By Lily Kelly-Radford
The remote workplace – at first, we had to do it. Entire staffs went home and set up shop on their kitchen tables or in spare bedroom offices. We improvised quickly.
Now we know remote work is going to continue. Even as the pandemic resolves, we think the workplace will be fundamentally rearranged to allow greater flexibility, cost efficiencies and preparedness for the next unforeseen disruption. Why not master it?
LEAP Leadership is helping its clients make remote work models more effective and intentional as they relate to the business plan.
Four ways to master the remote workplace:
1. Define with the team what the new standard for productivity.
Help team members understand that productivity doesn’t automatically translate from the physical world of work to the virtual world, i.e., no one can observe you working longer office hours, nor observe you holding meetings with co-workers, etc.
Redefine what productivity looks like in the new environment, in the context of what’s measurable:
• Use of collaboration tools that simplify or make communication and tracking more efficient (Microsoft Teams, Slack are very popular tools),
• Methods that allow you to oversee progress in work tasks (Google Drive, Microsoft Planner),
•Tracking of projects or task completed (Excel, Asana).
2. Sharpen internal communications.
Consider new ways of communicating with team by having conversations that are not always focused on business. This might include some fun virtual activities like creating group music playlists, virtual happy hours, photo albums, etc.
Centralize information where possible so that it’s not scattered across several different platforms that don’t communicate and aren’t easily accessible online.The first thing to slip if you’re working from home, especially if you’re not used to it, is routine. Video chat helps, because you at least have to make yourself presentable if you’re going to be on video throughout the day.
Keep a routine with regular check-ins including updates from leadership, weekly team tasks and progress meetings. Be clear on deadlines – remote work has different impacts on people’s focus and the team will have greater focus on tasks at hand when they clearly understand accountabilities.
3. Invest in remote employee monitoring software.
Remote work will be with us going forward, it may be worthwhile to review potential applications. There are various applications coming online that helps to see employees’ job engagement levels, productive hours, idle hours, and wasted hours.
4. Publish a weekly management calendar.
Here’s a serving suggestion:
Monday
• Hold a 30-minute team meeting at the beginning of the week to outline priorities for the week ahead
• Run through a task list adding any emerging priorities
• Set due dates and allocate owners to all tasks, to ensure accountability
• Ask owners to playback the tasks if in doubt
Wednesday
• Hold a mid-week team meeting to monitor progress on tasks
• Use an online KANBAN board (evaluate if items in the task list are to do, in progress, or done) to visualize progress.
Friday
• Hold a summary session at the end of every week to tick off completed tasks
• Flag any incomplete items as a priority for the following week
• Celebrate what the team has achieved this week
The remote workplace gives us all greater latitude to match our work styles, personal and family needs and, with some structure, to make work more effective.