Currently, due to work style reforms and the spread of new coronavirus infections, an increasing number of companies are adopting or considering introducing a telework system.
In November 2020, the telework implementation rate for companies with more than 10,000 employees exceeded 45%.
(Quote: Persol Research Institute https://rc.persol-group.co.jp/news/202012160001.html )
Many of you reading this article may also be working from home.
Telework has positive aspects such as no commuting time and it is easy to balance with personal life. Since there are many problems, it is necessary to devise both as a company and as an individual.
In this article, we will introduce examples of companies, telework issues, and ideas that lead to problem solving.
Contents
- Examples of corporate telework ingenuity
- Cybozu, Inc.
- Challenges faced by telework
- Introducing IT tools to facilitate operations and communication
- web conferencing tools
- business chat
- project management
- In-house SNS
- How to stay focused?
- summary
Examples of corporate telework ingenuity
Let’s see what kind of ingenuity is actually being done.
Cybozu, Inc.
In March 2020, the company’s advertisement proposing the use of telework for business owners, “Don’t do your best, Japan,” became a hot topic.
Cybozu has been working on telework since 2010, before it became popular in general, and it can be said that it is a company that is advanced in terms of telework.
In addition, in response to the prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus infection, there was no major confusion when the company switched to working from home as a company-wide policy, and employees were able to smoothly start teleworking.
Ingenuity of Cybozu, Inc.
- Set up an online office environment (using Cybozu groupware)
- take security measures
- Create and disseminate guidelines for telework
- Ensure psychological safety
- After receiving security education, we provide the necessary equipment for telework so that even temporary and contract employees can carry out telework.
Challenges faced by telework
As can be seen from the examples, the following are the main challenges faced in the introduction of telework.
- Difficulty working in a team or communicating
- I can’t concentrate
Introducing IT tools to facilitate operations and communication
The first thing to do to make telework more comfortable is to introduce IT tools.
web conferencing tools
If you introduce a web conferencing tool, you can have a face-to-face meeting and relax with colleagues. If you feel lonely in telework, please introduce it.
Zoom
Video conferencing and messaging made easy on any device. Even with the free plan, you can use encryption, set operation permissions by role, passcode protection, waiting room, etc. to ensure a secure meeting space.
For communication between teams, the free basic plan is sufficient.
feature
- HD video and high quality audio
- Make meetings more fun with filters, reactions, polls, music and video sharing
- Meetings can be recorded locally or in the cloud
- Chat function
price
- Basic plan: Free
- Pro: Great for small teams, ¥2,000 /month/license
- Business: SME ¥2,700 /month/license
- ZOOM UNITED Business: ¥4,710 /month/license
V-CUBE meeting
It is a high-quality cloud-based service that boasts HD compatible video and high connectivity that can be used in various environments such as PCs and mobiles.
feature
- Free trial available
- Simple interface and easy operation
- Full multilingual support and English support, real-time translation for foreign language meetings
- You can easily join a meeting with just a browser without installing a dedicated application.
price
- Inquiry required
business chat
It is a communication tool specialized for business use. Unlike e-mail, it improves the speed of communication and the ability to list information.
JANDI
It is a cloud communication tool that realizes improvement of employee engagement that makes it feel as if colleagues who are active in various places such as each office, on the go, and at home are working together in the same place.
From easy communication and file sharing to reviewing feedback, we’ve got you covered with great features so you don’t have to use email anymore. .
feature
- Enterprise plan free trial for up to 60 days
- Requirements you want to discuss can be executed immediately in “Chat” & “Topic”
- On-screen pop-up notifications and mentions help reduce oversights
price
- Free plan: Free
- Premium plan: ¥400/month per user
- Enterprise plan: ¥800/month per user
Topic Room
It is a business chat that changes the way you work and is used in various scenes such as IT, local governments, finance, medical care, etc., and is also active in telework.
Rather than just a chat, you can cut out the exchanges and organize them by topic, and create ideas.
feature
- 30 days free trial
- Visualize the total number of posts and the number of posts for each group
- By creating an open room in which people can participate and leave freely in addition to the regular room, it is possible to promote open projects in which volunteer members are recruited from within the company.
- Chatbot integration
- Smooth exporting of messages and topics and organizing them into a uniform shape
price
- Business [Plan specializing in improving communication efficiency] 300 yen/person/month, initial cost 0 yen, customer dedicated environment usage fee 0 yen
- Enterprise [Plan for extended usage with API linkage while ensuring higher security] 300 yen/person/month, initial cost 50,000 yen, customer-dedicated environment usage fee 30,000 yen/month
Team On
You can realize schedule adjustment, task management, group chat, and file sharing ideal for telework and small and medium-sized enterprises with this one.
feature
- 15 days free trial
- Multi-language and multi-device support
- Team members’ schedules at a glance
- It is possible to share web schedules not only within the company but also with business partners.
price
- Business 5: 980 yen per month (tax included)
- Business 10: 1,800 yen per month (tax included)
- Business 20: 3,000 yen per month (tax included)
project management
It is a tool for smoothly managing the progress of team tasks and schedules.
cloud log
A cloud-based man-hour management and project management tool that automatically visualizes the profit and loss of a project from man-hours.
feature
- Automatically visualize from the input data which time was spent on which task of which project
- Sales budget/cost budget/actual sales/actual cost can be registered and managed for each project
- Link with attendance data and project data of sales management system
price
- Initial cost 0 yen
- Basic plan ¥30,000~/month
- Premium plan from ¥75,000/month
pace
It is a man-hour management and business management tool for projects using daily reports. Just by entering the work and time from the daily report, you can visualize the work content and profit of the project.
feature
- free trial available
- 500 yen/month per person
- Data can be aggregated from various angles, such as by month, by project category, and by customer
price
- 500 yen/month per member
- Members can be changed every month
In-house SNS
Activate communication within the company.
Good job!
An internal communication tool that increases employee engagement. The timeline function makes it possible to grasp the events of the entire company, each department, and each project, so you can understand each other’s situation well.
You can also share what’s happening in your company and where your company is headed.
The point is that thanks cards (message cards sent between employees to express gratitude and praise), which were generally used on paper until now, can be easily used on the web and smartphone apps.
feature
- 1 month free trial
- The points you receive are converted into company currency and can be exchanged for various prizes and benefits.
- Administrators can check usage status and follow up individually
- PC browser version and smartphone app version available
price
- Initial cost / system usage fee 0 yen + 1 user monthly usage fee 500 yen
TE N WA
In addition to activating communication, it also leads to motivation and mental health care.
feature
- 30 days free trial
- Displays data for the past 30 days, such as the number of “thank you” and “like” stamps sent and received, as well as the number of people and time spent talking.
- Not only talk but also task management
- Thorough after-sales support because of in-house development
price
- Basic plan initial cost 0 yen + 1 user 248 yen / month (first month free)
- Minimum of 25 users, from 26 users can be added or deleted by 1 user
How to stay focused?
It is important to control your stress and motivation yourself.
COCOLOLO
It is a content viewer with a new sensation that allows you to understand your feelings.
Simply place your finger lightly on the camera while watching the content, and changes in your “feelings” (mental condition) will be displayed with easy-to-understand icons.
feature
- free
- People of the same age can understand what content they have seen and how their “feelings” have changed.
price
- free
summary
Telework can be made more comfortable depending on the ingenuity.
Let’s improve the telework environment by introducing tools and taking moderate breaks.
