Tag Archives: Work From Home

Jul21

The Remote Teams Checklist

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The Remote Teams Checklist

There are a lot of advantages to remote work, but having remote teams tops the list. Why? Because, first of all, having remote teams means that a business can expand their talent pool and employ top talent from anywhere in the world. Second, and this I think is of equal importance, remote teams add diversity to an organization.

A lot of businesses are moving to remote work or some sort of hybrid work arrangement. How can they make sure that their employees will thrive in a remote work or hybrid environment?

Structure
Every organization needs structure. Remote teams are no exception. First of all, establish a workflow. Then, map out the reporting hierarchy. Keep all the members visible to one another so that teams know how the dynamics work and how to collaborate with other team members to accomplish their goal.

Technology
Once a structure has been established, equip your remote team with the means to accomplish their objectives. How will you do that with a distributed workforce? Laptops aren’t the only means to collaborate and help your remote team work together. You can also use collaboration apps and tools that are company approved. Make sure that security protocols are in place and strictly enforced. Business licenses to company approved programs are the best way to go, but if you are a small company, make sure that there is no disparity between apps used and make sure that the laptop is pre-equipped with approved tools and programs. Cyber security tools like Crowdstrike or similar tools can give enterprise grade protection to entrepreneurs and SMEs at an affordable price. Explore your options.

Staffing
People are the heart and soul of teams. Not everyone is equipped with the skills or the aptitude to work remotely. Teams or team managers might miss the non-verbal interaction that takes place during face to face meetings or -in-office work models. Assessing who is right for what type of job is critical in remote working. Choose wisely.

Expectations
Let your remote teams know how many hours daily are expected of them and what output is required. Remote teams are built around the basis of flexibility, but make sure that teams know when they are expected to be contactable and online for questions, meetings, collaborative work, etc. Your remote working policy should be in place and must be fair and equitable. Enforce this policy as soon as a team member is granted access to remote work benefits.

Engagement
As mentioned earlier, not everyone has the aptitude to work remotely. They may lack tech, for example, they might have an old laptop model that’s not compatible with most of your tools and programs. They might have spatial issues like not having a quiet place to work or enough privacy as they might be sharing a house with roommates. Or they might just not be accustomed to working from home, hate the isolation that comes with remote work, and crave the watercooler interactions at the office. Whatever, the reason is, make sure that your remote team is actually amenable to remote working. Look for ways to connect in-office teams with distributed teams and do this on a regular basis. One way is to engage in hybrid work where everyone is required to work in-house for a set number of days and still have the flexibility to work remotely on some days.

Have a clear and enforceable policy for each item on the checklist and regularly revisit them to improve your remote working processes. What are your tips for successful remote working teams? Share your tips with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Jan19

4 Ways To Support Your Team Through Omicron

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4 Ways To Support Your Team Through Omicron

The Covid-19 Omicron variant has replaced the Delta variant as the new variant of concern. As of writing, the total number of registered cases surpassed the 300 million mark with 34 countries setting new infection record highs. The dizzying speed of transmission has prompted experts to suggest that getting the virus is not a case of if, but when.

However, we are not completely helpless. Two years of lockdowns and strict health protocols have honed us to be able to keep infections in check and avoid getting sick altogether. Still, we all need to be careful and practice the minimum safety protocols religiously. One slight misstep can mean the difference between wellness and illness.

In these trying times, we need to look out for one another. Here are four ways you can support your team through the rampaging Omicron variant.

1. Encourage vaccination and booster shots.

Vaccination still remains the best way to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, or death from Covid-19 and a booster, even more so. So encourage your team to get vaccinated by sharing helpful and validated information. If you are in a position to provide access to vaccinations, do so. Employers should allow flexible scheduling or paid time off for team members who are getting the vaccine.

2. Revisit your return-to-office plans.

Last year, the workforce was getting ready for the highly anticipated return-to-office. Like a splash of cold water, Omicron has put a damper on these plans. Teams should consider continuing their work-from-home arrangements until infection rates start to dwindle down. If this is not feasible, a skeletal workforce should be deployed.

3. Observe and reinforce safety protocols.

The minimum safety protocols are:

  • Wearing a face mask – the mask should cover up to the bridge of your nose and all the way down to your chin. It has to be snug and must not have gaps. The CDC recommends wearing an N95 mask. If you have an extra one, share it with your teammate who is using a cloth mask as it provides little to no protection against the Omicron variant.
  • Regular handwashing and sanitation – always have alcohol or hand sanitizer ready and share that with your colleagues to encourage frequent sanitation. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or the length of 2 rounds of the “Happy Birthday” song. Bonus points for singing out loud.
  • Social distancing – stay 1 meter away from your colleagues. Please don’t go to work if you feel ill or have symptoms.
  • Avoiding the 3 Cs – which are confined/enclosed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings.

4. Support mental health care.

This disruption has left a lot of people in a state of anxiety and has a huge impact on our mental well-being. Now, more than ever, teams should strive to support each other. Stay connected, encourage virtual check-ins or virtual water coolers, create a chat group where you can trade health tips, send sympathy cards for colleagues who have lost their loved ones.

We are all going through the same thing, but some might have it worse than others. So, as a general rule, be kind. We all need each other’s help, especially during these times.

How do you support your team through the Omicron surge? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Dec20

Working Parents Work From Home Support Tips

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Working Parents Work From Home Support Tips

We’re days away from Christmas and probably winding down for the holidays. During the days leading up to Christmas, a lot of us are tying up loose ends at work or maybe doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. Some may be traveling or making travel arrangements to make it home for the holidays. Overall, it’s a busy week for all adults out there.

Do you know what else can compound the challenges of this mad rush to the holidays? Being a parent. Being a parent working from home is not at all easy. You have to contend with child care, online school arrangements, and internet use schedules. On top of that, you have to set rules for noise-free times. There’s also the challenge of sharing your workspace.

