Create a User Manual of Me to promote empathy & effective working through lockdown
Foster an open, honest dialogue within teams about the challenges of remote working using this brilliant tool
So here we are again, deep into lockdown for the third time in almost a year. For many remote workers, nothing much has changed; we’ve been working from home for the best part of the year and our days in the office seem like a thing of the past. It hasn’t been easy and with isolation, burn out and mental health problems on the rise, it’s even more important for companies to look at how they are supporting their staff.
For employees struggling with the ongoing reality of remote working, it’s crucial that their employers foster an open, honest dialogue about the challenges of working from home. A user manual is a great tool for facilitating this and building empathy within teams. If used widely it can empower staff to be upfront about what they need to do their best work during this difficult time, and it becomes even more impactful when senior leaders take the lead on sharing their vulnerabilities.
I joined cxpartners last October and being in the unusual position of starting a job remotely, I found it hard to slot seamlessly into teams with people I‘d often only had a couple of conversations with. Those serendipitous moments in the office – where you happen to bump into someone you haven’t yet met in the kitchen, or the conversations before and after team meetings where you got to know each other just a little bit more – they were all gone. I wondered if using user manuals would help to bridge these missing connections and help everyone (not just newbies!) understand each other's situations during this very strange time.
During the winter lockdown, there’s also been a renewed focus on mental health and wellbeing and so it seemed like the perfect time to encourage the rest of the company to get on board with this tool.
What exactly is a user manual?
Creating a user manual isn’t a new idea, it was first written about by Cassie Robinson in her much-celebrated blog post back in 2017. Whilst the concept isn’t new there are still lots of companies missing out on the brilliance of this tool.
The idea is simple; create a document that contains helpful information outlining your likes and dislikes, how you work best, what you struggle with and anything else you think your teammates should know. The artefact itself can be as basic as a Google doc; I choose to create a Miro template that can be used by anyone within the company as this aligns with my preference to see things visually and can slot into our internal kick-off boards nicely. The document you chose to use doesn’t matter, its just a mechanism for building empathy and stronger relationships between people.
The more honest you can be in your manual, the more effective the document will be. Some people might prefer to reveal more personal aspects of themselves; for instance, details about their introvert/extrovert tendencies or revealing information about neuro-divergence and what that means for them. Or it could contain pure practicalities including preferred methods of communication, working hours and child care times. What matters is that it helps people understand you better. Whilst creating mine I became more aware of the things that affect my working day and this, in turn, helped me better understand my preferences. It’s a great tool, not only for team alignment but also for reflection, self-awareness and learning more about what you need to do your best work.
The only caveat is that this shouldn’t be seen as a document to abide by – no team can cater for everyone’s needs at every moment of the day. It should, however, be seen as a helpful guide to keep in mind. If colleagues can develop ways of working which take into account everyone’s differing situations it paves the way for more productive, efficient teams and happier staff.
How to create your own user manual
It’s best to create your manual over a week or so so that you can take time to observe and reflect on your preferred ways of working. There are probably things you already want to include but you may be surprised what you notice when you take time to become aware of your habits, and what affects your good/bad days.
What you include in your user manual is entirely up to you. The beauty of this tool is its flexibility – and as your working practices evolve over time, so can your manual.
To start, I recommend including your likes and dislikes – this can be focused on work preferences only, or if you’re new it’s nice to include broader things so that colleagues can get to know you. Detailing your background and skillset is always useful when forming a new team, then choose 6 – 10 statements to specify things in more detail. I’ve created a list of example statements for you to choose from that prompt self-reflection and can be pasted straight into your manual. For more statements examples, Leapers have created a brilliant user manual generator tool which includes a wealth of non-covid related prompts and statements.
Examples statements for your remote work user manual:
- My background/skillset is…
- The times/hours I like to work are…
- The best ways to contact me are…
- My home working environment and the difficulties it presents are…
- My biggest challenges whilst working through the pandemic are…
- The things I need to look after my mental and physical wellbeing include…
- The structure/methods I use to have an effective day are…
- I collaborate effectively whilst working from home by…
- Things I struggle with are…
- Other things you should know about me are…
When to use your user manual
Once you’ve created your user manual you can use it whenever you see fit. It’s great when starting a new job or forming a new team, as a team bonding exercise to get to know each other better, or even sharing with clients during a remote project.
I’ll be encouraging all the teams I work this year to include user manuals in our project kick-offs. I’d love to hear how others embed it in their working processes so please get in touch if you’ve created an adapted version or found new ways of using it!
