Keeping Cool under Quarantine with Donald Lantz

Like companies all across the country, Kin is doing its part to help flatten the curve and comply with social distancing orders. That means we had to figure out how to operate remotely pretty much overnight.

Good thing we have Donald Lantz, IT manager extraordinaire. Thanks to his expertise, we swiftly moved from working in our Chicago and Tampa Bay offices to working from home in a snap. 

Though he makes it look easy, a lot of behind-the-scenes work went into the transition. We’ve always helped our customers online, on the phone, or through email and chat – that part hasn’t changed. But we had a lot of in-office infrastructure that needed to be optimized for large-scale remote work. 

Starting in February, Donald began prepping the tools and resources that would allow us to pivot to remote work. 

“One big challenge was making sure communication among team members remained strong,” Donald says. “The great thing about Kin is that we already had the tools in place to handle remote meetings (big and small), so it was just a matter of quick work amongst leaders to implement WFH standards. The same goes for remote tech support. The infrastructure and tools for remote support were already in place, so it was just a matter of getting users comfortable with this new process.”

He also helped us create and implement a fully remote onboarding process for new hires. He’s been making sure people have tools, software, and equipment they need to do their work. 

“I ship or contactless deliver devices and equipment to folks prior to their start day,” he says. “I include a brief walkthrough to get them logged into the basics. On their first day, I coordinate with our awesome HR team and make myself available via video chat to assist with any hiccups.” 

In short, we have Donald to thank for the zero percent down time.

His words of advice for making work from home easier? 

“Find a space for yourself that is away from other distractions. It makes it easier to stay focused throughout the day and to get away from work once the day is over.”

He also suggests going for a walk (wear those masks!) every day to maintain some peace of mind during the shutdown. Oh, and virtual game nights with friends and co-workers – you’ve gotta stay connected.