On our corporate site at Good People Solutions, I did a series of 5 blog posts on working remotely, especially with the rapid influx we have seen in recent months due to the Coronavirus. Here are links and I went ahead and posted the first one from the series below.
For what seems like forever, I have been thinking about doing a series of tips on how to have a great experience working remote and managing remote teams. With the new Coronavirus issues leading to many companies opening up to, and in some cases mandating, working remote, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to share some of the tips and tricks I have learned from working remotely and managing both small and very large remote teams over the past 20 years.
Let me tell you – if I could do it in the early 2000s – you can DEFINITELY do it in 2020.
So welcome to working remotely! It’s not difficult, it’s just a bit different, but I’ll help you learn the ropes.
So TIP #1:
The first and most important tip I can share with you is the importance of communication. Sure, this is important on any team, but with remote workers it takes on a WHOLE new level of importance.
Thankfully there are TONS of tools to help you navigate (I’ll go over them at length in another post).
What I want to impress upon you is that if you do nothing else on your journey of learning about remote working, it’s good to remember to circle back to how you are communicating on a fairly obsessive basis.
What are some easy ways to do this:
Video whenever possible – YES, you probably still have to get ready. Wear pajama pants if it’s important to you, but be ready to talk on camera to coworkers, clients and anyone else at the beginning of your work day.
Regular check-ins – Think about all the people you interact with in a normal business day, week, month. Schedule times to just check in with each of them on whatever regular interval makes sense. And I mean a 1 on 1, not just being in the same meeting. This can be a formal check in every week or just a simple chat/messaging check in daily, but make it a priority for you and them. Personal connection is important and doesn’t just have to be in-person, but it does have to happen.
Weekly Reports – It’s easy with remote teams to fall into the trap of thinking that you or someone on your team is not pulling their weight. I like to have a time on my schedule each week to reflect on the tasks and projects I worked on that week or the previous week to help me remember how I spent my time. Hopefully your interactions and work will speak for themselves, but in moments of self doubt or in the case when someone is questioning your workflows, it’s nice to have a reference point to look at instead of just having instant recall.
That’s it for now, I’ll post another tomorrow. Let me know if you need any help navigating!
