*Image provided by Matt Jackson
We know letting your employees work remotely can be intimidating! There is a learning curve to changing your company structure to allow for remote work, but it’s not near as scary as it seems. Here a few suggestions to help you get started.
Up your communication!
Err on the side of communicating too much — staff can skim if they feel overwhelmed, but they can’t operate on no information. Choose 1-3 technologies for sharing different kinds of info, and stick with them.
Embrace technology
Take the time to train your team up and be patient as they learn new technology. (Hint: your execs may need more handholding and encouragement than your rank and file.)
- Zoom – Great for video calls and screen sharing
- Slack – Our favorite way to communicate quickly with our team
- Google Drive – Quickly share with your team and track important documentation and version history
- Invision – Upload designs for quick click-through feedback, collaborate with Freehand in real time, and keep track of comments
Define that work/life balance
Be flexible with the fact everyone is at home, but create an expected time to be online. If it’s after 5 and not an emergency, send an email instead. If you wouldn’t expect someone to respond after they’d left the office, don’t expect them to always be online, either.
Introduce guidelines
Remember that over-communication? Send out remote guidelines so everyone is on the same page. When is your team expected to be online? Set clear expectations. Do you want to see your team members’ faces in meetings? Maybe you should have a quick daily scrum to sync up. Utilize Slack statuses to help keep your team informed on what you’re doing (on lunch, running an errand, etc). It’s ok if you don’t get it right the first time — you can change the guidelines if they’re not working.
Have fun with it!
This is a tough time for everyone. Take time out of your meeting times to check in on your team members. People are currently lacking personal connection to their coworkers. Take it back to elementary school and introduce ice breakers! Show your pets and kids! The days are blending together, embrace a Happy Hour ending the week strong with a collective decompress.
