Working successfully from home doesn’t happen by accident – it requires systems, accountability and communication.

I spent the past several years managing a law firm that has operated almost entirely remotely since COVID 19. We didn’t set out to become a fully remote business. Like everyone else at the time, we adapted because we had to.

What surprised us, was how effective the model became once we refined our processes and systems and stopped measuring productivity by physical presence.

Before the COVID pandemic, many professional services, including law firms, didn’t believe there was an alternative to having everyone working in an office. Now, a few years later, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen is attempting to introduce legislation that would make working from home two days a week a legal right for eligible employees.

This presents a new challenge for many businesses. How does it work in practice having work from home as a baseline condition rather than a discretionary benefit? How will it be managed in a way that maintains productivity, service delivery and culture?

An adjustment period looming

There are many businesses that have a difficult adjustment period coming up. While hybrid work has become common in some industries, it has often been implemented informally, inconsistently, or based on managerial discretion.

When it’s mandated, it requires structure, documentation and a level of operational discipline that many organisations have not yet fully developed. Some don’t even want to try.

But what we found out in the early days of remote working, is that working successfully from home doesn’t happen by accident. It requires systems, accountability and communication.

Those systems have become a proven framework that has stood the test of time while driving efficiency and profitability in the business.

Five steps to WFH success

Here’s how you can prepare your business now for a work from home future:

1. Look at the clients – how do clients engage with your business?  Many interactions that traditionally occurred face to face can likely be done now via phone or video conferencing. Instead of making clients travel to your office, consider meeting them in their business.
2. Look at the role – employers should analyse each role and ask what tasks genuinely require physical attendance.
3. Invest in your systems – task management software, shared document platforms, customer relationship management systems and collaboration tools are essential in a hybrid environment. Professional services firms also have the advantage of measurable outputs such as time recording, making performance easier to monitor regardless of location. I recommend Trello for managing projects or CRM activities and Microsoft Teams is a must-have for keeping your team connected. As a manager, I have an active Teams chat with each employee, as well as a practice-area specific and team-wide chat.  Adobe Sign and DocuSign are both excellent options for electronic signatures. There are countless apps that can help streamline processes but the key is to choose the right tools for your business, approve them centrally and provide your team with the training they need to use them effectively.
4. Prioritise communication – this is the single biggest risk in a hybrid working environment. Regular check ins, structured team meetings, clear deadlines and agreed response times help ensure teams remain connected and accountable.
5. Retrain your managers – trust-based leadership in a hybrid working environment is key.

Measuring productivity

Performance should be measured by outcomes, quality and client satisfaction, not simply by whether someone is sitting at a desk.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that being in the office automatically means someone is productive. In reality, many employees produce better work from home. They avoid lengthy commutes, experience fewer interruptions and often have greater flexibility to structure their day around peak productivity. Whether or not a two-day working from home requirement ultimately becomes law, I believe businesses should begin preparing now. If change comes, the businesses that thrive won’t necessarily be those with the biggest offices and teams. It’ll be the ones with the strongest systems in place.

By Jodie Engerer, General Manager, published in Inside Small Business.