The coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted businesses all around the world. The virus is forcing countries to enter lockdown. The majority of countries are now in quarantine mode, and many companies find it extremely difficult to come up with new ways to force the ‘work from home culture’ and pass it on to their employees. #WorkFromHome is not something new but due to the complete lockdown, businesses will need to adapt and utilise it as efficiently as possible.
The main challenge companies face with COVID-19 is to keep the workflow uninterrupted and at the same time keep employees productive from the comfort of their home. Find below 5 tips that we, as DomainStar, share with you, that can help your business stay on track and achieve a pleasant transition to working from home.
Stay on Schedule
It is crucial that you stay on schedule even at home. Just because you are waking up and are not going to your office, this does not mean that you should skip your morning routine. You should wake up at your normal time, have a shower and get dressed in semi-formal clothes – DO NOT stay in your pyjamas. This is the first step towards successfully working from home as this gets you prepared for the day ahead. Also, if your schedule at work is the typical nine to five hours, keep following the schedule at home as well. If you do not adhere to the above simple tasks, then it is guaranteed that you will end up getting bored, thus being less productive!
Keep Communication Up & Running
Communication is the no.1 aspect you should focus on when working from home. Communication with colleagues should never stop just because you are not in the same room or office building. The technological advancements we have achieved in the past decade, enables you to stay connected with your team/s. Our suggestion would be to use:
Skype – For team video conferences
Loon – For your presentations
Google Meet – To arrange and book your meetings
Slack – For instant internal communication
It is impeccable that you should make sure that your employees have the correct online tools so that they can keep in touch, work as a team and be productive.
Focus on Your Work
It is very important to be strictly focused on your work during working hours. A snack, some sleep and watering your plants are all distractions that will cause lower productivity. Your dedicated workstation will need to be clean, tidy and comfortable in order for you to enjoy high productivity levels. We understand that you might be a mother with 2 kids (or even more) and that taking care of the kids while working can be a nightmare. This can be solved by splitting your time efficiently throughout the day dedicating your efforts on each separately.
Invest in the Right Equipment
One of the most important factors for an employer to keep in mind is for all employees to have the right equipment for their respective tasks. Therefore, as an employer you should firstly check and ask yourself the most obvious. Does my employee have his own personal laptop at home or is it a shared computer? Moreover, employers should make sure that employees have all necessary access codes that will help them work from home without any unnecessary interruptions.
Stay in Touch with your Clients
Keeping in touch with clients and letting them know that nothing has changed when you are needed is crucial for your business to maintain a good workflow. Therefore, there is no reason at all to cancel any client meetings. All meetings should be moved online! Finally, you should reassure your clients that your activities are still ongoing.
The most important factor that will keep the concept ‘Work from Home’ up & running without any complications, is the willingness of yourself and your employees to adapt to these unexpected changes. If you successfully manage to pass on the above tips and concept to your employees, then working from home can be extremely fun and beneficial for your business.
