The Business Leader’s Remote Work Team Productivity Checklist
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Mandated alternative work requirements due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic have likely disrupted your business. You may have had remote work policies in place or in development, but suddenly, you have found yourself needing to use them. Many leaders and managers are finding themselves in a state of uncertainty and paralysis due to multiple scenarios:
- Lack of ability to manage business outcomes and outputs
- Inability to maintain productivity levels required of their businesses
- Incapability to retain workflows, checks & balances, and quality control
- Lack of ability to complete simple taskers (i.e. Sending official letters or solicitations to clients)
- Maintain a sense of operational normalcy
Remote work for all employees is likely an untested procedure for your business. It is important to remember in times of uncertainty to operate as a team through everything.
We’ve put together this checklist to improve your team’s remote work productivity and efficiency. It is designed to help leaders, managers, and employees navigate these 100% remote work environments.
✔ Acknowledge THIS IS NEW
100% remote work might be a completely new concept for your entire business. Ensure your employees, management, and leadership that you will all get through it together. Yes, it might be rough, but operations can and will continue. Be aware that processes will be built and modified as the new work environments evolve and continue business operations. You will need to have communication practices set so you can alert everyone of changes when they happen.
✔ Work as a Team
100% remote requires business leaders to acknowledge that they are a team. Your team, built around various required skill sets, has been created for success. When problems arise on how to handle situations when working remotely, you must communicate, troubleshoot, and think creatively together to solve them.
✔ Organize Multiple Means of Communication
Todays technology makes remote work and communication possible. Utilize the tools you have available: Cell phones, Video Calling, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, Messenger. You could even create a private company Facebook Group to share ideas, tasks, and communications.
The ability to communicate and gain feedback quickly will make for the highest level of success to your operational functions while your team is working remotely.
✔ Create a Simple List of Operations
Sometimes the simplest of tasks can be missed because team members are operating outside of their normal routines. It can be helpful to conduct a brainstorming session through Google Docs so all members of the team are on the same page about what needs to happen and how. The following questions can help guide you on what to consider while brainstorming:
- Which operations happen daily?
- Who handles what? Who is their back-up?
- How are things completed? Does this now require adjustments?
- Which operations can happen as normal because they were already electronic?
- Which operations need to adapt for remote work?
- Which operational tasks and projects need to be completed? What are their timelines?
✔ Utilize Project & Task Management Platforms
So many teams today already use team and project management boards like Trello, Asana, Monday.com, Microsoft Planner, Teams, and To-do. If you do not utilize any of these platforms create a simple Google Doc or Excel Sheets with “Action Items,” “Deadlines,” and assignees.
Whatever system you chose, make sure there is a tool available for all employees to keep projects and tasks moving forward with minimal uncertainty. Your team will need to be able to interact with this tool so they can mark items as complete, leave comments, and share files. This will help you manage productivity and completion rates of tasks.
✔ Utilize the Business’s Cloud Storage and File Sharing Effectively
It is important to have a file saving system in place for accurate file saving locations known by the team. If you do not have this in place, implement a system now of where files are stored, how are files named, and how are they marked (i.e. by date, draft 1, version 1)
✔ Assign Roles & Responsibilities
Additional roles and responsibilities may need to be added on to certain team members during 100% remote work or crisis situations. For example, does at least one person have the operating capacity and capability to purchase, receive, and ship supplies? Make sure you have expense reimbursement procedures or purchasing request procedures in place to track all transactions.
✔ Maintain hours of operations
While working 100% remotely, set your team’s work schedules. Your employees will be more productive if they stay as close as possible to the routines that were already in place. However, be prepared for unexpected circumstances to create a need for adjustments.
✔ Conduct frequent team meetings
Convene team meetings via video conferencing more frequently to ensure you’re all operating effectively, efficiently, and on the projects and tasks needed to be completed. Fifteen-minute morning meetings will set your team up for success for the remainder of the day and allow for everyone to ask questions, brainstorm areas of uncertainty, and get on the same page.
The key to maintaining a productive work environment when working 100% remotely is to ensure awareness of what needs to be accomplished and when things need to be done for normal business operations. Remind everyone that working as a team when everyone is working remotely is more important than ever.
As a leader, it is your job to ensure your team has clarity on the tasks and projects which need to be completed, who is doing what, means and methods to share and store information, files, data, and projects.
If you would like a free, downloadable copy of this checklist to use as a tool to help you adjust to the mandated alternative work requirements, please fill out the form below and we will email it directly to you.