By Nicole Cook
With so much uncertainty during this unprecedented time, we at SimplePhoto have been trying to think of ways to offer support to our customers as well as those who are now having to make the transition to working from home. Because remote work is a topic we’re very familiar with, having been set up to work remotely for roughly a decade, we thought we could share our experience along with some advice.
Coronavirus or not, many companies have been making the switch to remote work and some research has shown that virtual teams can outperform those working in an office setting. We realize that for many companies working from home isn’t feasible, but some companies may find that certain or all parts of their job can be accomplished at home. To see if remote work is right for you, determine which aspects of your job can be carried out at home. Decide whether you’re able to continue to carry out your day to day tasks or if this might be an opportunity to catch up on projects that get pushed aside when business is flourishing.
For some general tips on working from home away from your company office, click here. For companies who are thinking of making the leap toward remote work for the long-haul, read on.
TIPS for making remote-work work:
Create company policy, guidelines, and procedures so that any rules or expectations are clearly defined. Remote work may be new for many of your colleagues, so having clear expectations communicated to your team is essential for ensuring a positive work environment.
Learn how to manage conflict. Working remotely can mean a loss of non-verbal communication such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. Creating a culture of transparency and honesty is extremely important when working remotely. Which brings me to my next point…
Communication is key to building relationships, fostering team spirit, decreasing tension and establishing trust and rapport between teams and individuals. Set up a system for communication and check in often with your colleagues, whether via instant messaging, video chat, or a shared task manager to update your status, collaborate on projects, and share ideas.
Schedule regular 1:1 time with your supervisor or team to discuss feedback, accountability, roadblocks, career goals, and more.
Working from home sometimes means forgetting to unplug. There have been studies (here, here and here) that working fewer hours produces higher quality work / less error, more productivity, and healthier, happier employees. Whether working for 8 hours or 4 hours, discipline yourself, make sure to create good boundaries and maintain a work-life balance to avoid burnout.
TOOLS for productivity and staying connected:
To stay connected with your colleagues and customers, and make sure each staff member has the tools needed to smoothly carry out their day to day work, consider the following resources.
Use a communication app like Slack or Flock to create a virtual water cooler and securely converse with co-workers via private or public instant messages.
Choose a video conferencing platform like Zoom, Google Hangouts or Join.me to screen share or host meetings with co-workers or customers face to face.
If you have to work using public wifi (when you’re at an airport, coffee shop, library, etc), secure all your devices with a VPN such as Encrypt.me, NordVPN, or ProtonVPN.
Secure and easily share all your logins and passwords with 1Password or LastPass.
Set up a Dropbox account, FTP or other cloud base storage to share and store files across your organization.
For customer support teams, consider using a shared inbox like Helpscout or Zendesk to assign emails and keep track of correspondence for a particular customer. Both solutions come with a linked help center option to create your own knowledge base.
Assign, collaborate and keep track of work tasks between teammates or shared projects with a business task manager like Asana, Wrike, or Trello. Basecamp is another great alternative that has all the benefits of email, instant messaging, task managing and file storage.
Use a cloud-based phone system such as Aircall, 8x8 or Just Call to easily make calls, conference, or transfer calls between remote teammates regardless of location.
If you are sharing your workspace with others, you may find that a noise-canceling app like Krisp helps to reduce background noise on calls or videos.
Have questions? We’d love to hear from you!