Work from home strategies for quarantine.

As businesses and the world shift to accommodate more work-from-home (WFH) strategies for their employees due to COVID-19, we thought we would toss a few thoughts out to leaders who struggle to manage remote workers. Working remotely is a different ball game than workplace attendance, and there are some incredible reasons why it can be a win-win for companies and employees over the long run. Our first advice is for HR and IT to join forces to help the organization make this shift quickly, yet sustainably. Here are some thoughts for leaders who have never managed a remote team before.

For Leaders

Let's think differently about how people work remotely compared to onsite with a bit of a shift in mindset. Attendance has always been a false performance indicator, anyway. Trust the human, the specialty, the knowledge. Studies say remote workers perform better due to less distraction and meetings. Change the game a bit with deliverables and connection - performance becomes about, well, performance and not just attendance. Getting the work completed is the goal. Most workplaces have toolsets for remote work at hand, but if they don't, now is a good time to work with your HR and IT groups to find ones that work best for you. These two groups are your superpowers right now.

• Have a policy in place for people with disabilities or complex health issues? Check with HR, if not, now is a great time to collectively plan one that is heart-centered and meets your people's needs.
• Be clear on what deliverables need completing. You can't over-communicate here. Details, details, details and clear expectations.
• Connect with your remote team several times weekly through video conferencing and check in on how they are holding up, whether they have any roadblocks, or if they need resources to get the job done.
• Ask what they've learned or discovered while working from home. Share a laugh or two about the absurdity of WFH challenges, we all have them - Mine are the joyous sounds of grandchildren in the background while meeting with clients as I isolate with my family.
• Respect their new environment and make adjustments. They might need a different schedule. WFH folks may need to stop - make lunch for a child, take the dog out for a quick walk, attend to a delivery. If they don't have a scheduled meeting, be okay with them working at 10 pm instead of 4 pm. Be flexible, ignore online time and focus on completed work.
• Structure online meetings. Have an agenda beforehand and the desired outcomes or decisions to come out of the meeting. Only invite those people who NEED to be there.
• Check-in on their psychological health. "How are you managing this?" "Is there anything you need?" Some workers will need more contact than others. Some will be fearful or have family members they are worried about - be compassionate and accomodating.
• If work is slow, keep people going by shifting from operational to grow-the-business actions that will support the company once things improve. This will give people something to focus on and allow them to contribute to better days ahead.

Employees working from home

Last year in October, our whole team moved to a completely remote working environment. The tools at hand just made sense for being able to support the home lives of our team and the reduction in overhead was attractive, too. Here are a few tips we have learned.

• Set up a work-space that is consistent and holds the least distraction for you.
• Stick to a routine. Get up, exercise, get dressed like you are going to work (I find jeans vs pajamas keeps the right mindset), have regular lunchtimes or set break times.
• Get up and move around frequently, set up regular calls with your team as a touchpoint.
• Use some kind of a planner for tasks, one that sends you notifications like MS Planner or Slack can help organize things.
• If you have kids, shift your work schedule to accommodate them, and let your team know you need to do this. Working at 10pm is still work, but make sure you are getting away from that desk.
• Eat for your health, it is amazing how much working from home can include more trips to the kitchen. Snack on foods that won't hit you hard when you are no longer walking from the parking lot, taking workplace stairs, walking between offices, going out for lunch, etc.
• Finally, get outside and try to get fresh air where there are no crowds.

Taking care of yourself and your family needs to be your top priority during these times, but working from home can be a great experience when people are supported to make it work for their home schedule as well.

Keep well and all the best from our Strategic Sense and GlobalSway teams.