1: The nuts and bolts of remote working
The three unbreakable rules
- You lose the information you don’t write down
- Discipline and environment beat motivation
- Support yourself and your teammates – keep each other accountable
Your workspace
- Quality headphones are a must – You’re going to have a lot of calls, so you’re going to need comfortable headphones. If you’re using Bluetooth headphones, keep an eye on your battery levels.
- If you are sharing a space, set some boundaries – Help your family, friends and housemates know when you’re working and not to be disturbed with clear signals: headphones, post-its and closed doors usually work.
- Watch your energy levels – Keep some healthy snacks and drinks nearby, and don’t miss any meals.
Your mental health
- Isolation may hit you unexpectedly – You’ll miss your usual face-to-face interactions, so try to schedule video calls with colleagues and clients – You’ll find you communicate better. Make an effort to stay connected with the outside world – small talk, even if it’s online, can be a big help.
- Routines will help you stay focused – When you’re on your own, it’s easy to get distracted. Setting yourself a routine will help keep your day on track.
- Cabin fever is real – Let’s be clear: working remotely is hard to cope with at first. With no commute to your office, it can be easy to let a day pass without leaving your home. If possible and appropriate, try to get some fresh air, even if it’s just for a solitary walk around your garden or block.
The etiquette for dial-in meetings
- If you’re not talking, keep your microphone muted – Like when using a walkie-talkie, keep the channel open for whoever is talking. Be strict about this rule! If a teammate isn’t abiding by it, mute them – it cuts down on interruptions.
- Unless you have connection problems, keep your camera on – This helps maintain a level of body language – critical for effective communication. When on video calls, don’t check your email or do other work. The face-to-face video call should be your sole focus.
- Make sure all your teammates are heard – It can be easy to miss the body language cue indicating a teammate wants to speak on a video call. Make an extra effort to ensure everyone gets their points across. Pro tip: unmuting yourself is a clear signal that “I want to speak next”.
How to hold meetings
- Think of meetings as virtual conferences – Allow for everyone to connect from wherever they are in the world. Your scheduling needs to answer the five Ws: what, why, when, where and with whom.
- Add an agenda and follow-up with minutes – If a meeting doesn’t have an agenda, feel free to ask for one. After the meeting, sum up decisions and key information over email or Slack.
- Be prepared to share your screen often – When doing so, review the information you need to and then immediately stop sharing. When you jump on a call, mute your other apps, like Slack or Whatsapp.
Collaborating with your team
- See each other every day – It’s important for everyone to see each other regularly. Be sure to sync each day to keep everyone up-to-date with what you’re all working on.
- Look back and discuss – Set a recurring virtual meeting to review how you’re working together. Be honest and blameless. Decide on how the team will work on improving specific points.
- Make time for chat and conversation – Chatting with your teammates about anything but work is important. Try setting aside time to check-in and chat about how your day is going. Maybe set up a permanent “team pod” hangout, where people can jump in and talk when the time suits. Finding the right fit for your team is crucial.
One-to-one communication
- Don’t expect immediate answers – Remote work can often be about one-sided communication – that’s just the nature of this way of working. Be understanding of your teammates. Something that helps: structure your communication – whether it be a Slack message or email or otherwise – as a single question or update, rather than a conversation.
- Set availability expectations – Starting a big piece of work? Set your Slack status accordingly (or close it). Are you going to be away from your desk for a while? Let your team know.
- What is your backup for when things break? – Things break all the time – the internet fails or you need to reboot your laptop mid-meeting. Communicate early that you’re facing issues and set clear expectations for when you’ll be back online.
2: The broad and structural
How to move to remote work as a result of Covid-19
The three unbreakable rules
- Enact your business continuity plan
- Find the right tools
- Enable your people
Business continuity
- First things first: realign priorities – How does your business need to change given the current global uncertainty? Consider immediate and future disruptions of resources and availability.
- Assess, decide and broadcast – Make the best decisions you can with (often) incomplete information, then let your team and customers know.
- Plan for contingencies – Uncertainty reigns across industries and across the world – are you prepared to adjust course quickly?
The right tools
- Conferencing – A quality conferencing tool will be crucial for holding meetings. Does your conferencing tool of choice work for both one-to-one and company-wide meetings?
- Instant messaging – Give your staff ways to communicate about anything and everything.
Don’t forget to enable spaces for relaxed chatter.
People
- Adjustment period – Working From Home will be a new experience for a lot of people.
Businesses are adapting roles and workflows to better support their clients. - Family – A lot of people will have family members in their immediate surroundings.
Expect the occasional disruption and don’t forget a smile. We’re all in this together. - Time management – Schedules are essential to keep everyone on track but don’t micromanage them.
Trust towards your peers and direct reports is essential. - Anxiety and Stress – Uncertainty and change sweeping the world. Keep an eye on anxiety and stress levels. Be kind.
Tomé Duarte, Senior Engineering Manager, has 10+ years experience working remotely, as well as managing remote teams.