The Covid pandemic forced us to plug in our laptops and work from our homes. For the digital natives, this was business as usual. But for many of us, working from home was new and it took some adjusting before we hit the submit button for our first presentation.
After the first week, it was apparent that our rooms were going to be our office for God-knows-how long. We conducted meetings through video conferencing, making sure that the connectivity was stable, reported to our bosses and the day ended before realizing we had done all this from our rooms.
Over the second week, we got better at managing our time to do office work and now it looks like most companies prefer to have their employees work from homes. Although being tech-savvy is a big plus when it comes to working remotely, some practical actions are equally important for ensuring a smooth workflow.
So, as we move beyond Covid, if you’re still going to be working remotely here are some useful tips:
1. Honesty is still the best policy: No matter what, don’t stop being honest. If you don’t know the answer to your colleagues’ questions – don’t answer for the sake of answering. It may seem dumb but it’s better than giving wrong information and messing up things. However, if you know the correct info on something, don’t twist it or hide it. Please tell it like it is.
2. Set achievable goals: The best way to work in a team is to clearly have tasks delegated to members. Doing this lets you know what to expect from your co-workers as well as the project’s progress. For example, when building a new website, setting up a deadline followed by what the design, content and IT team members are to achieve on a daily basis will get the project moving forward effectively. This is a great way to build harmony and trust between members.
3. Minimize intervention: After certain tasks have been shared between the members, trust and expect them to do their work efficiently and timely. Don’t go after them every step of the way, unless asked for. Know that each employee is hired because of their expertise. Let them do their work in peace.
4. Build personal relations with colleagues: It’s always better to work with someone about whom you know a little bit more. It not only makes communication easier but it also strengthens the motivation of one another. Inquire about your co-workers’ families, their hobbies or their future plans. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how knowing about each other more intimately enriches the team spirit.
5. Don’t lose your organizational values: It’s easy to slip into our own zones when working from different environments but if we maintain the core values of the organization, it will keep the team together. The joy of achieving goals together as a team is priceless.
6. Be patient: All of us are facing a strange situation. But being impatient and uncooperative won’t help. Everybody makes mistakes and it’s easy to fume and fuss while at home than in an office environment, but resist the urge and embrace the new challenges patiently.
One thing we have learned from this whole experience is that if we work remotely with genuine trust and cooperative spirit, we are in a better position to take on the unknown tomorrows.
