The way people work has been quickly changing since the advent of the internet, but the recent COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated these changes significantly. In order to reduce the risk of infection, millions of employees now find themselves working from home for the foreseeable future. This transition can be challenging and uncomfortable for some, but working remotely has its advantages, too. Let’s detail five key benefits of conducting remote meetings and appointments, keeping the current moment in mind.

1. Staying on the Same Page

All meetings are meant to bring multiple people together to relay important information, share ideas, hash out issues, etc. In other words, the dispersal of information is the key ingredient of any meeting -- not physical proximity. Sure, communication can benefit from being held in the same room, but for the most part, this aspect is not necessary for a successful meeting or appointment. By holding virtual meetings, individuals can still “come together” and stay on the same page regardless of their location. As such, remote meetings can include more people (room capacity is a non-issue) and cover all the same topics that would be covered in an in-person meeting.

2. Maintaining Social Distance During a Pandemic

These days, remote work is more than just a luxury or technological trend -- it has become a necessity, or at least a strong precaution. Social distancing has become a crucial defense against the transmission of COVID-19, and conducting meetings online facilitates this action perfectly. Keeping people physically separated while maintaining communication and workflow has been a major boon for businesses that can pull it off, reducing risk and disinfection costs.

3. Cancelling the Commute

Remote meetings and appointments are also major time- and stress-savers, as they reduce or eliminate the need for employees to travel to a central location. Additionally, killing the commute saves employees on transportation costs (gas, bus fees, rideshare/cab fare, etc.) and reduces your company’s carbon footprint contribution.

4. Reducing Overhead Costs

Running any business, even a small one, comes with its fair share of overhead costs, including rent, energy, maintenance, and much more. While it’s virtually impossible to eliminate all of these costs, conducting a greater number of remote meetings can lower these costs significantly. For instance, having fewer people in the workplace will reduce the necessary frequency of office cleaning and disinfection duties, reduce the use of electricity and water, lower your travel budget, and more.

5. Flexibility

Finally, the ultimate advantage of remote meetings and appointments is flexibility, which encompasses all of the previous benefits. Whatever your business needs may be, allowing some degree of remote work creates various opportunities -- you can invest in a coronavirus deep clean for the office without interfering with workflow, you can transition to productivity-based operations where employees have the freedom to work on their own time, you can schedule meetings that would be difficult or impossible to hold in person, and so on. Not every business is structured in such a way to allow for such flexibility, but those that are can greatly benefit from this option, especially amidst this ongoing pandemic.

Even if your business has mostly switched to remote work, if you still have a physical location (or multiple locations), you must still take proper care of them, especially if and when employees start coming back. The professional disinfecting services offered by The Budd Group are customizable and flexible to meet your company’s unique needs. We offer in-house cleaning and disinfection, electrostatic disinfection services, deep cleaning, misting, standard spray and wipe methods, and more.

For more information regarding COVID-19 and recommendations for environmental cleaning and disinfection from the CDC, click here.