Amid the spread of COVID-19, companies across the world are rolling out mandatory work-from-home policies. From Google to Spotify, many employees and teams have found themselves in the home office following announcements from the Australian Government Department of Health to promote social distancing to stop the COVID-19 spread.
With some employees working from home for the very first time, how can we ensure that remote teams are being productive and that business continues as normal? Spacecubed General Manager, Chandra Sundareswaran encourages teams and individuals to double their usual communication methods. “Whether it be Slack, Zoom, or Video Conferencing, ensuring that everyone is getting the relevant information in a timely manner will help teams move forward. Not just now, but as we enter the future of work and remote teams become more prominent across a range of industries.”
“Here at Spacecubed, we’re in the midst of finding solutions to our members to continue with business as usual. With additional video conferencing facilities being set up and events being recorded instead of attended will assist in minimising the disruption caused to businesses and ensure that each and every team is safe.” He shares.
Tim Brewer, our previous Entrepreneur in Residence and the founder of Functionly, shares his tips on managing remote teams here. In the article, he shares that using a digital platform to keep communication open can be easily implemented for remote workers. ”Set up a handful of daily rituals like checking in and sharing blockers, but also make sure you include announcements, celebrations, employee recognition and knowledge sharing. Each team, pod, squad, and large projects should have their own communication channel to reduce the noise for other employees.”
With remote teams continuously growing, this current crisis can be seen as an opportunity to capitalise on how we can streamline our processes, how we can be innovative to source new solutions, and ultimately, how we can prepare our businesses for the future of work as one thing is for certain, business as usual is set to change.
“Flexible working shouldn’t be a challenge as long as companies who are supporting this approach invest in tools to make it productive and motivating.” Spacecubed member and remote SEO Manager for Mash Media, Camille Le Goff tells us. “I’m glad to see that more and more companies from different industries are supporting remote employees by meeting their personal and professional needs, reducing commuting times or even boosting motivation.”
For more information regarding transitioning your team into their home office, and managing remote teams, click here. And for further information regarding COVID-19 and how to prepare your business, click here.