The best way to prevent the spread of a communicable illness is to prevent exposure. Telecommuting is an effective way to do this, but can impact employee productivity if not managed properly.
For Leaders
- Ensure your systems have the capacity for everyone to connect remotely. Have everyone work from home one day as a test of your systems. Products such as Log Me In and Team Viewer work great for remote access.
- Keep your teams engaged through daily emails and phone calls
- Ensure you have the preferred contact information of each employee and have the teams share them with each other (cell phones, home phones, text, etc) OR utilize tools such as the Tempest Gateway which provide a company directory where employees manage their own profiles and contact info.
- Utilize virtual workplace tools such as Skype, Webex or Facetime to encourage interactions among employees and teams
- Schedule daily team “stand up” meetings via conference call where everyone can report on what they are working on, what they accomplished and what support they need
- Set clear expectations for the work employees should be doing while telecommuting including meeting deadlines and providing daily status updates.
- Ensure managers are responsive to their employees when needed
- Ensure employees have access to all of the tools, SOP's and information they need to do their job and be a part of the team. Cloud based tools such as Google drive and the Tempest Gateway
For Employees
- Reduce distractions at home by setting up a dedicated work space in a room separate from the goings on of the house such as an office, den or even bedroom and do not turn on the TV or attempt to multi-task
- Set ground rules with the people in your space. Set 'break times' when you can help the kids with homework or help your significant other cook dinner and re-enforce them.
- Maintain your typical work day schedule. Wake up at the same time (ok, you can sleep in a little bit), same lunch times etc.
- Don't rely on email alone. If you would have stopped at someones desk to discuss a subject at work, call them instead
- Ensure you have contact information in a company directory (available in cloud applications such as the Tempest Gateway) for those who you work with the most. Call them at least once a day to 'check in'. Socialization is an important element to job satisfaction and in the absence of being face to face, voice to voice is better than email
- Set daily goals and check in at the end of each day to see your progress. Discuss these goals with your manager
- Tell your manager and your team what your schedule is and stick to it. This will create accountability and help you stay on task
The most important thing is to figure out what works best for you and your company. Building a maintaining a structured day can be a challenge with all of the distractions and comforts of home but following these tips can help maintain and even enhance your productivity.
Good luck, be smart and keep it simple
Andy Ziegler
Tempest Risk Management LLC
If you are interested in engaging Tempest Risk Management to provide Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery consultation, email info@tempestrisk.com to schedule a no cost, no obligation consultation.
