What are technical skills?
Technical skills are specialized knowledge and expertise required to perform a job. With technical skills, a person can use specific tools or programs to do their job’s tasks. For example, a software developer will need the technical skill of computer programming; a software developer must know how to program computers because, without this skill, they cannot do their job.
In other words, technical skills are crucial to performing your job. You can hire employees who have acquired these skills formally through schooling or help them learn through on-the-job training. Either way, certain technical skills are important to how your employees do their job and their ability to be successful.
Helping your employees learn new technical skills is a great way to gain additional tasks that can make them a more valuable asset to the company. For example, if an administrative assistant learns how to write memos, they can perform this task without any external help, adding more value to their position.
Encouraging employees to learn new technical skills is also a great way of showing them that you are invested in their future and want them to reach their full potential. Keep reading for a better understanding of why technical skills are important for a remote work environment.
Related: 11 Tips to Effectively Manage Remote Employees
Why technical skills are important?
Technical skills are important to have as they can lead to further success in a person’s career. The following are some of the benefits of helping employees learn new technical skills:
Facilitates Growth
Having numerous technical skills not only facilities growth within the employees but also facilitates growth within the company. When an employee learns new technical skills, they are often able to do their work in a more proficient manner. This means their overall productivity levels get higher, which is good for them and the company.
Keeps Company Relevant
In this day and age, technological advancements happen quickly, and it is important for companies to use the newest technology in order to stay relevant. This means that having employees who seek new technical skills, especially within the realm of technology, will allow your company to expand.
Accomplish Company’s Goals
When people increase their technical skill set, they allow the company to reach their goals in an efficient manner. An example of this would be if employees were trained in the technical skills of a different department, you would have an extra set of hands in time of need. This means that there would be cross-functionality within your staff, and you would be able to tackle certain projects at a higher rate.
Skilled Employees Are Happier
When employees become more technically skilled, they become more confident in their job. They can work more efficiently, meaning there is less time spent on small, monotonous tasks. Moreover, when employees have the ability to really challenge themselves at work, they often find more fulfillment and will be content working for the company for a long time.
The above benefits are why more technical skills can be important for companies and their employees.
4 Technical skills needed for remote work
There is no question that more and more businesses are choosing to work remotely or have a hybrid office. When you have remote work or a hybrid office, your employees need certain technical skills they may not have previously needed. The following are the four technical skills most needed for remote work:
1. Virtual Communication
One of the most important technical skills employees can have for remote work is virtual communication skills. Unlike regular communication skills, virtual communication skills rely heavily on the written word and modern short forms for commonly used phrases.
When working remotely employees might only be able to communicate with their colleagues through a messaging system and email. It is not always easy to set up phone calls as they require both employees to be available at the same time. Also, in remote work, you no longer have the ability to wander down the hall to ask a quick question to a colleague.
By using a messaging service such as SLACK, businesses can keep in touch even when not in the same location. That said, teaching employees the technical skills they need to use messaging software is pretty easy as they are similar to text messaging which most people know how to do. The difference comes in with the way the messages are sent and received.
Employees need to know how to communicate directly with a colleague as well as with a team of colleagues they are working with. Also, there are a few short forms that can make messaging a bit quicker once you’ve learned them. An example of this is OOO which means out of office.
Learning small things like this can make a big difference in virtual communication, and this is why having the technical skills in virtual communication is so important.
2. Virtual Meeting/ Presentation Skills
If you are working remotely you and your team will need to learn how to use virtual meeting software, such as zoom or Microsoft Teams. By learning the technical skills behind these software systems, you will be able to hold meetings or make presentations without needing to be in a physical location.
Working remotely does not mean that companies do not have to have team meetings, which is why meeting software is essential for any company. These software systems are not always easy to understand, and there are a few technical skills employees would need in order to run a meeting effectively.
A good example of this is understanding how to control volume, video and audio functions, not just for yourself but for other people. It can be difficult to have a meeting in a virtual space unless people know these basic functions and how to make sure others are not accidentally interrupting you.
Getting staff up to date with their technical skills when it comes to virtual meetings can make remote work a lot easier for everyone.
Related: Mastering the Art of the Engaging Team Meeting
3. Virtual Project Management/ Document Sharing
Having employees who know how to perform virtual project management is an essential technical skill to have in a remote office. This is because project management software can allow virtual work to be done collaboratively and help you stay organized.
Using platforms like Trello means that your company can keep track of what projects are currently being done, what projects are coming up and who is working on what project. These platforms also allow for document sharing, meaning many people can use a document and collaborate to work from any location.
So, having the technical skills to use these project management and document-sharing platforms is essential if you have a virtual office. With the technical skills to use the platforms, it can become easier for your staff to work collaboratively and complete projects on time.
4. Online Security Best Practices
When working in a virtual setting, it is very important for employees to understand the need for online security. This technical skill will ensure that work documents stay private even if your employees work from home.
Employees should be taught how to follow some basic safety protocols and keep documents safe. For example, they need to know not to use public WIFI if they are working on sensitive documents. Working on public WIFI means anyone could access the files, which would be a huge issue for your business.
Another way to stay safe while working virtually is to back up files regularly. Employees would need to learn this technical skill to ensure none of their work gets erased accidentally. Also, your staff would have to know to use strong passwords when using work documents that are accessible online, so there is less of a chance of being hacked.
These online security best practices, along with others mentioned above, are some essential technical skills your employees must have when working in the virtual space.
Training staff in these four areas would mean that their technical skills would be up to date and they could successfully work in a virtual environment—ultimately helping you run a thriving remort work landscape.
