Remote working best practices

Director at learning and development consultancy Adaptis Sara Burks says the key to remote working is the ability to manage yourself

01 Apr, 20

Director at learning and development consultancy Adaptis Sara Burks says the key to a successful transition to remote working is a person’s ability to manage themselves effectively

Millions of us are now having to work from home, and for some, this may be their first experience of working in this way.

Establishing routines and managing your time, creating a clear workspace and keeping on top of your physical and mental wellbeing is key.

It is a good idea to establish some routines, so get out of bed at your normal time as if you were going into the office, allow yourself time to shower and dress and get in the right mindset for a productive work day.

Make sure you take regular breaks. Your lunch hour still exists!

It is best to keep your work time for work and the evening for personal tasks, even if just to break things up a little.

Guiding employees

Working remotely now also means managers are probably facing the novel challenge of managing employees virtually.

Given the lack of in-person interaction, it is more important than ever to make sure your direct reports feel supported, guided and listened to.

Help employees to maintain structure, by putting in place a daily catch-up call.

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This can help to increase your employee’s motivation making them feel cared for and in touch with the organisation during this unstable time.

Also, consider putting in place virtual coffee breaks so that colleagues can chat informally and not about work.

Use technology

We’re lucky that modern technology enables us to communicate with one another with reasonable ease during these challenging times, where face-to-face communication is no longer an option.

However, technology doesn’t always run smoothly. Test runs of your chosen software ahead of client calls are always beneficial.

Additionally, inviting attendees to start the session a few minutes early to deal with any log-in issues can also be reassuring, especially for those new to the technology.

Video call

Where possible, get everyone logged into a video call. This can help to make the meeting feel a little more similar to what we already know, make things feel a little more personal and keep people more engaged. It’s also good to provide a dial in option.

Bearing in mind that engagement can slip in virtual meetings, it is useful to remind your meeting participants that they should ask questions and add comments as they would in a face-to-face meeting.

You can enhance this by regularly checking in and asking for any questions.

On the other hand, if you have a very chatty meeting, it can be difficult for people to communicate without talking over each other.

In this situation, as the host, it is recommended that you virtually ‘go around the table’ for comments.