Hey @Gordonswaby went through a rundown with a friend out here the other day. I’ve done the home office thing for years in diff countries, and these were my tips:

1- Budget for an infrastructure stipend that compensates for office supplies & essential utilities. For eg. the level of subscription people have from their ISPs might not be sufficient to accommodate all types of at-home work. ;

Infrastructure contd: consider transferring expenses for an in-office phone system say to an employee mobile phone network

2- Reconsider how to restructure existing benefits packages; for eg. I've seen some govt agencies convert things like lunch stipends that some employees rely on to cash in hand toward at-home food expenses

3- Environment is an essential part of Infrastructure; considering the high cost of electricity in JA, at-home work for many can mean working with no A/C or enough fans, which in jamaica's climate can mean difficulty in concentrating/ getting things done.

Environment support cont'd: similarly you will have to consider alternative solutions for workers who are unable to set up quiet work zones bc of space/ privacy/ childcare concerns.

4- Isolation concerns in addition to costs are also issues for people that thrive off "water cooler" time & in-person energy (trust me, read that @FastCompany article ). Consider this when scheduling weekly mtgs. Down-time to build worker engagement might need to be scheduled.

5- Co-working spaces/ membership orgs/ regular coffee shops/restaurants can be helpful to give employees a break and encourage collaboration. I use @NeueHouse for co-ordinating mail, shipping & meetings. It's also a great resource for networking, community building & biz dev.

I've always thought the co-working spaces I've seen emerge in JA seemed to be missing the mark on that, focusing on physical space vs. community building. Maybe now that will change? Or more networking communities will emerge? *dingding #Jamaica #entrepreneurs new biz idea

just a few things to consider!