{Member Insights} Essential Tips for Working from Home

The FACC-NY network is composed of a diverse mosaic of talented, experienced and open-hearted professionals united by a desire to share their knowledge, nurture meaningful connections and succeed professionally. In this new Member Insights series, we invite a guest member to contribute timely and relevant tips for adapting your activities to overcome immediate challenges and plan for the long-term. 

Emmanuel Cargill is a Senior Consultant and Recruiter, as well Founder & Managing Director of HR Partners US. Emmanuel has significant C-level management and operational expertise in consumer goods with a focus on food, wine & spirits, and cannabis. 

Already 30 percent of American workers worked remotely according to a survey from 2017-2018 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many more have started remote working with the coronavirus.  I would guess that now about 50% of all Americans are doing some remote work.   And if you are new to it, you know it is not as easy as it sounds.   So here are some best practices to help you "Work At Home (WAH)." 

1. WAH Set-Up

While the idea of working in your PJs from your bed sounds fun, it does not really work.  You absolutely need to organize and plan your new work.   For me, the following are the most important: 

• Stick to a schedule. Be consistent, have a defined time when you start and finish (say 9 AM to 5 PM) and have a good lunch break.   I like to have a coffee break in the AM.  This allows me to relax and stay fresh.

• Have a designated workspace.  If you can find a room where you can close the door, it is better.   Tell your family (yes, kids included) that you are working and should not be disturbed.  I know it is easier said than done.  If other family members also work remotely, set workspaces so that noise (telephone, music) is minimal; headphones can be useful.  Also, think in terms of proper sittings, you may want to invest in a good ergonomic chair.    

2. WAH Tools

You also need to have the right tools.  The good news is that they are plenty of them either free or pretty cheap.   

Video systems. For meetings, use one of the many conference or video systems available.  Angel List wrote than video conferencing apps saw a record 62 million downloads during one week in March. Personally, I like Skype (free video up to 50 people), Zoom (free video with 100 people up to 40 minutes), FaceTime (video up to 3 people), and WhatApp (video up with 3 people)

• If you are new to the tools, check tutorials (YouTube) and practice.  Learn beforehand the basic functionalities such as muting, sending a note in a chat.  Make sure you have good lighting.
• If you are a lead, develop some guidelines to help your team.  For example, real estate company CBRE has developed new rules for team collaboration amidst a global health crisis.  Use the same best practices you have in your onsite meeting – start on time, intro the subject and the decision to be discussed, make sure everyone participates, clarify the decision and next steps – who, what, when.
• As a guest, prepare yourself ahead of time by reviewing the agenda and relevant documents.

For working on projects with other team members, use a program like Slack.  According to Angel List, Slack added 7,000 new customers in less than 2 months.  For basic teamwork, use a storage system (Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox).  Most of them offer free basic services.  Some other useful tools include Doodle (meetings), Evernote (notes), Dashlane (password). 

3. WAH Company Culture

I strongly believe that having the tools is not enough for a successful WAH.  Your company also needs to adapt to this new situation and develops a WAH culture.

• Management needs to provide clear objectives and expectations for your work.   They will depend on your team and company. Leaders will determine how they want to measure, what makes sense for your goals, then think about what is important to the business and know that if they are measuring it, you and your team will respond.

• Management needs to provide support and engagement – leaders have to think about how they can motivate, educate, and support employees working from home.  Some examples: Many companies have automated their onboarding process including video chats with management and colleagues.  Some companies organize announcements and townhalls using video. At one company, every manager has doubled the number of regular meetings with their staff – if one had a weekly catch up, it is now twice a week video catch up  It is a stressful time and managers should offer comforting and caring thoughts to their team members. Recognition goes a long way. Online learning and development are also good opportunities to provide employees with education and a source of development. 
• Management needs to provide social and human touches.  With the loss of the water cooler meetings and coffee breaks, employees have a void for their social needs/wants.  They need to feel social vibes in a different way.  Think about informal virtual discussions, birthday messages, virtual happy hours.  I believe communicating over video technology is better than using a phone.

If you want to connect with Emmanuel and learn more about his professional background and areas of practice, log into the FACC Member Directory to send him a message.