While a lot of us are still doing remote work or hybrid work, employers and colleagues alike should extend their support and understanding to Work From Home parents. Here are three ways to provide support for Work From Home parents:

Communicate.

Encourage Work From Home parents to be transparent about the challenges they are facing. They should not feel that they have to make up an excuse in order to be able to look after a child. Open lines of communication will enable the team to understand the situation and be able to fill the gaps at work. Transparency will enable teams to support each other and work around challenges.

Focus on output and not work hours.

Some companies mandate a traditional 8 to 5 schedule. However, if your company could offer flexible schedules, that would greatly help Work From Home parents. Flexible work schedules would give Work From Home parents the ability to take care of parental duties and still get their work done. One typical scenario is when a Work From Home parent has a child who is doing remote learning classes that normally happen during traditional work hours. A flexible schedule would enable a Work From Home parent to stop working during online classes and resume work after. You can offer this benefit to Work From Home parents under certain conditions like: work deliverables should be completed, and the 8 hours required have been fulfilled.

Create a “parents” group.

Creating a parents group can serve as a resource for Work From Home parents to share experiences, challenges, tips, and parenting hacks. It is where Work From Home parents can go for support and camaraderie. They can use this forum to get tips like where to get baby clothes or learning materials. They can get child care recommendations or even swap toys or old strollers and cribs.

No. This is not about Work From Home parents getting preferential treatment. This is about creating a supportive environment and an inclusive work culture. This trains teams to work around hurdles, work together, and be more agile. What are your Work From Home parenting tips? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Nov22

Micromanagement and Working From Home

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Micromanagement and Working From Home

Remote working or working from home was supposed to be a short-term solution to the threat of COVID-19. It allows employees to work remotely in order to reduce travel and congregation thus, reducing the spread of the virus and the risk of contracting the disease. Back in March, when the pandemic sent us all into lockdown and the work from home experiment started, businesses and organizations had no idea if the move would be successful. Fast-forward to today, remote work has turned into a long-term solution and a possible work option.

Still a lot of employers struggle to adapt to the fact that they are no longer able to walk over to an employee to check in and see how tasks are progressing. Here are some tips to help better manage remote workers:

  1. Offer trust and flexibility – in this context, trust is about making sure that you give your direct reports the resources (such as tools, information, access, and guidance) that they need to get their work done – and then, be able to get out of their way. The best way to offer them trust is to allow them the flexibility to choose when and how they want to get the job done.
  2. Give them autonomy – allow your direct reports to be able to direct their own lives. Giving direct reports autonomy over their projects not only encourages them to see the project through to completion, but also encourages them to give their best because they have ownership and accountability. You hired them, after all. So, assume that they are competent to deliver while encouraging excellence. Trust that they will be able to get the job done.
  3. Be an example – don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk. If your company is big on work-life balance as stated in your mission-vision, you have to lead by example. Show your employees that you value and even encourage time off. And don’t just preach about it, you have to actually take time off yourself. Be public when you do it as well so that employees can see that you have a work-life balance, and it’s not just platitudes.
  4. Communicate well and often – too many one-on-ones can feel like micromanagement, but too little can also be a problem, too. Without proper communication, remote workers are left to assume that they are on the right track and won’t be able to course-correct until it’s too late. So provide regular feedback. Schedule regular check-in calls and make it a video call – not a phone call. So many things will be missed if you are unable to see facial expressions and body language. Use your regular catch-ups to check in on how they’re doing and also chat about non-work related things that aren’t too personal. It’s a way to build rapport and also get feedback on what’s going well or if they have pressing concerns.

Do you have tips to better manage remote workers? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Oct18

Remote Work Is Not For Micromanagers

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Remote Work Is Not For Micromanagers

A lot of people are still working from home after the Covid-19 Delta variant has poured cold water over employers and employees “return to the office” plans. One positive thing about this exercise is that it proves that remote workers can be as efficient (or even more efficient) as on-site employees. It breaks down the notion that work from home employees are harder to manage than those who work in the office. It also demonstrates that not only is remote work possible, but should actually be part of a company’s business continuity plan as best practice.

We’re looking at a couple more years of remote working. Two at the very least. Or until almost everyone gets vaccinated. This does not bode well for managers who like to micromanage their employees and see what they’re working on at all times. Managers should accept the fact that they would have to relinquish some visibility over the tasks they have delegated to their work from home employees and trust that they will get it done. How can managers do this? The key is to establish a supportive company culture that prioritizes trust and psychological safety.

This might sound simple in theory but might be hard to implement if micromanagement is firmly embedded in the business. One of the best ways for managers to show that they trust their work from home employees is to give them the flexibility to choose how they get work done. Give them the means to be able to do their work like access to software, tools, information, a knowledge base, feedback, and guidance. Keep lines of communication open and have regular catch-ups to give instructions or feedback. Once you give them what they need to get their work done, the next step is to get out of their way.

Managers should also prioritize psychological safety. This means creating a space where every employee, working from home or otherwise, feels comfortable giving feedback, sharing ideas, skiing questions, and generally just being themselves. Also, allow room for growth. This means giving employees the space to make mistakes and allowing them to recover and grow. Managers can do this by publicly celebrating with their team – not just the wins and accomplishments but also the missteps and learning experiences. 

With the pandemic still raging on, now is not the time to look over the shoulder of your employee and check on every detail of the work they are doing. The best leaders show empathy and compassion as we go through these very challenging times. Give employees the skillset to accomplish their work and trust that they will deliver what they say they will deliver. Cultivate a results-based culture where you focus on what is achieved instead of how many hours were worked.

Do you have experience working with micromanagers? How did that turn out for you? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp