Covid-19 has made working from home imperative for organizations of all categories. But in practice, remote work is more than just sending employees home with laptops and hoping they get things done. Tim Sheedy, Senior Consultant at Ecosystm, outlines best practices for implementing remote work.
Over the past few weeks, remote working has virtually overnight become the default modus operandi for organizations that are able to enable their employees to work from home. What is the probability that these employees will be productive?
The short answer is, it depends. In our experience, organizations that perform well remotely do not do so by accident. Rather, they have well-established practices and processes that ensure their employees work efficiently and bond as a team regardless of where they are located.
1. Apps that make the process easier
A worker is only as good as his tool. Remote work 101 gives your team access to the apps they need to do their jobs, no matter where they sit. This means mobilizing your email, business, communications and communications solutions to be accessible from laptops, tablets and smartphones and implementing security measures to reduce the risk of these systems and the data they contain being compromised.
Research by Sydney-based technology research and consultancy Ecosystm suggests this is already a priority for Australian businesses, and the COVID-19 crisis is likely to make it an urgent imperative for many.
2. Bring Me In – Reliable Video Conferencing Technology
The digital age may have given us a plethora of ways to stay in touch, but face-to-face contact still trumps them all. If that’s not possible, the next best thing is a decent video conferencing system. Working with the IT team to identify a platform that will work for all users, including those with limited bandwidth, and that meets the organization’s security and privacy needs is essential.
3. Make a note of it – documentation is mandatory
Joint projects are about sharing information, and when a team is grouped together, it usually just happens. Not, however, when its members are scattered across cities and states, as they are now. Strictly and consistently documenting activity and tracking progress can have a big impact on productivity, and investing in systems that support this is money well spent.
4. Collaboration – it’s about actions, not software
The concept of collaboration—the act of working with others to accomplish something—is familiar with abandon in the modern workplace, but talking about it and making it happen are two different things. There are many platforms that support this process, but if not used effectively, their effectiveness can be limited. Savvy remote organizations recognize this and develop protocols and processes to ensure these collaboration solutions become effective tools to help employees solve real business problems.
Some go a step further by appointing associate SWAT officers or teams—individuals empowered to identify bottlenecks and other business issues that could be addressed through improved processes or more effective use of collaboration software.
5. Everyone together – build a team environment
The transition from an office to working from home can be a culture shock – especially for individuals who enjoy the hustle and bustle of an office environment. Feeling unmoored from the mothership can send their morale and productivity south. Therefore, it is essential to put real effort into building a team identity.
Encouraging the use of social and collaborative tools – such as Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat groups – can help create a “virtual water cooler” where jokes and stories are shared and social bonds are maintained.
Team building sessions should not be on the agenda either. Gathering employees together at lunchtime for a virtual staff meeting, perhaps even occasionally going out for pizza or Uber Eats, delivered to their respective home offices, can help keep morale and performance high.
Current status?
The rapid onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many Australian organizations to make a sudden transition to remote working, and many have been caught off guard. Taking steps to streamline practices will be beneficial in the challenging months of lockdown ahead – but that’s only part of the story.
The Covid-19 pandemic, arguably the most cataclysmic global event since World War II, has the potential to permanently change the way organizations do business. Practices like enterprise-wide remote work that were born out of necessity could remain the status quo for many businesses long after the emergency has passed. In this context, getting it right can prove to be a critical commercial imperative in a post-Covid-19 world.