Remote Work 101: Worried about managing your team working remotely & still delivering to clients?

With a global health crisis underway, this is a challenge for all of us particularly with the continually changing advisements from government agencies in many countries to practise social distancing and contingency planning — but, how to do this is for many a challenge being addressed for the first time and the only way to get working again. Our Clinked team has seen an increase in inquiries from clients and prospective organisations on how to use our cloud-based SaaS product as a much needed short-term solution to deliver consistency for client and flexibility to teams.

Rather than keeping these conversations to ourselves, we’re sharing with you the tips we’ve been discussing. Hope these tips help!

The coronavirus has brought the idea of “work from home” back into the fray of management conversations for many organisations planning their approach. The increase of cloud-based SaaS technology adoption throughout many organisations is now allowing a portion of workers this option to work remotely easy when paired with a solid internet connection. Increasingly organisations are reporting to have found these technologies are helping teams work fluidly while delivering consistently to clients.

Your organisation may be part of these prepared technologically to allow their teams to work from home or not — and you’re facing this challenge for the first time with a need to quickly find a flexible solution to reduce disruption to your business or simply get running again.

For those already technologically set up, the switch is in the hands of managers and individuals. The first step is changing your mindset, practices and environment to get work done. A team and individual will need to work out how to be a success working from home the first time.

CNN Business created a great article addressing tips for teams & individuals to keep streamline remote working : (1)

1. Start planning now
2. Set up a workspace …and boundaries
3. Communicate clearly
4. Be transparent about your schedule
5. Be prepared for remote meetings

Our Clinked team has often worked remote & are now. Fortunately, we can use Clinked as our technology platform to keep consistency for our clients while being productive as a team through an all in one system to chat, set calendars and work collaboratively as a team.

We asked our team for top tips to help work remote once the above are setup. Here’s what they had to say:

1. Keep your schedule: Wake up & ready for work the same as if you were leaving home.
2. Short breaks: Get away from your workspace for a short break every few hours to move around
3. Chat Often: Chat with colleagues virtually or over the phone at least 1–2x a day for live interaction

First time evaluating work remote option for your organisation?

For those not technologically setup, there are many factors to consider when finding the right solution? There is timing (setup & use), budget, process, security, etc. to evaluate. Many smaller or medium-sized organisations have not had to consider this option or other factors. However, your organisation may be ready to take the actions from a concern point of view and know technology is how the likes of the biggest players in your market are handling it.

Don’t stress — we’re is here to help!

It’s tough to know where to turn and how to manage the processes. From our standpoint, we all know the why (hello coronavirus risk & organisational responsibility), but what about the how, who, what, and when.

Here’s our team rundown of the 4 key components we use with others & practice in-house:

1. Technology: There are so many tools to get started here and our team leverages many cloud-based SaaS products daily to work. What you may ask? For our team, we use Google products & Clinked to collaborate. With our clients, we use ZenDesk and again Clinked to consistently deliver.
2. Processes: Keep your regular team processes in place and think about when your organisation or team come together each day or week. For us, we have daily conversations with various teams — we call these “stand-ups” (some may call them “Huddles”) — that are 10–15 minute catch-ups that consistently each day some time/same place and always with a Google Meet link for anyone (now more like all) who is remote. Also, we have 15–30 min “watercooler chats” at the end of the day to speak about non-work items like news, silly team fitness challenges, etc. for a laugh.
3. Chat: We all need interactions with other and remote working challenging these. Leverage chat (Clinked 1–1 & Group) and video (Google Meet for us) functionality to ensure interaction levels are up for the time the remote work lasts. P.S. If your work is sensitive, ensure these chats happen in secure digital channels!
4. Test Quickly: Test quickly & often — once you have a technology in place, we advise teams to choose a small group to test with. Trial your processes on it to see if it’s the right fit and adjust quickly to then roll it out with a bigger group. This does not have to be a long process and will adjust over time. Be agile and open to failing fast to establish the best fits for your organisation.

You may be a decision-maker or a team member trying to plan ahead or meet the call for a “new normal” of remote working. Regardless of your role, being agile and adjusting your practices is a challenge — at Clinked, we’ve been through these processes and are happy to help you evaluate the options. Drop me a note or comment below to chat on the topic.

Good luck getting setup & finding your happy space in remote work — it’s here to stay for those who can.

Sources: 1. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/03/success/coronavirus-remote-work/index.html