WORKING REMOTELY IS PRESENTING YOUR COMPANY WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE YOUR OPERATIONS

Your customers are being served. Your teams are communicating effectively. Your meetings are focused, efficient, and fun. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do and workflow is easy to visualize. You have your finger on the pulse of the business.

Oh yeah, and your teams are working remotely because of COVID-19 or any of a million other reasons.

If you are already feeling the strain of COVID-19 or if you are nervously waiting for it’s impact on your business, join the club. The economic, social, and political implications of this coronavirus are being felt by businesses everywhere. Your company and your teams may need to change the way they operate as a result of this outbreak, and that likely means at least many of your people working remotely. Now more than ever, you can’t afford to miss deadlines or let your customers down. Transitioning smoothly, being agile, and adapting quickly to the increased demands of remote work will make it more likely that you’ll get closer to business as usual. And when this crisis blows over, which it will, you will have made improvements to your operations that will pay dividends.

Here are five steps you can take today to adjust quickly to the demands of remote work, while making significant improvements to your operations at the same time.

01. Create a roadmap for the next 30 days

 If you are an entrepreneur, you’ve been through times of crisis before and you will again. You are smart enough to know that you need to take a long-term view during turbulent times. But you also know that you need to take immediate steps to protect your business, serve your customers, and care for you people in new ways now that COVID-19 is upon us. Not to mention that the visionary in you should be keeping an eye out for opportunities to solve new problems or provide new service to your customers! 

Don’t leave any of this to chance. Create a roadmap for the next 30 days that highlights your key business priorities, provides timelines and clear measures of accountability, expresses metrics for success, and provides a progress indicator. You can download a free roadmap template at Gyolai.com.

02. Choose and leverage a remote meeting platform

There are a lot of great options here. My platform of choice is Zoom because it is easy to set up and use, it works, it allows me to record meetings (which is critical in times like these), and it integrates well with various calendars and email platforms.

Whatever remote meeting platform you choose, you can leverage it for team meetings, one-on-one coaching, small group gatherings, and even social events. Especially during times of crisis or uncertainty, there is no substitute for face-to-face communication.

03. Introduce a structured meeting format

Your meetings probably need a facelift anyway, so why not leverage this crisis to make that happen? Here are some basic guidelines to running efficient and productive meetings. These guidelines are especially relevant to remote meetings:

Seek input on topics from the entire team

Choose topics that affect the team as a whole

Choose a meeting facilitator who will manage the meeting flow and keep it on track

Send out an agenda at least a day in advance. The agenda should:

• Include a short opener or segue to check in with employees (try a one word opener)
• Include a set list of topics that are posed as issues or question to solve and establish and hold firmly to timeframes for each topic
• Identify who is responsible for leading each topic discuss
• Express if the topic is FYI, for discussion, or to make a decision

Ask for feedback on the effectiveness of the meeting and make adjustments based on that feedback. For example, two easy methods you can use to rate a meeting are:

• Thumbs up or down
• Rate an a scale of 1-5

04. Begin using technology to engage your employees daily

Engaging your team members on a daily basis will be essential for those working remotely. This is especially important given the personal strain the COVID-19 outbreak is causing. Demonstrate your support and concern through daily communication. This sort of outreach does not have to be on the official communication channel--instant messaging and short videos or teleconference sessions are great for regular check-ins. Doing this will help your employees feel connected and part of a team. 

Here is an example of this in action. The owners of Kyero.com, a client of mine, have taken to creating short videos during this crisis to help keep the employees engaged, informed, and supported. They are transparent about what they do and don’t know, how the outbreak is affecting the business, and what steps are being taken by the leadership team to keep the business strong. 

05. Select a workflow app and keep it simple

Having reliable tools that enable employees to work remotely is critical. So is knowing who is doing what when, how things are progressing, and how an individual’s work aligns with the mission and responsibilities of the entire team. Workflow apps allow you to focus on results and outcomes rather than your employee’s time on task, which is something you should do anyway, COVID-19 or not.

As with remote meeting platforms, workflow apps abound. If workflow apps are new to you, don’t overthink it. Choose a well-known and respected platform and get all your employees on it. Use the 30 day roadmap to populate the workflow app. Less in more during times of crisis. Having too much granular detail on the workflow apps during a crisis is almost guaranteed to lead to paralysis, so stick to the handful of things that really matter.

Every crisis presents opportunities. This one is lifting up the ability to work remotely, and through it, the gift of improved operations. As in nature, it is not the biggest or the strongest that thrive but rather those that can adapt to the situation and make good use of it.