As many of us are working remotely these days, we put together a list of eight tips for success.
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We’re curious to hear your tips and best practices too. Add them to our conversation here at this link.
Tips for Remote Work
Here are some tips for leading a virtual team, while also keeping your culture alive:
1. Be intentional.
There’s a lot we take for granted about working in the same building as our coworkers. It’s easy to make connections, ask questions, sense people’s moods, emulate positivity, and… well… be a team. Now’s the time to think about activities or processes you can implement to keep your team cohesive.
2. Communicate best practices.
Odds are some of you have teams that have never worked remotely before. Make sure they have some basic tips around maximizing productivity while working from home. For example, it’s recommended that employees set up shop somewhere in their homes and work there each day, rather than moving around the house. I am working in my home office, but my colleague Rebecca has set up on her kitchen table.
3. Train your workforce to use virtual tools.
Everyone in your organization will have varying technological skills, especially if you have a substantial generational gap. Make sure you aren’t leaving your staff hanging by assuming they can use all of the tools you can offer them to keep connected virtually. You might check in with everyone and make sure they can login to virtual conferences, know how to use their webcam, etc. or do a quick training for anyone interested.
4. Remember the value of “face to face” interaction.
With the majority of our communication occurring in our tone and body language, phone calls and emails can only be so effective. By setting up video conferences, you can lower the risk of miscommunications, understand employees better, and connect more deeply.
5. Create a virtual office.
A friend of mine who works for a local advertising firm, shared a screenshot of her entire team on video chat, wearing green for St. Patties day. Not only were they making sure to connect with each other, they kept their team spirit for the holiday alive, rather than letting it fall to the wayside.
6. Keep 1:1’s frequent and consistent.
Leaders, now more than ever, need to stay in front of their staff. In an effort to create some normalcy, keep as many scheduled meetings as possible and keep pushing employees to reach their goals. Knowing that you still care about their future success, even in hard times, will increase their engagement.
7. Take the time to get to know each other.
With people working in their own homes, you might actually learn something new about them. For example, my colleague has two dogs that like to make appearances on her webcam (which is quite entertaining, might I add). She also has a variety of fun mugs she drinks her coffee out of, each day, that she’s never talked about in the office.
8. Be understanding.
Everyone’s lives are getting turned upside down. While it’s reasonable to expect them to maintain their quality of work and execute tasks, things just aren’t business as usual. Our teammate, Kendra, for example has now taken on a new role as Home School Teacher, which means that her availability has changed. Remember that we are all out of our element here, so offer support and be flexible. Employees will remember how you handle this situation for years to come.
Quick question:
Would you be interested in joining a free video call every other week to discuss best practices, ask questions of peers, and get support related to current challenges in the workplace?
There’s a lot to read online, but thought it might be nice to connect live with others as we’re all figuring out how to navigate the challenges COVID-19 brings for our workforce.
Hit reply if you’re interested. If there’s enough of a response we’ll set it up!
Sincerely,
Catherine and the Civility Partners Team
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