Virtual is the new reality: What I’ve learnt running a multinational from home

What a crazy world we find ourselves in. As the reality, uneasiness and stress of such an unprecedented event sets in, we’re reminding ourselves that while we can’t always control what comes at us, we can control how we respond.

As business and team leaders, the biggest challenge we’ve been asked to respond to is not just how we keep the work moving, but how we do so while keeping our staff engaged, motivated and connected in the midst of physical isolation.

For years, I’ve been fortunate to have run my own businesses across various industries and locations. As an entrepreneur, I lead multiple global companies with location freedom for me and my team, powered by just my HP Elite Dragonfly and smartphone. That’s it.

Moving from physical to virtual working environments is more manageable than it sounds, but there are things you learn along the way. I thought I’d share six handy tips on keeping connected, maintaining team cohesion, and keeping morale high, that I’ve picked up over the years.

1.      Be available. I’m often asked how I stay connected to my team when they’re spread across the world. The question I ask in response is: “How connected do you feel to a complete stranger on Instagram simply by watching their daily Stories?” and I see a lightbulb turn on.

2.      Be open and conscious. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into the panic and misinformation. Remain calm, manage your emotions, and keep checking credible sources, but lead with a clear head, demonstrating you are abreast of the latest tech, tools and ways of communicating. Show that you can be innovative, nimble, and that you, your teams, and your business will get through this together.

3.      Reinstate your company vision and remind people what you are all working towards. At the same time, allow employees to overlay that with their current reality and how they need their life to look right now. Remember, allowing someone to feel heard is the strongest measure of support.

4.      Help your team members upskill whilst working from home. There’s a myriad of incredible online courses that can help your teams feel like they have momentum and are moving forward.

5.      Relax policies and guidelines, displaying empathy and flexibility. Understand that many people will still be adjusting to working from home, but often with kids and partners in the mix. Work to their schedule where possible. Try to focus on output, KPIs, and productivity, rather than on specific hours. Now more than ever, data is our friend in enabling people to be trusted and work to their schedules.

6.      Expand your virtual toolbox: Along with my smartphone and HP Elite Dragonfly, my team and I rely on productivity trackers like Todoist and focus booster to help us organise, plan and get smarter about our time. Beyond the likes of Slack, Zoom, Trello, Aircamp and Dropbox, there are loads of clever new tools, apps, and tech released every day, so it’s worth staying abreast of these via platforms like TechCrunch, Gizmodo and Mashable.

If you, like me, love reading about the latest trends in the workforce, The Economist (in partnership with HP) has launched a new online hub brimming with podcasts, research and insights on everything from working from home to AI: https://futureworkforce.economist.com/