Remote Work Is The New Normal

On Monday, millions of Americans reported to work as a remote team for the first time.  Remote work has becoming increasingly common over the past decade, but it is still a new paradigm for most office teams. Let’s look at the data. Before the Coronavirus outbreak, only about 5.3 percent of Americans worked from home or remotely full time even though an estimated 73 percent of the American workforce have the ability. Now, in the midst of a full-fledged global pandemic, work from home will become the new normal for many, if not most people.

If your team is working from home for the first time, here are a few things to consider.

For leaders, suddenly having your team working from home can create considerable anxiety. You may feel out of touch with your team. Two things you can do immediately to alleviate that anxiety are to institute a daily huddle with your team via video conferencing and implement an online workspace, such as Slack.

To implement a daily huddle, download and subscribe to a video conferencing software such as Zoom. Huddles should be a minimum of 10 minutes but not exceed 25 minutes.

These meetings should have a loose agenda. Here’s an example:

• Check in and share good news.
• Team update: pick one team each day to provide an update of what they are working on.
• Quick IDS (Identify, Discuss and Solve): Allow team members to bring challenges that may be holding them back. As a group you can discuss and solve or if needed break to solve offline.
• Recap, to-dos and Q&A: Recap the meeting, go over any to-dos or meetings that may need to take place offline. Lastly, allow for questions and answers.

Daily huddles like these can instill camaraderie and peace of mind and re-establish a kind of normalcy in work life at home.

To start an online workspace, I recommend downloading both the Slack mobile and desktop apps. To explain the purpose and benefits of an online workspace, meet with your team and use the existing Slack training videos available online. Encourage team members to collaborate, ask questions, share documents and presentations and even socialize in the new workspace.

Slack allows teams to create channels based on projects, departments or clients. Team members may also direct message each other in the same capacity as email.  Use this opportunity to check in on teams and even create polls. This is a great way to encourage participation and create a team environment, all while working remotely.

Lastly, do not forget to be kind and flexible with your teams. While adjusting to this new environment, leaders have the opportunity to provide a safe workspace for their teams. Keep in mind employees are learning new routines and how to cope with the stressors of working from home. Everything from family schedule changes to new technology to  lack of social interaction can put team members in new and difficult positions. Leaders should be flexible and remind team members to take their time and not set unrealistic expectations. During these times of change, we as leaders are given the opportunity to build confidence in our teams as well as provide much needed support.

Justin Waltz is the Vice President of Operations of Big Blue Swim School. Waltz’s mission at Big Blue Swim School is to translate the franchise’s vision to strategic and operational plans that are realistic and capable of delivering growth results while driving world-class culture for the company’s entire team of corporate staff, franchise owners and suppliers. 

Waltz recently became a published author, speaker and board member. Growing up in Maryland, Waltz graduated from Towson University but now resides in St. Petersburg, FL. He is a member of the Tampa Bay Wave Entrepreneurship Incubator and has served on the Board of Advisors of the Towson University College of Business and Economics. He’s also an active member of the International Franchise Association. Waltz also serves on the Board of Advisors for a private logistics and technology firm based in New Freedom, PA. Waltz’s book, Disrupt from Within: How to engage your team’s creative power to protect market share, strengthen defense, and avoid stagnation is available online.

Justin Waltz can be reached at [email protected]