10 IDEAS TO IMPROVE YOUR WORK FROM HOME CULTURE | PART II
Today, we’re picking up where we left off and finishing with Part II of 10 Ideas to Improve Your Work from Home Culture. If you missed the first installment, you can check it out here.
Let’s dig into the last 5 ways you can improve your work from home culture:
6. VIDEO
This may seem obvious and even though we all have some form of Zoom fatigue, video chats are still are better than voice only in a work from home culture. With video, we can pick up some non-verbal cues and create more human connection than through phone calls alone.
It is important to keep the video meetings as short as possible. The data is clear that meetings on Zoom or other video methods are more physically and emotionally draining than live meetings, so keep it quick, concise, and efficient.
7. GIVE YOUR FULL ATTENTION
For a while, we saw a trend in leadership to multi-task to be more productive. Reality has shown that we can only focus clearly on one thing at a time. So, while you are on your video calls, stay focused on the call. Don’t multitask, give your full attention to the task at hand, and stay engaged.
8. WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Certainly, the work-life balance is more blurred when you work from home. Here are a few ways you as a leader, can promote balance for your team working remotely:
- Leadership must lead by example. Unless urgent, is it really necessary to text before or after business hours with non-urgent questions?
- Match the accessibility demands for normal meeting schedules. When scheduling meetings, make sure the timing, length, and requirement are aligned with typical in-office meetings unless otherwise agreed upon.
9. METRICS FOCUS
Most organizations have metrics for their “to do goals.””. But for those working from home, it is even more important to have specific metrics to guide them and allow them to feel successful.
Here are a few ideas:
- Have a “TEAM WINS” weekly update from various teams.
- Improve the level of detail in sales reports or other result measurement reports. Take the time to refine them to include metrics for all work at home jobs.
- Share employee’s survey results and action steps that come from the surveys.
10. TRUST and TRANSPARENCY vs. ACCOUNTABILITY
Although a metrics focus is important and necessary to assure accountability, it is not, in and of itself, sufficient. Why?
We still have to trust each other!
If the metrics seem to be ok and you still struggle with trusting those who are working from home, you may need to look at yourself. Do you trust your people or not? If your answer is no, look inside first.
If you do trust others, and if metrics are still unmet, then there has to be accountability. It might be time to have a difficult but loving conversation.
For a performance conversation like this, do it in private and help them learn from their mistakes. Try to do it live, but if you have to do it remotely, at least make it a video call.
There are many more ways to improve WFH culture, but these 10 were at the top of my list. What would you include? Leave a comment and let me know!