Recent announcements by Google, Facebook and Amazon regarding their Seattle staff were made to prevent the spread (COVID-19) of coronavirus (COVID-19) was made. Perhaps you have been thinking about a remote work plan for yourself and your team, but aren’t sure where to begin.
TeamGantt has been 100% remote for over ten years. It’s a part of our DNA. We thought we’d share some of the tips that have made remote work more successful for our team.
Here’s an easy plan to help you quickly and smoothly transition your team. This step-by-step plan includes a free gantt charts template that you can use to increase productivity and minimize disruption to the business.
1. Set aside a budget to cover the cost of setting up a home office.
Some team members might not be able to work effectively at home. We recommend that each member of the team has a small budget to help them maintain their home office in the short-term. You might allocate $500-1,000 per member of your team, depending on your budget.
These are the basics that we recommend:
A desk or table can be used to create a quiet space.
Comfortable chair
Computer
Desktop camera
Headset with microphone
Access to the internet quickly and reliably
2. Use tools that make it easy for online collaboration
If you’re used getting things done face to face, it may seem daunting to learn how to collaborate remotely. There are many tools that can help you communicate with your team while working remotely. You may already be using some of these tools!
Many of the tools that we have mentioned below offer a free plan. Although free plans typically have a limited number of features, they are a great way to get started without having go through all the red tape. If budget approvals become a problem, keep this in mind.
Group chat
Slack, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams are big players in this space. Flock, however, is a good alternative and offers a variety of useful collaboration tools.
We recommend establishing guidelines to minimize interruptions. One of the greatest benefits of remote work, is the ability for long periods of focused time. It is important to make sure your group chat does not become a hub for project work that happens in a variety of disconnected conversations.
It’s important to establish rules and etiquette as a leader to ensure that people don’t waste their time on live chat. Here are some guidelines that we created for our team.
If you need to focus on a large project, it’s okay to snooze notifications.
Slack is for “deskside” conversations. TeamGantt is for project requests and updates.
Most messages are responded to within 24 hours. We can respond sooner but we are not required to.
Video chat/remote meeting
Video chat allows your team to meet virtually from anywhere, and you can enjoy face-to-face time with everyone even though they are working independently.
Make sure that the tool you choose has solid audio and visual connections. Zoom is the best tool we have found. You should also consider Google Hangouts Meet or your group chat tool’s option for video conferencing.
Project management
Many leaders worry about the lack of accountability when working remotely. You can see your team at work right in front you, which gives you a sense of calm that you can’t get if everyone works remotely. You will need to change your approach to managing your team based only on output.
We believe it is important to have a plan for each project, regardless of where the work is done. This is especially important when everyone works remotely. A project management tool that sets clear deadlines and expectations for your team makes it easy to track what’s happening and what isn’t. Even if you don’t have the ability to see your team members at their desks, you can still see when tasks are behind schedule and take action before they become a problem.
