Tag: employees

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Work Environment

9 Ways to Improve the Employee Experience

9 Ways to Improve the Employee Experience - The Collection

Prioritizing the different areas of the employee experience has definitely shifted since the start of the pandemic. Here are a few ways to continuously improve it.

 

The employee experience was once centered around creating a comfortable and productive workplace, conducive towards drawing out strengths and compensating for weaknesses. But with COVID-19, some of the priorities among both employers and employees have shifted towards better crisis management, greater decision-making in the hands of employees as company stakeholders, and better transparency between management and the workers – all alongside a culture of growth and safety.

 

As we seek to find ways to improve the employee experience in 2021 and beyond, we need to consider how our workers are any company’s greatest asset, and that managing teams and people must be about providing opportunities for growth, autonomy, and feedback, over control and workplace regulations. Here are nine ways companies can seek to improve the employee experience in a post-pandemic world.

 

1. Work from Anywhere Policies

 

COVID-19 has taught us that a whimsical approach to implementing work-from-home policies carries massive drawbacks, particularly to employees struggling to create healthy boundaries between work and home or tasked with caring for young children. Not everyone can successfully implement and reap the benefits of remote work through their living room or home office – but that doesn’t mean we need to go back to purely centralized office spaces and greater investments in expensive commercial real estate.

 

Instead, we should look towards the potential of work from anywhere policies, and the growing coworking market, as well as its potential to help companies form hub-and-spoke workplace arrangements that allow them to greatly expand their physical presence throughout a region or country while reducing the employee commute.

 

The ability to work from anywhere, be it the main office, the home office, a coworking space, or a local café, gives workers the autonomy they need to develop their own creative space and find an arrangement that allows them to be as productive as possible.

 

2. Establishing Trust in Leadership

 

Some companies have failed to instill a sense of trust in their employees throughout the pandemic, providing little to no information on how employees should protect themselves, or how the company is planning to respond to mandated lockdowns, social distancing rules, and other hygiene concepts.

 

Management and business leaders need to do better in taking charge in critical moments such as these, and training themselves and others to develop better communicative skills with employees, reach out to them on multiple channels in the event of an emergency or crisis, and provide clear instructions on how to proceed for everyone’s sake.

 

3. Open and Transparent Channels Between Management and Employees

 

The ability to freely communicate between employees and management is important – management can only truly receive effective feedback through transparent communication, and employees need to be empowered to honestly reflect on managerial decisions and weigh in on company policy, especially when it affects them.

 

This is critically important in a post-pandemic world, where employees want both job security, and the ability to feel safe in the workplace. The decision-making remains in the hands of those in charge, but better actionable feedback can help them make better decisions.

 

4. A Culture of Employee Advocacy

 

63 percent of employees do not trust their company’s leadership. Many feel that executives are perhaps self-serving, or don’t know how to do what’s best for their employees. Promoting spokespeople within teams and departments to collect and voice employee’s concerns and problems can go a long way towards fixing the rift existing in many companies between employers and employees.

 

In the absence of other forms of advocacy, companies need to give employees a platform to clearly communicate their demands and help them give input on the company’s direction. Without that, companies lose the trust of their workers.

 

5. Ample Opportunities for Growth and Development

 

The simplest individual motivator once an employee has reached an income level they’re happy with is the opportunity for self-improvement and professional development.

 

Companies should invest in skills labs, educational opportunities, and the chance for employees to become greater assets to the company through training and learning programs.

 

 

6. A Culture of Recognition

 

Making sure credit is given where credit is due is another important step towards improving the employee experience. Employees want to be appreciated for their hard work and are more likely to give more than the professional minimum when knowing that their efforts are being seen and rewarded.

 

7. A Clear and Actionable Company Vision

 

A company’s vision for itself and the future is definitive to that company’s culture and identity, and these are two important factors that greatly influence a worker’s relationship with the company they work for.

 

People want to feel like they are part of something greater, something meaningful, whether it is a business dedicated to world-class quality, promoting local talents and traditions, or simply shaking up and innovating in an old industry.

 

A stronger and clearer company vision also massively helps businesses who lack physical cohesion in the form of a single office, by helping a scattered group of professionals rally behind a shared dream.

 

8. Smaller, Autonomous Teams

 

Teams too large for a single manager often lead to professional waste, in the sense that time and resources aren’t funneled where they should be, certain accomplishments and efforts get overlooked, and employees who might otherwise become important assets look towards other opportunities where their skillsets might be better valued.

 

To that end, companies should consider allowing smaller teams to form within departments, autonomous and self-sufficient, given the responsibility of choosing and completing their own tasks and coordinating with the rest of the department on a regular basis to decide how tasks are best divided between each team.

 

This way, each group develops its own working dynamic and leadership, and isn’t dependent on the sole decision-making of a single overwhelmed manager.

 

9. Room for Slack and Rest

 

A company culture dedicated entirely to the hustle may bring in the most dedicated and hungry talent but is also prone to greater amounts of stress and burnout. Employees need time to recuperate physically and mentally and divorce themselves entirely from their work.

 

Make sure every worker understands the importance of having clear-cut boundaries that allow them to charge their batteries while away from the office and come back reinvigorated and reinspired. Promoting rest also helps turn workers into creatives, allowing them to contribute to a company in a more unique and innovative way.

 

Slack time is important, too. It helps employees recover between sprints of work on tight deadlines and demanding projects, ensuring that they’re ready for their next challenge after a few slower days at work.

 

Conclusion

 

The employee experience in a post-pandemic world prioritizes the communication between team members and team leaders, between workers and managers, and of course, between employers and employees.

 

Categories
Work Environment

The Value of an In Person Meeting (And How to Have Them Today)

By now, we’ve adapted to virtual meetings and remote work routines, but that does not mean an in person meeting lost its value. Read more details below including how to safely have them during the pandemic.

 

Despite quarantines and harsh restrictions, in person meetings haven’t become a relic of the past. Far from it, it seems like many businesses have come to further recognize and respect the importance of in person meetings as the pandemic rages on, especially for identifying and onboarding new talent, landing important clients, and communicating effectively with team members on critical projects.

 

There are elements to a conversation that are often lost when communicating through purely virtual means, and try as we might, there is still no good replacement for a face-to-face meeting.

 

That being said, in person meetings can and should be made limited and more efficient as long as we continue to live in a world with the coronavirus. By leveraging better hygiene concepts, important technologies, and simple meeting rules, we can massively curb the dangers of in person meetings and make them safe, even during a pandemic.

 

Why In Person Meetings Remain Important in a Pandemic World

 

Non-verbal cues, expressive faces, and the engagement of being in a physical location with others as opposed to simply being rendered as pixels on a small screen can have a significant impact on the quality and nature of a meeting, whether it’s a brainstorming session between team members or an important client.

 

While virtual meetings have helped thousands of businesses continue to function and even remain productive in the midst of a historic health crisis, they have also served to highlight their own distinct limitations, and how face-to-face communication can serve to be more effective at building relationships or simply communicating nuance.

 

Fewer Things Are Lost in Translation

 

The first and most immediate benefit to an in person meeting is the little things we tend to miss when confined strictly to a screen. Facial cues and body language, subtle changes in pitch, simple expressions, and the ability to immediately discern or at least ask for context to any and every statement. These things are diminished or even lost in the limited scope of a video conference, much less an email thread, where the only non-verbal forms of expression available to most of us are emojis.

 

All the things we take for granted in face-to-face communication help to provide a much clearer understanding of what the other person is saying and thinking, and help us avoid miscommunication or awkward misunderstandings, at times fuelled by a lack of provided context, as one party doesn’t want to ask the other to repeat themselves or explain what they meant.

 

No Lag, Fewer Technical Issues

 

Another important benefit to an in person meeting is the lack of a technological barrier between persons. Technology can be a barrier, after all. A barrier of entry for those unwilling or struggling to learn how to communicate with new software and technology, and a barrier created by technical issues which can slow or delay important conversations and frustrate both parties.

 

Audio and video issues, constant lag, connectivity problems, and dropped calls are just a few potential issues that often arise when working with telecommunication tools, and troubleshooting these issues can take precious time on either side of the conversation, and distract from the important points, derailing meetings during critical junctures, or causing important information to get lost amidst technical problems.

 

In Person Meetings Build Stronger Relationships

 

It is proven that we tend to build stronger relationships, inspire more trust, and leave longer lasting impressions through in person meetings versus virtual ones. People are still naturally inclined to feel closer and more engaged to someone sitting opposite them at a desk, rather than a person who exists merely on a screen.

 

Virtual technology is critical at enabling communication across large distances and can serve as the perfect tool to help long-distance teams collaborate and meet with international clients, but there is nothing that can substitute a first-time face-to-face meeting as a means to build trust and create a solid foundation for a strong business relationship.

 

But rather than simply discuss why in person meetings can help us forge stronger bonds with one another, it’s even more important to discuss how we can afford to host them safely.

 

Find the Right Venue

 

This is where a coworking space comes into play. Coworking spaces present themselves as the perfect neutral venue for team members, executives, clients, and managers to meet in a safe environment, collaborate and communicate in a safe and concise manner, and leave.

 

Coworking spaces are also ideal for the onboarding process, providing the perfect setting to help integrate and guide new hires into finding their place within the company and team hierarchy, before continuing through the coworking space or working remotely, depending on their and the team’s strengths and capacity.

 

 

Observe Proper Precautions and Social Distancing Measures

 

Aside from choosing a safe workspace designed for collaboration, companies and teams can further reduce the risk of infection when meeting in person by picking spaces with private rooms large enough to accommodate everyone attending with the appropriate distance between one another, while mandating masks and always observing safe social distances (including on the way in and out of the room).

 

Consider Natural Ventilation

 

The CDC recommends that offices keep their windows open and allow for as much natural air flow within the office as possible (provided the weather and climate permit it). Keeping a window open might seem like a relatively simple measure but could further limit the risk of any potential transmission during a meeting.

 

Amplify Everyone’s Voices

 

Studies confirm that raising one’s voice is more likely to transmit the virus – this is simply because the louder we yell, the further our spit droplets travel through the air.

 

Providing microphones for everyone and renting a room and table that can safely accommodate everyone at the meeting can help a group maintain a safe and reasonable social distance while reducing the droplets in the air.

 

A relatively simple sound setup with a few speakers in each corner of the room and a mic for each meeting member can eliminate the need for any sort of yelling or screaming to get heard across the room.

 

Keep Meetings Short and To-The-Point

 

The coronavirus could be yet another motivator to keep meetings short and concise. Excessively long meetings may defeat the purpose of getting together to organize and have historically been little more than a huge financial drain on productivity.

 

In person meetings may not be as simple to organize as before, but when leveraged, can provide an opportunity to improve relationships and foster a greater sense of trust and cooperation than through any virtual means, which is critically important for many businesses worried about cohesion and feelings of isolation within team members.

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Business Trends

How to Inspire Your Employees to Become Creatives

What does it mean to become creatives? This is a question to seriously think about, especially during a time where creativity is needed now more than ever. Read below for details.

 

As we collectively reach nearly a year of working under the circumstances of a pandemic, many of us have had to reinvent boundaries and find ways to halt or slow the inevitable melding of home life and work life and struggle to find ways to remain productive or even creative.

 

Some of us have been faced with crippling social isolation for months, while others have lost friends and loved ones to an unrelenting and uncaring virus that no one was equipped for.

 

As we continue to brave each day, we are faced with new and recurring challenges at work, the boldest of which is the challenge to remain steadfast in our duties and uphold our responsibilities as workers and employers – and continue to deliver fully on the 30, 40, or even 60-hour weeks we spend on a collective vision.

 

It’s important for us to recognize that this pandemic has had a significant and understandable impact, one we need to learn not only to accept but adapt to. Some of us haven’t been able to face that issue, scared of falling behind and losing out on a precious work opportunity that not everyone is privileged to.

 

Employers must give their employees the courage to openly speak out about their personal struggles – and understand that these causally relate to their professional and creative struggles because, in a COVID-era, the personal and professional have too often become one and the same.

 

This is the first step towards helping and inspiring your employees to become better creatives and find that spark that might have fizzled or gone out in the face of the pandemic. From there, it’s all about creating a better and more positive environment – even remotely.

 

Set the Right Environmental Factors

 

It’s a huge cliché to see your employee’s creative potentials as flowers waiting to bloom, but the simple fact of the matter is that environmental factors are really important – but not just at work.

 

As the pandemic has forced us to redefine the workplace and accept remote working concepts into our business, many have found themselves falling in love with the idea of working from home forever – while many others struggle to draw the line between work and home and try to compensate with ever longer hours, and an ever-greater threat of stress-related burnouts.

 

Building a stronger creative team starts with building the factors that nurture and support that team. Encourage stricter boundaries between work and home.

 

Help employees with flexible work schedules and nearby coworking spaces find safe and hygienic remote solutions to try and create a physical barrier between work and home, via a shorter, safer, more accessible commute to a coworking space.

 

Help those who can afford it create a home office and work with them to develop a schedule that allows them to balance and split their responsibilities to their work, and their responsibilities to family.

 

Encourage simple routines and rituals to begin and end the workday, cut short unnecessary or distracting meetings, and ask employees to identify their greatest daily blocks and distractions, and find ways to mitigate them within reason (there’s very little anyone can do about the needs of a new-born, but it’s important to explore other options where organization and flexibility can help forge better boundaries).

 

For employees who are at work, be sure to address both the physical and organizational factors that help forge creativity – such as:

 

      • Better natural light
      • A clean office space kept tidy and organized
      • Art that isn’t too distracting but provides places for the eyes to linger during brainstorming sessions
      • Private spaces where employees can withdraw to think alone or rest their eyes, or simply get away from the noise

 

When creating a supportive organizational environment, ensure that you aren’t encouraging or tolerating behavior that is potentially silencing other creative voices in the room, such as picking one idea before hearing the others, shutting someone down before they finish, or critiquing one person’s idea before everyone had a chance to present.

 

Cooperation is a more effective approach to creativity than competition, and creatives will generally thrive in a safe space that allows them to explore any and all possibilities without being crippled by self-doubt and constraints created by other people’s immediate reactionary opinions. Each idea can be refined and rejected once it has had time to develop. But shutting an idea down in its incubatory phase keeps it from getting to a point where it might have become the right one.

 

Provide Clear Guidance

 

The worst thing you can do as a manager or director is to simply give the command to “get creative.” It is your job to present guidance and provide limitations for the rest of the team to work around.

 

Talk about what pointers you have been given by the client and provide further direction by discussing the basics – such as deadline, budgetary constraints, and what you know isn’t in the books. And then exploring what else you know about the project, such as its origins and style, details about the client and their audience, and any other information you can provide to paint a better picture.

 

Give Everyone a Real Breather

 

True breaks are hard to come by in the pandemic age, but wherever possible, encourage creative employees to pursue meaningful breaks into nature – from something as simple as a brisk walk in the park to a weekend trip up into the mountains.

 

Studies have shown time and time again that we think much better when surrounded by open skies and the smells and sensations of nature, and a few hours spent among the trees will do far more for a creative type’s headspace than another weekend spent indoors.

 

Harnessing Creativity Demands Creativity

 

Finding ways to create a constructive and nurturing environment both physically and remotely will require a huge amount of creativity. Especially as most managers are constrained by very specific limitations that might keep them from helping their employees unleash their best creative potential.

 

To that end, you will have to accept that these limitations, wherever they cannot be overcome, will serve to impede or prevent some from being as creative as they could be.

 

Never Underestimate the Importance of Creativity in Success

 

Every conceivable business that offers a product or service needs creativity to help reiterate concepts, renew ideas, and adapt to a world that is evolving and changing faster than ever.

 

It’s the creative employees who came up with the concepts that helped save countless businesses during the early days of the pandemic, from developing unique ways to continue to provide a product or service while maintaining social distancing, to finding new ways to offer a face-to-face service remotely. And it is creatives who will continue to find ways to increase your value proposition and make your business the one that stands out above the rest.

 

The biggest value in creativity is its ability to find solutions to problems. That is the true definition behind every creative type – a problem solver who finds new ways to answer both old and evolving questions.

 

 

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Work Environment

Encourage These Top Building Activities for Virtual Teams

While working remotely during a pandemic, building activities for virtual teams is encouraged in order to keep the team connection alive and well. Read below for details.

 

Team building activities promote team cohesion, improve productivity, reduce stress, and help new as well as long-time employees feel connected to one another and the company.

 

All of these are critically important qualities that have been tremendously impacted by the pandemic. We know that building activities for virtual teams can be an effective tool in addressing these issues, and helping companies and teams combat the long-term effects of remote work, such as social isolation and a feeling of distance from other team members.

 

1. An Online Lunch/Dinner Date

 

Something simple but relatively refreshing and effective for helping teams feel connected on a personal level is a team lunch or dinner date. On the surface, it’s nothing more than sitting in front of your computer during mealtime and having a friendly chat with other coworkers while you ea. But eating together is an ancient and ingrained bonding activity, and integral to any team.

 

Even if it’s over the Internet, a virtual lunch break complete with audio and video can help your team feel truly connected, even across the globe. Even if that means some people will be having their lunch while others are eating dinner, or just joining in for a quick snack and coffee break.

 

2. A Cooking and Plating Competition

 

Competitions can be an amazing team building activity for specific teams and cultures, where a little competitive spirit can build stronger bonds. Cooking and plating competitions help each individual team member show off their improvisational skills, creativity, problem-solving, workflow, and design philosophy – all in a simple dish. Pick a recipe, set a time and timer, and use a simple online poll to decide whose attempt was the best-looking, most creative, and/or most original.

 

3. Daily or Weekly Icebreaker Questions

 

While it’s a relatively straightforward one, icebreaker questions can be a useful virtual team building tool outside of the onboarding process. Consider introducing them as a weekly or even daily occurrence.

 

For example, build a pool of icebreaker questions (25 to 50) and pick one at random at the start of every scheduled meeting (i.e., non-critical or time-sensitive). Examples include – what was your favorite toy as a child? What animal do you most identify with and why?

 

4. A Gifting Competition

 

Another interesting way to build team cohesion and let everyone get to know each other is to host a gift exchange – but with a twist. “White Elephant” and “Dirty Santa” gift exchange games involve prank items or impractical gifts. They can be much more entertaining than trying to guess what your gift target might actually want or appreciate, or going for the same old boring and safe options as always (mugs, clothes, and gift cards).

 

5. Reinvent Ways to Introduce Yourself

 

Team building activities are usually an important part of the onboarding process for new hires – but with the pandemic, that tradition has taken a hit for many companies. Some have turned to new ways to introduce fun and entertainment into the onboarding team building process. This is by turning simple introductions into more elaborate projects.

 

For example, you can try creating a tongue-in-cheek PowerPoint presentation on yourself, in lieu of a company project or prospectus, or even write a User Manual on how to be a coworker in this company. The goal is to loosen things up, parody your company culture a little bit, and help the new hire feel comfortable and connect with the team on a more personal level (which can be very difficult over the Internet).

 

6. Take Up an Online Class Together

 

Learning something can be fun. But it’s much more fun when you’re learning with other people. The pandemic is a perfect opportunity for many to continue to brush up on their professional skills and seek out a whole slew of online classes and courses to improve and expand their toolkit.

 

Individual teams and departments can consider taking classes together or getting through a course together as a team building activity and professional exercise rolled into one.

 

7. Test Your Team’s Strength

 

The internet is full of personality tests and quizzes. These can be a fun way to just goof around and see what Disney character one best mirrors, or what superpowers they might have.

 

But more in-depth “strength assessment” tests can serve as an interesting and in-depth way to reflect on yourself and both your professional and personal skills and share these with the rest of the team. While intensely personal, these tests and quizzes can reveal to one another what every team member brings to the table, and how you all best work together.

 

8. Arrange Weekend Virtual Games

 

From board games to chess tournaments to cooperative video games, there’s a nigh-infinite treasure trove of games to play virtually and as a group.

 

Some excellent examples depending on your connectivity and tools-at-hand include the classics like Clue, small stakes poker, and Monopoly, or popular party and co-op video games like Mario Party, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, or Ultimate Chicken Horse.

 

9. A Virtual Watercooler

 

While not an activity per se, setting up a dedicated chatroom or channel to serve as an after-hours hangout or place for coworkers to socialize during breaks can massively improve team cohesion and help your team members get to know one another.

 

There are pros and cons to setting up a virtual watercooler. If left uncontrolled or unattended, it can contribute to a team’s distractions and get endlessly clogged with unrelated or lengthy conversations and arguments. Keep your channels or chatrooms lightly moderated to avoid workplace toxicity.

 

 

The Bottom Line

 

Virtual team building activities can help teams socialize, greatly improve the onboarding process, reduce the effects of remote work stress and isolation, and improve your team’s overall cohesion and productivity. Even through entirely unproductive games and activities.

 

While we have had a long year to learn to cope with the changes introduced by the virus, this pandemic isn’t quite over. Many of the changes it has forced onto the workplace might be here to stay. Learning to improve on the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of working remotely will continue to be an important goal for this new year, and many years to come.

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Business Trends

9 Virtual Meeting Etiquette Tips Everyone Should Know

Surely, we are all still getting used to virtual work interactions. That said, be prepared for your next virtual meeting by following the virtual meeting etiquette tips below.

 

Virtual meetings can be productive, time-efficient, and fun. Or they can be a source of endless frustration and watercooler memes. If you’re in charge of your monthly or weekly virtual meetings, knowing the difference between good and bad meetings is critical. A big part of that difference is simple etiquette.

Be sure to follow these virtual meeting etiquette tips to avoid unnecessary time loss and turn the bane of everyone’s day into an important and effective cornerstone of your remote operation.

 

1. Dress Right from Top to Bottom

 

It’s very tempting to ignore basic dress rules and focus on what’s visible most of the time. But even a fraction of a second spent looking at a coworker’s PJs or underwear is a fraction of a second too long.

 

You don’t have to “show up to work” in your home office dressed in a full suit and tie, but keep things at least business casual, from the toes to the hairline.

 

2. Keep the Background Simple and Professional

 

A chaotic or unseemly background can be massively distracting, whether real or virtual. You might feel tempted to start playing around with (or without) green screens and meeting backdrops for a little bit of tongue-in-cheek humor. While it’s certainly an effective icebreaker, there’s a time and place for it.

 

Be sure to have a clean and professional background ready when it’s time to drop the green screen or joke background. Avoid clutter, eye-catching artwork, or too many personal items – such as family pictures, children’s toys, collectibles, and figurines. A bookshelf, a plant, a simple picture or drawing, or even a blank wall will do.

 

The same goes for noise. We’re all limited by what we have available, and there will always have to be a little leeway but avoid holding a meeting in the basement even if it’s where you have the best connectivity. Consider purchasing a long ethernet cable, powerline adapter, or WiFi extender to retain quality connectivity in a separate room.

 

If you have no way of hosting or joining a meeting at home and can’t reasonably get to the office (due to distance or social distancing measures), consider a nearby coworking space instead. Coworking spaces make for excellent satellite offices and can serve as an ideal in-between for those unable to return to the office, yet unable to concentrate or work efficiently from home.

 

3. Beware of Your Lighting and Eye Level

 

You don’t want too many shadows on your face, or to have the camera facing directly at a source of light (especially when that light is behind you). Make the most of your natural light by facing a window during your call or utilize a lamp to illuminate yourself and your surroundings properly.

 

Furthermore, consider the angle of your face to the camera, and adjust it to be around or at about eye level. Too far above or below can make things particularly awkward, affecting how you and your communication are received, especially when interacting with clients.

 

4. Run a Pre-call Tech Test

 

The last thing you should do is wait until the very last second to run a test call. You don’t want to have to spend the first ten minutes of a meeting fiddling with your setup, troubleshooting your mic, or trying to reinstall the right drivers for your camera.

 

Be sure to run a quick test of your mic, headphones, camera, and connectivity, to make sure everything is working properly, and to save yourself the trouble.

 

5. Consider Push-To-Talk or Keep the Mute Button Handy

 

Knowing where the mute button is isn’t just handy for when you’ve got to sneeze or talk to someone outside of the call but can also help you greatly reduce background noise and buzz. While we’ve come a long way with microphone technology, it’s still extremely difficult to filter out simple background noises (including interference, air conditioning units, or fans) during a live call.

 

Simply hitting the mute button when you aren’t talking can make it much easier for everyone else to hear each other, especially when you have half a dozen people or more on the call.

 

6. Don’t Split Your Attention

 

It’s not only rude to check your email or start messaging someone else in the middle of a virtual meeting – it’s also a sign that you’re likely not being efficient with your time. Meetings should be goal-oriented and quick, and not a time or place for multitasking.

 

7. Please Don’t Snack

 

This should go without saying, but it’s still a rule that is sometimes ignored or not considered: stop eating during a meeting. Even if you mute your mic, the sight of someone eating during an important call can be distracting or unprofessional, especially when it isn’t a lunch meeting or explicitly some form of culinary get-together. This rule is obviously flexible when the meeting is designed to take place during lunch or act as a sort of company meal.

 

8. Keep a Consistent and Clear Audio Level

 

No one likes a mumbler, and no one likes a screamer. Most video conferencing tools and VOIP software give you basic audio levels for your microphone, so you know at what volume you begin peaking. Run a test call with a friend to figure out how loud you should be speaking and project your voice consistently.

 

Consider speaking slowly as well and be prepared to repeat yourself. Virtual meetings will be hindered by whoever has the weakest connection, and chances are that you may be asked to repeat yourself more than once if at least one of the people in the call is struggling with connectivity issues. Don’t get louder or become annoyed – just repeat what you said calmly, and slowly. Sometimes it is what it is.

 

9. Be Patient

 

There will be issues, grievances, and problems. Be prepared to deal with them calmly. A lot of the problems and hang-ups with virtual meetings can be solved via proper etiquette and preparation, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be perfect. You will have to prepare yourself for some frustrating moments.

 

Categories
Business Trends

How to Onboard New Hires in a Pandemic World

Onboarding new hires look a little different now as we work in a more virtual setting. So what’s the best way to welcome them to the company? Read below for details.

 

The onboarding process is very important for establishing a positive bond between a new employee and their employer. In addition, helping new hires learn everything they need to know about a company’s culture, day-to-day structure, and organization.

 

Successful onboarding can help new hires feel at home and massively boost their productivity in both the short-term and long-term, by ensuring that they become a part of the company from day one.

 

A poor onboarding process – or having none at all – can be a surefire path towards high employee turnover and low worker engagement. Companies that fail to connect with their employees are wasting talent and potential. Moreover, sinking substantial resources into a working relationship that is ultimately subpar.

 

The recent COVID pandemic has thrown a wrench into onboarding processes everywhere. Its has left companies at a loss for how to effectively help new hires feel like they are truly part of a greater family of talented individuals and passionate workers. It’s hard to get a sense of how a company works or what kind of culture it propagates when working purely virtually.

 

However, that doesn’t mean onboarding is impossible in the peri-pandemic world. With adjustments to account for each crucial element of the process, companies can continue to build strong and qualitative relationships with new and existing hires and make the most of the talent they bring on board.

 

The Elements of the Onboarding Process

 

In order to make the most of the situation, it’s important to dissect the onboarding process. In doing so, figure out how to adapt each element into a remote concept that is safe, effective, and scalable during the ongoing pandemic.

 

Onboarding consists of incorporating a new hire into the following:

 

1. Culture and Social Elements

 

A company’s culture is entirely dependent on the people in it, and the way they engage with one another socially. This can make conveying company culture remotely very difficult. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

 

New hires could be introduced to a company’s culture through a welcoming gift, such a collection of notes from each existing employee. Safely bringing new hires to a satellite coworking office to interact with staff and get a sense of what people are like at their new workplace can also help new employees feel less distant to the company they’ve started working for.

 

Consider an early adjustment period wherein new hires are brought to a physical coworking space to work and train with mentoring employees before continuing remotely, or through other coworking locations.

 

2. Communication and Day-to-Day Workflow

 

While helping employees fit in and better understand who they’re working with, helping them work efficiently and incorporate their talents effectively is still the top priority of the onboarding process.

 

New hires might feel tremendously left out and confused as to how to best leverage their abilities when given as few details as possible or onboarded purely remotely.

 

A short face-to-face onboarding process facilitated through a safe coworking environment can help bring new hires up to speed. This allows them to begin quickly and adapt to the needs and requirements of their new position.

 

Aside from introducing new hires to their workflow, setting expectations for how tasks and projects are managed and completed, troubleshooting the basics, and providing detailed on-location mentoring through a safe facilitating office location like a coworking space, companies should continue to help these employees adjust to their role in the company remotely.

 

Examples for doing this include daily virtual mentoring sessions, and an individualized testing process to ensure that new hires have fully acclimated to their respective duties and responsibilities.

 

Part of enabling this involves helping new hires with acquiring and setting up all the appropriate hardware and software, walking them through the use of company communications and collaboration tools, helping them understand and properly navigate company security, and learning the basics of how to interact with company tools and information, and who to ask for more specific instructions.

 

 

3. Organization and Company Structure

 

While not as urgent as helping a new hire feel comfortable with their co-workers or become aware of their responsibilities and expectations, understanding how a company is structured is still part of the onboarding process. This helps new hires understand who to come to for work and department-related questions and considerations, and who to speak to when confronted with very specific issues and problems.

 

Once a new hire is familiar with each of these three critical elements, they have been successfully welcomed into their new work family. Ensuring the line of communication remains open at all times is very important. The onboarding process doesn’t just stop after initial orientation is done.

 

New hires will certainly come up with questions they might not have had initially or run into unexpected roadblocks in their first few weeks at a new position. Ensuring that the door is always open for them and their questions can help them feel welcomed and cared for, and can help speed up their integration, further improving productivity.

 

Addressing the Primary Challenge

 

Ultimately, the greatest challenge when onboarding new hires during the pandemic is distance. Virtual communication tools such as screensharing and instant messaging allows for near-seamless interaction and collaboration and can help facilitate a virtual mentoring program. But it is still no substitute for a face-to-face onboarding process.

 

Safe working environments outside of the main headquarters, such as a satellite office utilizing a coworking space, can help facilitate face-to-face onboarding. New hires would be provided with their own sanitized workstation and can maintain a safe distance from their co-worker(s) while still being introduced to some of the people they will primarily be working with, especially in the area.

 

Benefits of Coworking During the Onboarding Process

 

Coworking spaces have emerged as a unique solution for companies looking for safe spaces to enable remote employees to collaborate physically without violating social distancing, eliminating or mitigating many of the issues surrounding prolonged remote work. This includes the feeling of being isolated from others, and remote work-related burnout and stress.

 

Coworking spaces can act as satellite offices for companies who have reopened their main offices, but are only allowing a skeleton crew in their headquarters to ensure every employee maintains a safe distance and doesn’t need to share any of their physical equipment.

 

Via a hub-and-spoke model, companies can leverage coworking spaces to help co-workers physically collaborate in mutually near locations. This makes it a viable option for businesses with employees spread across an entire region or country.

 

The onboarding process is a perfect example of how companies can leverage such spaces to enable face-to-face collaboration and reap the benefits of a safe coworking environment during the pandemic.

 

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Work Environment

6 Employee Recognition Ideas for This Holiday Season

The end of the year is here, and it’s important to acknowledge all the hard work given from your employees. But how so during a pandemic? Read below for some employee recognition ideas.

 

This year has taught us a lot about communicating virtually and leveraging available technologies to make the most of a tough situation. Companies have sought alternatives to business models that relied on human interaction.

 

Whether they’re in the fitness industry offering online classes, in the tourism branch turning to virtual experiences, or developing and relying on new hygiene protocols and delivery mechanisms to survive in the hard-hit food and beverage world.

 

Yet at the heart and soul of every step of innovation and success throughout this difficult year is the workforce that makes it all possible – the employees that have gone above and beyond, often adapting overnight to help keep things afloat. That’s why it’s more important than ever to recognize the people who help us make our dreams come true.

 

Why Employee Recognition is Critical This Year

 

It’s been a hard year, but more than that, it’s been a year punctuated by intense social isolation and the looming threat of burnout. Stress and anxiety have been at an all-time high for many. And countless workers have had to not only lose their jobs due to strained budgets and exhausted coffers, but due to the demands of balancing workplace pressures and a quarantined family life.

 

Employees need to be recognized and appreciated this year through personalized messages and gifts; through bonuses and privileges tailored to their needs and situations; through a gesture that shows you understand what they’ve been going through, value the sacrifices they have made, and wish to reciprocate in a way that shows you want them to stay on, and continue to feel like a part of something greater, even at a long distance.

 

Below are six employee recognition ideas during this difficult holiday season. Ideas that are both meaningful and helps foster greater bonds and connections.

 

1. A Virtual Holiday Party

 

Now that we’re approaching the final few weeks of the year, it’s to be expected that most companies who have been relying on virtual communication technology up to this point have learned a lot when it comes to throwing a good virtual meeting. There are a few do’s and don’ts, and an important learning curve when working with new hardware and software.

 

Here are few important tips:

 

      • Make sure everyone is on the same page. The last thing you want in the way of a good time is confusion, misunderstanding, and frustration. Make sure to do one or two test calls beforehand, check and double check that everyone knows when the party starts, and pick a program everyone is familiar with at this point (or leave ample time for them to get familiar).
      • Make the booze optional or eliminate it altogether. Alcohol can be an easy way to loosen up, but some people don’t want to drink it, and others shouldn’t. Making it the norm to get buzzed at every major company occasion might not be the best idea for promoting an inclusive and healthy team culture.
      • Tie the party together with a hands-on event or activity. Consider ordering and delivering some form of craft to everyone, from paper folding to cookie-making, or even a culinary class disguised as a virtual teambuilding activity.
      • Consider a theme for costuming. Things are always a bit more fun with a little dress code, especially when it encourages a creative outfit.

 

A virtual party might not beat the real thing, but it can be much less of a burden on the company bank, which means you get to invest more heavily in other forms of appreciation. This includes coordinating deliveries to help make virtual events and activities more interactive, or preparing fancy personalized gifts that cater to each employee’s wishes, hobbies, and interests.

 

2. An Unforgettable Experience

 

One way to make sure your employees know that you appreciate them is by funding a trip or experience they’re likely to appreciate. Rather than investing in teambuilding activities that require interaction, you can help improve employee morale by individualizing these experiences. Instead, offer that they take their loved ones with them to enjoy them together – whether it’d be a weekend at a nearby resort, a fancy spa, a once-in-a-lifetime local culinary experience, and so on.

 

3. Unique Gifts That Suit Your Employees

 

This year, why not compensate for the expenses of arranging fancy business catering, venue costs, hiring talent, and paying for travel by investing in individualized gifts?

 

If you know what your employees individually value and appreciate, then you might already have an idea of how to best fill their holiday stocking – alternatively, you can ask around. A personalized gift like a pair of designer shoes, a self-cleaning water bottle, a musical instrument, or a top-quality climbing kit would far outlast a single experience.

 

 

4. An Opportunity to Learn

 

Once an employee reaches a salary they’re happy with, money often no longer motivates them as much as other, far more substantial motivators – such as the opportunity to earn recognition, and the opportunity to learn. A learning experience, especially one that relates to an employee’s career goals and personal goals, can be even more valuable than any other kind of gift.

 

Consider what kind of an experience your employee might be looking for as a way to advance to the next level – be it a specialized training program, a coaching or mentoring experience, or something else. Helping employees fulfill their personal goals isn’t just about doing something for them. That experience in turn helps them bring new things to the table at work.

 

5. A Virtual Leaderboard and Achievement Tracker

 

In companies that thrive on fostering a competitive spirit among their employees, a lot of that interaction and competitive edge goes missing once a team becomes completely virtual.

 

It’s important to keep up the pace by introducing new ways to challenge your employees and capitalize on their competitive drive through virtual leaderboards, hidden and scored achievements, and tiered prizes to be given out each month or quarter. Not only is it a great way to recognize each employee’s individual achievements, but it can help a culture built on a competitive team spirit stick together and create memorable experiences even over vast distances.

 

6. Some Much-Needed Time Away (from the Computer)

 

Because it’s been such a tough year, the best gift for some people is as simple as offering a little extra leeway, and some more time off. A break from the computer and a chance to fully recuperate may be much welcomed, and will show that you want to ensure that your employees put their own health and wellbeing first. And that you recognize their value as long-term members of the company.

Final Thought on Employee Recognition

 

Helping employees feel recognized and valued is ultimately what company gift-giving is all about. Especially now, when the topics of isolation and extreme stress are more relevant than ever.

 

 

Categories
Work Environment

Working From Home Affecting Team Collaboration, What’s the Solution?

Have you seen a difference in team collaboration due to working from home? If productivity is lacking because of this, then learn more about the solution below.

 

The benefits of remote work are beginning to drop off, and some of its long-term issues – especially in the face of poor and rushed implementation – are beginning to shine through. It’s no secret that the current crisis has pushed countless businesses into panic mode to adapt and overcome.

 

However, that initial rush of productivity has since passed, and many businesses and employees are reckoning with the long-term impact of social isolation, poor virtual team cohesion, indirect collaboration, and the impact of sheer physical distance.

 

Many businesses rely on the cohesion between individual talents, coming together to collaborate, brainstorm, and apply both spontaneous ideas and careful plans.

 

Working from home has shown to greatly affect this collaborative spirit, putting a hamper on both individual and team productivity in certain cases, and greatly impacting the overall economy.

 

For businesses worried about the safety and health implications of a full return to the office, giving up entirely on remote work is simply not possible. So, what’s the solution?

 

How Working From Home is Impacting Teams

 

The most immediate and measurable impact that working from home has had on many businesses is a general drop in long-term productivity, not necessarily due to fewer hours or lack of oversight, but more directly due to:

 

 

While teams can function remotely, many teams cannot thrive remotely, and that distinction is critical. Furthermore, the impact of these issues is felt more strongly over time as they can lead to eroding organizational health. In addition, a drop in employee engagement.

 

Individuals within a company simply feel less like they’re part of something greater, and struggle to identify and communicate with their coworkers, and the organization in general.

 

Another issue to highlight is the long-term impact of a so-called “lost year” on the global economy. Not only in terms of measurable metrics, but also in terms of lost ideas and a slump in innovation as talented individuals lose their jobs, cannot capitalize on ideas, suffer from reduced productivity due to at-home distractions, or simply never develop them to begin with due to a loss of in-person collaboration. This impact may be felt throughout the rest of the decade.

 

Addressing Team Collaboration in Remote Work

 

It’s important to stress that there is no real replacement for in-person collaboration and office face time. Remote working tools may help businesses stay afloat and keep their workers employed, but remain a poor substitute. On the other hand, a full return to the office isn’t feasible just yet, due to the very real dangers posed by the continued risk of infection in densely populated workspaces.

 

A balanced approach might be one of the only alternatives, wherein offices are sparsely reoccupied, while companies leverage both critical information technology as well as empty and existing shared workspaces. This is to help their workers take turns in a step-by-step return to more in-office collaboration, while continuing to benefit from the option of remote work.

 

Some companies may never see their workers totally return to the old system, and that may be a good thing, as it can give certain employees the ability to work from wherever they feel most comfortable, cutting down on time wasted in commutes without losing out on the benefits of regular team collaboration and social interaction.

 

Embracing Coworking During This Crisis

 

Coworking will play an important role in implementing a workspace policy wherein companies can facilitate in-office interaction and collaboration without putting their workers at risk.

 

Companies might rotate some employees through available and nearby spaces while keeping others remote, enabling in-office collaboration through a variety of spaces without excessively packing a single workspace with a dangerous number of workers.

 

This will be especially important for onboarding new employees and helping those who thrive the most via collaborative and interactive work, rather than individual and isolated work. Work styles are a measurable and important part of organizing and managing a team, whether remotely or at the office, and certain employees do better in a group than others.

 

There’s a clear trend towards wishing for a return to the office, although there’s little consensus on how exactly to approach this return safely. Different hygiene concepts may minimize danger, but not eliminate it outright. Some industries are far more at risk than others, and different regions and industries require different rules and considerations.

 

What is uniquely applicable to everyone at this time, however, is a need for adaptability and flexibility in the face of an evolving situation. Even now that the development and release of a viable vaccine draws near, there’s no practical way to tell when things will be back to “normal”, or what that might look like.

 

 

Final Thought

 

Concepts such as social distancing, more rigorous cleaning protocols, and a greater reliance on digital collaboration and communications tools may be here to stay. We may need to embrace terms such as “de-densification” and move away from the cramped open office model, towards a more modular, safer, divided, and shared floor plan.

 

While it’s clear that a 100 percent remote model isn’t viable for most businesses, let alone every business, companies may very well embrace completely new work-from-anywhere policies. This is in order to keep their main offices sparsely populated, and help protect employees.

 

Businesses, particularly startups, will see critical office space costs continue to rise as the economy reopens and recovers from the virus, and may have very well realized that some employees suffer the most from working remotely – while others seem to thrive on it, and do quite well spending most of the work week at home.

 

Finding ways to cater to individual employee needs while maintaining and improving team cohesion and collaborative efficacy may be one of the biggest and most important challenges to deal with throughout the coming year. Shared workspaces, alongside a suite of collaboration tools and new concepts, will remain a big part of the conversation.

 

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How to Stay Productive in a New Working World
Categories
Work Environment

How to Stay Productive in a New Working World

Living in a new working world has been so difficult to adjust to that it interferes with our focus on work. We’ve got a few solutions for you. Read further on how to stay productive.

 

The return to work is not without its hurdles. Despite promises of a brighter future with functioning vaccines in the works, it’s clear that our growing and ultra-dense society must learn to adjust to the ever-present danger of highly infectious diseases. The workplace and its commute are the most important battlegrounds in the fight against COVID-19. We can’t survive without a working economy, yet need to embrace new policies to adhere strictly to evolving public health rules, and adapt to nature.

 

However, we aren’t machines. We are people, and people get sick, and people get worried about getting sick. It’s difficult to remain positive during these times, let alone productive, even with an economy that continues to slowly climb out of a deep recession.

 

While some of that worry might not go away anytime soon, we can work on reassuring ourselves and shifting towards more optimism by investing in workplace strategies that keep us and our coworkers safe, minimizing unnecessary transit and contact, and homing in on our passions.

 

Get a Grasp on the Rules

 

Uncertainty continues to be at the root of many of our fears, so reducing uncertainty through clear and effective messaging, simple rules, and widespread access to information possible should be a top priority for any business seeking productivity gains.

 

For most workers, this means getting a clear checklist of changes and guidelines from HR currently in place during the pandemic to eliminate potential infections at work, and reviewing what both OSHA and the CDC have to say about workplace necessities for combatting COVID.

 

The only way to fight uncertainty is to be a little more certain. And by listening to authorities and experts, and putting into play data-driven disease control, you can begin to feel a little more in-control, and get a clearer picture around how you can help fight the virus and avoid getting sick. This usually means:

 

  • Wearing a mask and other levels of personal protective gear when appropriate.
  • Frequent and increased sanitization.
  • Lower elevator capacity.
  • Stair etiquette.
  • Private offices and strict social and professional distancing.
  • Access to fresh air and natural ventilation (whenever appropriate, given the incoming winter).
  • Other forms of tracking and controlling indoor ventilation and air quality.

 

By knowing what can and can’t be done to slow the virus’ spread, knowing the effort your coworkers and employers go through to keep everyone safe, and putting these guidelines to work yourself, you can help ease some of these COVID-related fears and feel more confident in your own capacity to work.

 

 

Consider Alternatives to the Office

 

Not everyone has access to a private vehicle or a sensible bike or footpath to the office. In cities and states where you’d rather avoid public transportation due to a recent surge in cases, or simply don’t feel safe commuting, as well as in cases where the office is (relatively) full as is, it’s important to consider useful alternatives.

 

Many companies are continuing to give certain employees the option to work from home, but many others are embracing work-from-anywhere policies, which includes leveraging coworking spaces to provide an alternative working environment for employees to flock to when the main office is out of reach, or already manned by enough people.

 

Coworking spaces have grown to adapt to the virus by providing isolated and safe private offices, roving cleaning crews, and mandated professional distancing rules, giving companies an option for employees to return to a productive working environment without breaking social distancing rules and endangering workers through an open or limited workspace, or asking them to continue working from home at a limited capacity.

 

A New Digital Embrace

 

As we continue to explore safe options in the return to physical workspaces, online tools will remain vital, not only for enabling collaboration and communication between remote workers and the main office, but for enabling cooperation between different satellite or coworking offices as well.

 

There will be a continued interest in de-densifying the office to minimize or eliminate lengthy commutes and stop the spread of the virus, so ensuring that individual teams can stay in contact with one another at all times and seamlessly cooperate is important.

 

Even within the same office space, professional distancing means you still can’t just pop over to a coworker’s station or office and begin a head-to-head discussion. We will continue to send documents over the cloud rather than passing flash drives, we will continue to communicate largely over instant messaging.

