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As workers around the world prepare to reenter workplaces, there are a few things some of us might see, such as plexiglass between many desks and cubicles, face masks worn by everyone entering the building and hand-sanitizing stations throughout the office.
Does any of this make you nervous about returning to the office? If so, you’re not alone. But while these changes will mark the dawn of a new office environment, I believe there’s an even bigger change many will be navigating: Some teammates won’t return to working in the office. Many employers are opting for a permanent or semi-permanent work-from-home structure going forward.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, it was common, especially in larger organizations, for many workers and work teams to be distributed. A marketing team, for example, might be in New York, while a sales department could be based in Atlanta. Enabled by technology, companies made do. But in-person meetings were always an option, and in most cases, workers and teams could count on at least some face time with colleagues.
But now, many employers, for reasons ranging from safety to cost, are deciding that remote workers and perpetually decentralized work teams will be the norm. Will it work? Can workers and companies be as productive when in-person meetings won’t happen at all?
The most successful companies coming out of the pandemic are thinking through these questions right now. To assist them, here are four ways companies can help remote workers and work teams maximize remote work productivity:
Improve meetings.
Experts agree that nonverbal communication represents a significant portion of the way we communicate. So if you can’t see your colleagues, understanding what they’re intending can be a problem. To address this, team managers should ask that all remote employees turn on their computer, laptop, tablet or phone cameras during meetings.
I also encourage managers to equip in-office meeting rooms with two screens: one for remote people to be visible to the office people, and the other for document reviews and screen sharing. Ideally, remote employees would have a similar setup. On top of a meeting room screen, team managers should put a wide-angle camera so remote staff can pick up on nonverbal communication and see gestures, read body language and more.
One more meeting tip: Connect conferencing software to the office room so that joining a meeting is as simple as a tap on a tablet or mobile device. Ensure mics are placed so that no matter where someone is sitting in the room, the mic can pick up their voice. And keep a conference phone in the room because you never know when the internet might drop.
Be intentional about team norms.
You have team norms. You had them before the coronavirus, and you have them now, too. It’s just a question of whether they were intentionally chosen and actively reviewed. Now is the time to consider what’s working and what isn’t for the team. Managers and teams should ask themselves how they can improve individually and collectively. A good place to start improving norms is to simply write down things you do that help your team operate effectively.
Visualize team goals.
Without everyone on the team in the same place every day, it’s vital that everyone knows what the group is trying to achieve that month, quarter, year, etc. As we know now better than ever, goals change, but with each change should come an easy place for people to center themselves to contribute to the team’s work.
Host personal check-ins.
It seems simple to say that it’s important to check in with the people you haven’t seen in a while, but in practice, it’s hard. Simply seeing a remote employee on a team meeting isn’t a check-in because you don’t know how they’re truly doing. Managers must make it a point to get a sense of the people who aren’t in the room. Where are their heads? I believe one-on-ones are the only way to know.
In tough times, companies often pull back on training and development opportunities, but it’s important to resist that urge. Managers should talk about career development and set specific goals because it’s the best way to produce high-quality work, create engaged employees and connect the right people with the right opportunities. Since we all have to do more with less, career development is the least expensive (and perhaps the most powerful) way to remain competitive in your market.
Team organization and management will be different as companies move to a fully or partially distributed setup. The hardest part is conceiving how these changes will affect your company and planning accordingly. With these practices, team managers will find that distributed teams can actually help their organization focus on the things that matter. The payoff is a healthy environment, both physically and mentally.
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