Productivity in the Remote Workplace

Maintaining Productivity: Tips for Managers

A manager’s goal when working with a mostly remote team is to organize themselves and the situation for maximum productivity and keep things running as smoothly as possible, despite the current shift in the normal workplace. The best way for managers to maintain a global expansion of productivity is to do what they’re already doing, but with more intentionality. Managers can continue to implement those great business principles that they do in person, but just alter them so that they’re still doing these things virtually. For example, if you normally pass someone in the hallway and then ask them for an update, you have to be more strategic in gathering information. This might look like sending them an email asking how their day is going, and then asking for the update. Or, if you have a meeting, and some people are in person and some people are virtually attending, you must remember to email the virtual team members the agenda before the meeting starts, because you can’t hand it out in person like you normally would. These things require a certain amount of discipline on the manager’s behalf in order to ensure that things continue to run as smoothly as they did when everyone was working in the office. Being more deliberate about your management techniques is vital for continued success while managing a remote team.

Maintaining Productivity: Tips for Individuals

From an individual perspective, there are a number of things that you can do in order to maintain productivity as well. If you haven’t worked at home for any length of time, there are a number of issues working against you, especially now in this environment where many people began working from home quite suddenly. There are also likely distractions, like kids running around in the background, or dogs barking at passing cars. It’s possible you don’t even have a home office set up, and you’re trying to work from the kitchen table or the sofa. All of these things influence an employee’s ability to concentrate, which in turn impacts their ability to be productive. The best thing that you can do is find a really good spot where you can dedicate it purely to work. When you go to that spot, you orient your mind for work, and it can help you focus on the task at hand. You also have to have a conversation with your family, or roommates, about your work life and how to integrate working into your household. It’s also critical that you prepare for your work at home, just as you would prepare for working in the office. Act like you would if you were in the office by showering, getting dressed, and preparing yourself for work mode.