Working remotely: 48 top tips for a smooth transition
Some people are a dab hand at working-from-home, some may do it occasionally but are not used to it being a long term scenario and some may have never experienced it before. Whichever camp you fall into, it is likely that, with the measures currently being put into place around the world, working from home may soon become a reality for many people and whole teams. We will all need to adapt in some way and make sacrifices, but how can you keep the transition smooth with the least impact on team members and productivity? Here are some top tips from the Remote Engagement Assistant at Twinkl, a company experienced in supporting a large percentage of remote workers.
What measures can I take to prepare for working from home?
The following preparations may help with your transition from office to home.
Before leaving the office
Sit at your desk and go through your daily routine in your head. Write a list of the following:
- What equipment do you use on a daily basis?
- Who do you speak to regularly?
- What tools do you need to do your job?
- What meetings are usually held face to face?
- Do you have any docs saved somewhere you can’t access from home?
- Do you have any visitors/guest speakers/in-person meetings/deliveries booked over the next few weeks that you will no longer need?
Preparations
Go through your list and make sure you’ve prepped for everything on it.
- Gather any equipment and tools you need, according to the company policy on what you will be allowed to take home. If there is anything you need that can’t be taken home, speak to your Line Manager. Make sure you have a safe and secure way to get everything home (if you don’t, speak to your Line Manager).
- Make sure you have instant chat tools, such as Google Chat or Slack, set up for any regular conversations you have in the office. Ensure everyone who is usually included in these discussions is added.
- If you have any face-to-face meetings booked, make sure a calendar event is set up with a video link sent to everyone who needs to be involved. There are many different free video calling options at your disposal including Skype, Google Hangouts and Zoom so take a look and choose the right one for you.
- Make sure all docs you will need are saved to a drive you can access from home.
- If you have anyone/anything booked to come to or arrive at the office that will no longer be needed, make sure you cancel/send a message explaining they are no longer needed.
How can you set up an effective working environment at home?
Working from home can present many challenges or differences that are not present in an office. For example, there may be other people at home who are not working and there are distractions such as the tv, the internet, the fridge! Here are some tips on how you can set up an effective home-working environment.
Physical Environment
- See if your company has a homeworking policy, best practice guidelines or a risk assessment for working from home. If so, read it thoroughly.
- Work at a table or desk where possible.
- Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable chair.
- Try to keep a tidy workspace.
- If possible, set up your workspace somewhere that will not need to be cleared away every day.
- If possible, find a quiet room where you will not be regularly disturbed.
- Ensure that you have taken all security measures with regards to your equipment and log-ins according to your company’s IT and security policy.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
When working from home it is easy to ignore the need to look after your mental health and wellbeing. Without social prompts, you may forget to do things you would do automatically in the office.
- Make sure you take the same number of breaks that you would in the office for the same amount of time.
- Be aware of your screen time and be sure to step away for your breaks. It’s tempting to eat lunch at your desk but make sure you have a break from the screen and have a stretch.
- Create opportunities to get fresh air when possible.
- Don’t sit down all day. You won’t have the need to move around for meetings as you do in the office so create opportunities to go for a walk around the garden or do some exercise/stretching.
- You may find yourself feeling isolated and missing the social interactions you have in the office. Stay in touch, have regular video chats face to face, create opportunities for those social chats you would have had in the office.
- Try to stick to routine wherever you can. Start work and finish as you usually would, get dressed as you usually would, try not to merge home and work life, eat as you usually would.
How can you ensure that everything continues to run smoothly?
Here are some tips to make sure things continue to run smoothly if your whole team is working remotely.
Communication is Key
- Overshare! Step up the communication and don’t assume anyone knows anything unless you have told them. Harness all the communication channels you have at your disposal to make sure that everything you would usually tell someone in person is being shared virtually. Be sure to tag people if you want them to see something.
- Consider setting up a team spreadsheet to add a summary of what you have been working on at the start and end of every day. That way everyone has a clear vision of what is going on.
- Set up instant chat rooms with any groups of people you would usually have regular discussions with. Be mindful of including everyone that is usually part of the conversation.
- Keep chat rooms as open as possible so that everyone has visibility over team discussions. If you have too many chats with just two or three people, you risk people missing out on information, feeling out of the loop and at worst feeling isolated.
- Keep celebrating success over instant chat. It’s more important than ever to focus on the positive, say thank you to people, tell the team when they’ve done a good job, celebrate the small wins and keep that team spirit alive.
- Ensure you attend all the meetings you can that are scheduled within your work hours. Don’t be tempted to miss them because you can get away with it. Keep those communications flowing and keep the face to face interactions a daily occurrence.
- Be strict with putting your Out of Office on if you are not working due to holiday or sickness etc. People may not realise you are not working if they can’t see your empty chair in the office. Keep all holiday calendars up to date and let your team know if you won’t be working one day.
Leaders
- Make sure your team members have all the equipment they will need to be productive from home.
- Consider increasing your regular check-ins with your team members. Take into account the fact that people may be out of their comfort zones.
- Ensure that everyone is clear on the chain of communication if a blocker is preventing people’s work. If they can’t get hold of who they need to quickly, who should they go to next? Make sure everyone is clear on the escalation policies.
- You may need to think outside of the box when it comes to problem-solving.
How can you make sure you don’t feel isolated at home?
- Reach out to people daily to ensure you are having regular face to face meetings.
- Set up some social chat channels for non-work related interactions.
- See if you can adapt any socials that were planned in the office to be held remotely instead. Here at Twinkl, we have mastered the virtual quiz, craft club and book club!
- Make sure you give everyone the benefit of the doubt before ascribing any malice to a missed email, being left out of a communication or a delay in getting in touch. Take a breath and a step back before assuming the worst in anyone, everyone will be doing their best. Try not to let negative thoughts creep in.
- Check-in on one another regularly. Take time to send a quick check-in message more regularly than you usually would. Look out for signs of people struggling and support them if you can by keeping them in the loop and increasing communication with them.
- Consider taking occasional lunch breaks over video link for a chat with colleagues or have a ‘lunch and learn’ where you can discuss or present on a topic, for example.
- When you take your coffee break, consider using the time to chat with someone else in your house or a colleague over video link.
- If your company has some remote workers, call on them for tips and advice. They have lots of experience in overcoming the challenges of working remotely, use that for support.
- If you are struggling in any way with working remotely speak to your Line Manager, Wellbeing Coordinator, Remote Engagement Assistant or equivalents.
Support one another!
- Remember that everyone’s home environment will be different.
- Remember that some people are used to working from home, others are not.
- Remember that different roles will present different challenges for home working.
- Remember that some people may adapt to working from home more easily than others.
- Remember that some people may need extra support for technical issues, mental wellbeing and communication.
- Remember that some teams may be more stretched as a result of the temporary situation, bear this in mind and be patient.
- Help one another, stay positive and stay safe!
About Kirsty Cooper
Kirsty Cooper is a Remote Engagement Assistant at Twinkl. She loved working as a Foundation Stage teacher before taking a break to have her two children. Kirsty is thrilled to be combining her passion for writing with her experience in teaching by creating stories to inspire children’s learning.
READ MORE:
