By Brooke Chaplan

As businesses have had to shift to working from home due to the COVID-19, the issue of keeping up quality cannot be ignored. After all, making an office that is clean, free of distraction and that encourages productivity is often a major concern for small business owners. However, it can be more difficult to enable productive work when employees work from home. So how can small business owners work to help their employees have productive spaces when they are working from home? One of the easiest ways is to ensure your employees have the proper equipment for remote work. By making sure they have the equipment they need, you can help your employees keep up their in-office work ethic even when at home. Here are four types of equipment to provide to your employees for remote work.

Computers

While most people have personal computers at home, sometimes these computers don’t have the power, storage, or security necessary for your business. Laptops can be flimsy and home desktops can lack speed and efficiency. Providing your employees with appropriate computers and associated equipment can help boost their at-home work efficiency. Things like having an extra monitor, an ergonomic keyboard, or a computer with the right software can make a massive difference in employee productivity.

Office chairs and desks

The chairs and tabletops we use at home and at the office are often very different. Many employees don’t think about how ergonomic their home office set up is until they are already there. Issues like chairs that are too tall or too short, not adjustable, or uncomfortable for long periods of time can make it difficult for employees to concentrate on their work. Consider providing employees who need them with office chairs and desks for their home offices.

Headsets

Depending on your business, you may need your employees to be able to talk to clients and each other on a regular basis. While communication apps like Slack can allow your employees to video chat with you and each other, sometimes the microphone and speakers that come with even work computers can lag and have difficulty picking up sounds. If your employees need to be able to communicate with you and each other over video conferencing, consider getting them microphone and headphone sets to take home.

Office phones

It can be difficult to differentiate business and personal calls when it comes to taxes and billing. If your employees need to use the phone a lot, it can help to give them a phone specifically for business use. This will make paying your business phone bills and calculating taxes much easier.

These are just some of the equipment that small business owners should consider providing for work-at-home employees not just during the current crisis but also to allow remote work on a routine basis. As business owners begin to grow comfortable with and understand the ins and outs of remote work, they will be able to work with their employees to create the best system for working from home.

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Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan.