Work from home

1.

Make sure it comes from the top. Remote working brings about a lot of change, and needs to be bought into and practiced by both the CEO and the C-Suite. Make sure your executives are getting the right coaching and leading by example.

2.

Enable teams with a digital and fully virtual workspace. esignate productivity, meeting and collaboration applications with your IT teams. With a cloud foundation in place and a closely monitored network, make sure that teams can access shared files and storage, as well as workflow management tools, and communications platforms.

3.

Set up your technology tools. In addition to having software and digital platforms, make sure your employees have professional audio and video devices to connect with their colleagues, and any other hardware to effectively communicate from home.

4.

Mandate a video-first culture. Turning on video in a home space can be daunting, and often no one wants to be the first. Video accelerates trust and communication and allows for shorter meeting times, and with background blur or customization options, employees can feel comfortable controlling whether their dogs, children or artwork make the final cut in a team meeting.

5.

Convert implicit information efficiently to explicit knowledge in virtual teams. Often, a lot of the information that forms the foundation of fluid day-to-day operations is unspoken or implicit, and learned in an office environment. Create a guide to these unspoken social codes that blankets all employees.

• With your HR functions, delineate clear results-based expectations of performance measures for remote workers.
• Draw up clear behavioral norms and expectations, such as activity and work hours, and use these as a benchmark against which employees can work and be measured.

1.

Always lead by example and setup feedback loops to identify areas for improvement. You can model behavior, reinforce habits and make your team feel comfortable in these times of uncertainty.

2.

Check in with individual reports and find out how they are adjusting. Make sure you understand their individual challenges in the adaptation process and factor in their personal situations when managing performance and outcomes.

3.

Create a short 10-15-minute video call at the beginning of every day, with each remote worker. If you manage a large team, you can host a 20-minute standup with the whole team. Not only does it keep daily communication in place, it also indicates the start of each workday and instils a work mentality.

4.

Set communication behaviors within your team, to ensure trust and a sense of equal footing and removing in-group or out-group dynamics. Your company has given you the tools, but a manager must establish best practice and usage expectations.

5.

Avoid micromanaging, and rather focus on monitoring and managing results. Online presence is not an indicator of productivity, and you will need to trust your team to manage their time effectively to deliver the outcomes you’ve set.

6.

Make sure that shared team files and folders are accessible for all remote employees, and that working documents are always up to date. Sharing links to cloud-based files makes sure everyone is working on the latest version.

7.

Share your calendar and availability so that people are aware of you schedule, and when they can or can’t reach you.

1.

Establish a designated work area. This might not be a separate room, but define your workspace and make it as free of distraction as possible, away from noise and clutter. Try and find somewhere with natural lighting, good ventilation and an ergonomic work surface.

2.

Create habits that establish your workday. It’s easy to start working in your pyjamas without eating breakfast, but showering and putting clothes on will mentally gear you towards your workday and establishes healthy routines.

3.

Set up your virtual workspace. Whether it’s internet providers, communications software or having professional audio that works with Teams, Zoom or other video and communications platforms, a technology ecosystem that works will be key to enabling your communication and collaboration.

4.

Keep on communicating. Without a physical presence, and with changing daily habits and routines, it becomes more important to find new ways to communicate with your colleagues. You can set a status or let team members know via Slack, Teams or email when they can or can’t reach you.

5.

Look after your health. It often feels like it’s never the right time to take a break and even though remote work can help with your work life balance, it can also make it hard to disconnect. Maintain structure in your days and make sure to build in breaks.

6.

Set guidelines with your family and your work. Establish clear boundaries with work to make sure that you are not “always on” and have a clear workday switch with work and home intent clearly mapped out.