Helping your team effectively work from home during COVID-19 lockdown
The novel coronavirus proved a simple thing. No one in this world is untouchable. A virus showed us that it doesn’t differentiate between race, religion, or species.
The Covid-19 lockdown showed us that system could be crippled very quickly if you are not in sync with modern technology. But this lockdown also highlighted one of the most eye-rolled concepts in the world of the workforce; work from home!
Most businesses do not like the idea, whereas many individuals prefer working in a company that has the flexibility of allowing work from home. Some question the efficiency of it; some count it unnecessary.
It’s been four months since this virus started showing its presence to the world. Now it has taken the form of a pandemic.
56% of the U.S. workforce holds a job that is at least partially compatible with remote work, and that 25–30% of the workforce will be working at home for more than one day a week over the next two years. — Global Workplace Analytics estimates
What are you going to learn?
In this article, I am going to talk about the mental health state that you and your team members must maintain during these dangerous times. I will also share some guidelines business owners, and managers can follow and help their team keep performing effectively. So let’s get going!
- Managing the outcomes, not the activities
In the state of lockdown, you must show trust in your workforce; this is not the time for micromanagement.
When you start your day, create clear expectations and achievable goals for your team members. Your team members must easily understand these goals.
Instead of setting goals such as, “this task must be a high-quality outcome and be completed ASAP’, try, “this task must be at par with the set guidelines and should be delivered by 6 pm today”.
Negotiate the deadline with your team members, asking them the timeline by which they can complete the task. Ask them to reach out to you in case they end it early or need an extension.
Be very clear about the work that needs to be done and set the deadlines accordingly.
2. Holding video conferencing calls at regular intervals
Hold visual team meetings with your team members using tools like Duo, Hangouts, or Meet rather than using a simple phone call.
Schedule an early morning call that will keep the team in high spirits and will make them feel the norm of getting ready for office.
Set the timeline of the meeting to 10–15 minutes. The focus of this meeting is to know what tasks have been performed, their timeline, and the upcoming tasks. For instance, every team member needs to share what they are working on and what they require for the task to be successful.
Take reports of every individual’s work they have covered so that there is a sense of responsibility in them.
Sometimes, being available on-demand is too hectic or delays your priority task; consider setting up a virtual “drop-in” period.
You can set a particular time for checking the messages. For instance, tell your team members that you will be available to answer questions or assist them at 9 am and 4 pm.
3. Your team members have emotional needs.
Your team members are human beings, aren’t they? So it is natural that they all have social and emotional needs. And during this lockdown, that need is going to increase tenfold.
These are scary times — many worry about mass unemployment, their health, and their loved ones. This is the time where you can ramp up your actions and support your colleagues. So make sure, especially on your working days, that they aren’t isolated.
Set up a regular meeting that focuses on wellbeing, mixed with a work report. Hold virtual coffee drinks once a week, where every team member brings their coffee or tea on a virtual platform and shares their feelings.
Hold casual meetings with your team members for at least 2–5 minutes apiece and ask them to share what they have been doing for passing the time post their working hours or what is their favorite activity during weekends.
Your real leadership is judged when you successfully communicate well being of the team members across the organization.
Set up simple initiatives and provide crucial information to your team members about the best ways of doing satisfactory work from home.
Tools for helping your team do work from home effectively during COVID-19
Work from home is not at par with working in the office. There are various problems of work from home, yet there are many smart SaaS tools available for you to make things easier.
Related read: COVID-19 Outbreak: Top SaaS Tools You Need To Work From Home Efficiently
You can also use Salesmate CRM for managing your team members while they work from home. Managers who use this smart tool know the power and use of its workflow automation.
Salesmate CRM allows business owners to set reminders for their essential activities.
It sends you reminders of the tasks in a newsletter. The tool also lets you automate your entire follow-up process.
Try the best CRM software in this market and fee the difference. To keep a check on the daily happenings on Covid-19, check this site.
