For remote work to succeed in the long-term, organizations need to make structural changes to drive effective collaboration, communication, and trust. To prepare for what comes next, Stefan Vucicevic, Senior Content and SEO Specialist at Jatheon Technologies says companies need to adopt a pragmatic approach to remote work to help distributed teams reach their fullest potential in virtual work environments. Also, learn why trust is critical to productivity and the bottom line in these vastly uncertain times. Â
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to abandon their offices and start working remotely. Now, several months after the outbreak of the pandemic, companies have found a stable footing and have, relatively successfully, adjusted to the shift.
Still, long-term remote work requires making continuous adjustments to ensure flowing collaboration and operational efficiency. It comes down to understanding individual differences and preferences and then finding the tools that help bring those together. So, here are 10 ways in which teams can help ensure they thrive while working remotely in 2021 and beyond.Â
1. Communication Essentials
Good communication is the key to successful remote work. Without it, there is very little hope of making long-term success, especially if your team numbers dozens of people.Â
Remote work brings convenience. At the most basic level, it saves us time spent commuting to work, allowing us to invest that chunk of time more wisely. But at the same time, remote work robs us of nuances in communication.Â
A lot of information slips through the cracks in remote work. We’re often left to just chat and that lends itself to a lot (mis)interpretation.Â
If your boss replies with just an ‘ok’ to one of your messages, you might tend to wonder whether they’re angry, satisfied, dissatisfied, indifferent, or genuinely ok with your plan. You can’t see their face, you can’t hear their voice, you can’t see their body language. As you can see, there’s a lot of slippery slopes here.
It can be a poor internet connection that forces us to turn off our cameras. Or it could be the inability to turn on the camera when working from home: perhaps we’re working from a cramped space, with our family members sitting in the same room. The point is that different life conditions dictate how we can participate in team meetings and work overall.
Still, there are some ways this can be fixed. It requires effort, especially at first, but it helps in the long run.
Learn More: How AI Can Help Businesses Survive the Shift to Remote Work
2. Clearly Document Everything
As someone who has had extensive experience with remote work, I can’t stress enough how important it is to spend time properly documenting your tasks.Â
It might seem like a waste of time at first, but it actually saves you from endless unproductive meetings. If your coworkers can read exactly what was done and what needs to be done in relation to your tasks, they won’t need to spend time on meetings and excessive explaining.Â
The same applies to you. If you have access to clearly documented tasks and projects, you will become more efficient. In time, everyone in the company will have access to relevant information, without having to ping you. This boosts knowledge sharing and productivity, at team and individual levels.
Learn More: Remote Work Hasn’t Lived Up to Its Expectations. Do You Have a Sustainable WFH Strategy?
3. Flexible Working Hours
As we’ve mentioned before, everyone lives (and now works) in different conditions. Flexible working hours allow you to ensure that each team member can fit their work into the new life conditions, without sacrificing the quality of their work.Â
And when it comes to communicating about projects, you can agree to have weekly meetings or core hours during which you discuss crucial information. But aside from that, everyone could be left to decide when they perform the best and build their working schedule accordingly.Â
As long as the results are there, there’s not much reason to create pressure. Not only does it affect creativity, but it gradually affects trust and can lead to absenteeism.
4. Establish Online Meetings Etiquette
To make remote work functional in the long run, it’s also important to establish ground rules when it comes to online meetings. Remote work lacks interaction as is, so it’s important to keep regular get-togethers to talk to your teammates. It helps keep team cohesion and ensure that crucial information is exchanged timely.
To make the most out of it, the team should define their meetings etiquette together. If everyone can afford to turn on the camera, then go for it. It will help add a layer of communication that in some more heated discussions can mean a lot. If not, go for the etiquette that works for everyone, if possible.Â
And once you have it set, make sure to abide by the rules. It’s important to create a certain routine (and a sense of psychological safety) by sticking to the schedule.
Learn More: Why Collaboration Is the Answer and Three Steps To Protect It
5. Tools
Tools for remote work are an integral part of a team’s communication etiquette. To make a remote team efficient, it’s important that team members feel comfortable with the tools they use on a daily basis.
That’s why it pays off to try out several different tools until you’ve found the one that works the best, especially when you’re planning on working remotely over the long run.
From my own experience, it makes sense to have different tools for different needs. This will vary greatly depending on your line of work and company size, but here are some types of staple remote work toolsOpens a new window that you’ll want to have:
- Tools for day-to-day communication (e.g., team chats)
- Tools for document management
- Tools for video conferencing
- Tools for project management
- Tools for note-taking and brainstorming
Learn More: Cloud Collaboration Tools: Risks vs. Rewards
6. Privacy Concerns
The sudden shift to remote didn’t leave us plenty of time to carefully think about privacy and safety concerns stemming from different tools, but this is something that you shouldn’t overlook, especially if you plan to work remotely over the long run.
The key here is to have dedicated people/team who will be in charge of checking relevant information and regulatory requirements that govern the use of tools in your particular industry.Â
Some teams work with sensitive information. They often need to meet numerous regulatory rules that dictate which tools you can and can’t use, for how long you need to preserve that information, which communication channels are safe to use, whether those will be cloud or on-premise tools, and so on.Â
Here, convenience comes after privacy. For example, it might be fast and easy for the team to use WhatsApp to communicate, but you need to make sure you have a safe way to manage your WhatsApp archiveOpens a new window . Otherwise, you’re risking to be non-compliant with industry laws and are exposed to fines and damaged reputation.
Once you have selected the adequate tools, make sure you set out clear guidelines on maintaining proper cyber hygiene so that your data isn’t left unprotected, or worse stolen and destroyed.
7. Building Team Spirit
Finally, for remote work to give results, to create an environment where the company meets business goals and the team feels a sense of accomplishment, it’s important to transpose the face-to-face rituals to remote work.Â
8. Workplace Rituals
These rituals are what glues the team together and when in moderation, help boost the team morale. Organize quick virtual coffee time or weekly get along online meetings where team members can chat about things outside work or personal achievements. This pays off in the long run.
9. Set and Follow Expectations
Again, make sure to set the right expectations. Remote work can be stressful for everyone, just in different ways. Regularly check with team members how they feel and help them avoid burnout.
10. Nurture Trust
Finally, no remote work succeeds without trust. You need to nurture trust between team members, as well as between management and teams. It’s the essence of remote work and it’s about having faith that both us and our co-workers will do a good job.
Let us know if you liked this article on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you!