Working Remotely
Editor’s Note: In the coming weeks, follow our new series, Working Remotely. While we recognize that our experiences and context does not reflect the realities facing every Ontario Public Service (OPS) team, we hope to help facilitate a broader discussion around different ways of working and learn from other teams across the OPS.
Most importantly, we are here to help.
As the series unfolds, if you have any questions or feedback to share, email us directly at digital.training@ontario.ca.
Getting started
Our team at the Ontario Digital Service has partnered with leaders across the Ontario Public Service from the I&IT division to regional offices to share best practices on how to work effectively as public servant teams while working from home.
In the upcoming weeks, we will cover a range of topics, including:
● Best practices when using remote tools
● How to successfully run remote meetings
● How to create virtual and informal spaces to engage, collaborate and stay connected with remote teams
● How to bring in wellness and self-care into the remote work environment
To kick things off, we’re sharing a few principles and resources.
Be patient
The key to effectively working remotely is patience.
Be patient and kind with others
If you have experience working remotely, you know things are never seamless. Maybe you can relate to this video that comically illustrates videoconference calls in real life.
The point is: people will forget to put themselves on mute, audio will fade in and out at times leading to moments of frustration, among a myriad of other things. We need to continue to keep in mind that everyone is doing their very best.
Be patient and kind with yourself.
You might not be your most productive self at all times of the day, and you may even find yourself making small mistakes. Forgive yourself. This is an unprecedented time of change and confusion. We are all human, and you deserve the same compassion you will bestow upon others.
“Working remotely has benefits and drawbacks when it comes to creating balance between the home space and the workspace,” says Karina Cavelry, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “If you’ve just transitioned to working from home, you may need to find new routines that help you ‘get to work’ while at home. Be patient and remember that balance can be achieved.”
Over communicate
The best rule for teams distributed virtually, remotely and beyond, is to over-communicate.
“Our team is distributed across the province, so we can’t rely on physical presence to communicate our plans, our intentions, or how we’re feeling at any particular point in the day,” says Spencer Daniels, Product Manager, Ontario Digital Service.
“One way we do this across our organization is through the daily stand-up. From our senior leadership team to our product delivery teams, everyone is responsible for providing updates on what they worked on the day before, what they are working on that day, and any blockers or obstacles they might be facing.”
“Over-communication also helps our teams feel connected and mitigates against feelings of isolation. We have created channels through Microsoft Teams, for example, to encourage teams to share drafts and work in the open as frequently as possible.”
Assume people are working asynchronously
What we mean by this is: don’t run on the assumption your team members can reply to your messages right away, all the time. When you are physically together with your team, it is easier to synchronize your communications, to respond to one another immediately. In a remote environment it’s different. There are many communication channels at play. Be mindful of this.
Simply put:
Synchronous- Respond now.
Asynchronous- Respond later.
“You can try to schedule time with your colleagues, but understand that in this environment, your co-workers will have additional pressures (e.g. taking care of family members, addressing concerns following various news conferences, etc.) and that everyone might work different hours with staggered availability,” says Nadine Lacelle, Senior Advisor in the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development.
“Take some time to try out the OPS’ new tools and technologies. Collaboration is made easy through Office 365, which allows teams to work collaboratively on a document in real-time. In addition to sharing a link to files and being able to insert comments into work documents, colleagues can collaborate on a document in real-time and launch group chats within a document. As teams work through documents, all changes are made available to everyone in the shared document, regardless of the time they are made. This feature is great for teams working with different schedules.”
Prioritize and balance your efforts
“With so many communication tools and competing priorities, don’t assume your colleagues can reply to messages instantaneously,” says Anna Oussenko, Talent Team at the ODS.
“It’s a balancing act of replying and keeping projects moving while also setting aside time to reflect and conduct deep work, allowing you to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. One trick that I use is the Pomodoro time management technique. This helps me manage my workflow by snoozing notifications for a set period of time to help me focus on the task at hand.”
Document, document & document again
“Documentation is especially important when teams are distributed,” says Tarah Hill, Operations Team at the ODS. “Since we are not physically in the same place, the records we keep are the best way to keep agenda items moving and help to ensure teams are on the same page. Setting clear agenda items and a clear follow-up is also important. When in doubt, over-document.”
Build in virtual connection
“Employees need to feel connected and supported, especially in times of uncertainty,” says Lyndsey Fonger, Content Design Team at the ODS. “One way to foster connection is to carve out time for informal conversations. A few ways we do this at the Ontario Digital Service is scheduling virtual coffee chats with each other or attending online training sessions remotely with our team members.”
Go beyond simply work-related virtual meetings and schedule informal opportunities to connect regularly.
“I’ve been working from home for a little over a year now,” says Nadine Lacelle, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities. “It’s my new normal, and now it’s a new normal for a lot more people out there. Remember to connect with your colleagues just like you would when you’re physically present. Have some water-cooler talk over a Teams call. Check-in on your colleagues. Talk about the news. It helps everyone to validate their feelings and feel a little bit more connected during stressful times.”
If you have any experiences to share or know of a great public servant team working remotely, email us directly at digital.government@ontario.ca or comment below!
