagues to have conversations in conjunction with the daily grind is critical. 

So, What To Do?

To increase productivity, not only do you need the right tech tools to enable effective work, you also need those tools to allow for employees to easily connect to the people and information they need. No-code apps are a great solution. They make working from devices easier and more efficient wherever people are, keeping employees hyper-connected to the people and information they need to do their jobs productively. They’re also customizable, so you can pivot your tech tools as your company needs change. Plus, no-code apps come at a significantly lower price tag than traditional enterprise apps. We call that a win-win.

At CatalystXL, our signature Cardware platform solves for both these issues — allowing your employees to stay home and stay productive. Our custom-branded mobile apps keep information current, accessible and socialized by bringing a network of people and information under one roof, putting tools like microlearning, content sharing, and chat features right at your fingertips. With CatalystXL, we give employees everything they need, when they need it, so they can work just as well at home as they did in-office. 
Interested? Book a demo.