 

The benefits of being in an office, even if spaced apart, are immediately obvious – it’s a much more productive environment, and you can continue to collaborate and give each other a shout over a distance. But virtual tools will remain important indefinitely, especially as they continue to improve in usefulness and scope.

 

Outside of virtual solutions, it may be a good idea to invest in tools and activities to help you feel more at ease in a COVID world.

 

For example: buzzing bracelets that go off when you’re too close to a coworker, ergonomic hands-free options for opening and closing doors and using keypads, hosting daily or weekly meetings out under the open sky and in fresh air, doing creative or physical exercises together with coworkers around the country to improve mood and productivity, and more.

 

Find Your Support System

 

Our productivity doesn’t measure our worth, but it can be a measure of our overall wellbeing and satisfaction. The more stressed we are, the worse we tend to perform, especially when the pressure is overwhelming and not the kind that produces effective results or facilitates growth.

 

We can do a lot to care for ourselves in our own time, but a significant factor in our wellbeing is our access to healthy social interactions, and support among family and friends. Take the time to be with your loved ones, organize virtual or safe outdoor activities with friends, read a book or two, join professional networks to discuss your worries and celebrate your successes, and prioritize your mental wellbeing.

 

If this crisis has taught us anything, it’s that we need one another, and that stress and social isolation can do a real number on both our health and productivity.

 

Categories
Work Environment

7 Tips to Being a Successful Remote Manager

Are you still figuring out the ins and outs of being a successful remote manager? To assist, below is a helpful guide with detailed tips to consider and practice.

 

Over the course of the COVID crisis, record numbers of Americans are working from home. While those numbers have gone down as some return to the office, many teams continue to operate largely via remote work. Some companies have even shifted entirely towards a work-from-home model.

 

Meanwhile, many others indicate that they would like to preserve the option to work from home even after the pandemic has ended. And many companies seem receptive to changes in how they structure their workplace and work-from-anywhere policies.

 

Managing these remote teams has been a unique challenge for many project and team leaders. If you’re still worried about helping your workers reach their greatest potential while working remotely, here are seven tips you can leverage to improve productivity and continue to make the most of this difficult situation.

 

1. Learn to Motivate Remotely (Through Tracking Achievements and Visual Progress)

 

Motivation is at an all-time low, and burnouts are at an all-time high. Keeping teams on-the-ball and helping individual workers manage their own health and productivity can be exceptionally challenging. And at times, managing a team remotely can feel like being blind and deaf to the needs and struggles of your individual team members.

 

The first step to effectively motivating your workers is by opening channels of communication and keeping tabs on how everyone is doing individually. Encourage team members to start the day with a group chat or get into a daily or weekly call to get a feel for how everyone is feeling. Keep in mind the importance of having one-on-one face time, especially when discussing more sensitive or personal issues with a worker as they pertain to their work.

 

Aside from offering a greater number of options for communication, a great way to motivate workers is by being transparent about how a team is doing. Rather than trying to motivate through punishing deadlines or lackluster rewards, consider implementing visual scoreboards, project progress trackers, and visual milestones to help keep everyone’s spirits up. And remind them of how much they’ve accomplished in a short time by coordinating their efforts and collaborating remotely.

 

2. Keep All Members in the Loop (and Schedule Daily Check-Ins)

 

Part of making sure everyone has equal and transparent access to how a project is going is making sure everyone’s in the loop. That means making sure every project member or team member is on the same platform, using the same communications tools, and logging their work hours and achievements, respectively.

 

You don’t have to micromanage or hound your workers to see progress. Competitive and achievement-oriented individuals will respond well to visual indicators of how well they’re doing individually or as a group. And everyone else will feel encouraged to give it their all as they see how their fellow team members are performing. Daily check-ins with the team also give you a chance to discuss metrics and praise exceptional progress or give out group objectives for the day.

 

3. Get Personal (and Enable Casual Conversation)

 

There’s always a time and place for one-on-one conversations, especially in today’s climate where it’s likely that a worker needs reassurance that they can privately talk to their manager or leader and request deadline adjustments, time off, or other considerations in order to preserve mental health and improve performance in the long-term.

 

One-on-one remote conversations between workers and managers are also important for bringing up and discussing issues that aren’t pertinent or appropriate in a group setting and can greatly help motivate and single out workers who need additional help, or are particularly isolated by their personal situation.

 

 

4. Avoid Social Isolation (Through Virtual Interaction)

 

One of the consequences of continued social distancing and quarantining during the pandemic is social isolation – many of us haven’t been able to visit friends or family as often as we usually do, are confined to much smaller spaces than we’re used to, and may generally experience a much greater sense of isolation than ever before.

 

This can also make remote workers feel isolated from their teams and companies, and impact performance. Virtual and remote interaction and quick, easy, convenient communication is important to reducing this feeling of social isolation, but it need not always be in the context of work.

 

Helping workers feel connected to the outside world by encouraging them to continue interacting with coworkers the way they might usually do in an office setting – by having virtual watercooler environments, including dedicated chatrooms or virtual teambuilding exercises, from daily stretches and exercise breaks to video games – can help.

 

5. Encourage a Dedicated Workspace (and Leverage Coworking Spaces)

 

While remote work has caused many to work longer hours than expected, part of that might be to make up for the perceived lack of productivity caused by the distractions of busy day-to-day household.

 

Homes are rarely an ideal space for concentrated work, and it’s difficult for many to carve out a dedicated workspace in an already cramped living environment. Even now as schools and workspaces continue to open, finding a quiet place to work away from the office remains difficult.

 

Coworking spaces can play a significant role here in helping main offices de-densify and focus on maintaining social distancing rules, while providing a productive work environment for many remote workers who cannot concentrate at home, or cannot afford to create their own dedicated workspace.

 

6. Don’t Micromanage (and Measure Through Accomplishments)

 

Remote managers who tend to fear the push towards a remote workspace are worried that a lack of control and oversight will lead to plummeting levels of productivity, so they’re drawn towards productivity applications and measures designed to micromanage and effectively spy on workers.

 

However, these solutions are barely solutions, as they usually only serve to erode trust in a company’s management, create friction and resentment between employers and employees, and bring productivity down. Instead of micromanaging, seek to motivate productivity through transparent metrics, healthy competition, and recognition.

 

7. Above All, Trust Your Team as a Remote Manager

 

Trust is an important aspect in any relationship, and it’s especially important in a work relationship. If you can convey your trust in your team members to them, they will reward you by aiming to meet and exceed your expectations – especially if you can give them the sense that they aren’t just working for you, but with you.

 

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