Work-from-Home Guides

In an ever-evolving professional landscape, the concept of working from home has transitioned from a rare privilege to a widespread reality. Whether you're a seasoned remote worker seeking to enhance your productivity, a manager aiming to optimize your team's performance, or someone new to the world of telecommuting, our comprehensive set of work-from-home guides is here to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to thrive in this dynamic environment. From establishing an efficient home office to managing your time effectively, from maintaining a healthy work-life balance to navigating the intricacies of virtual collaboration, our guides are designed to empower you with practical insights and strategies for success in the world of remote work. Discover the key principles, best practices, and invaluable tips that will help you not only adapt to the remote work revolution but also excel in it. Welcome to a new era of work, where your home becomes your most productive and fulfilling workspace, guided by the expertise and support you'll find within these pages.

Working From Home: Employee Guide

The thought of working from home can seem overwhelming. From ensuring your home office is equipped to meet your work needs, to distancing yourself from distractions, it can be a challenge to create a work environment that fosters focus and productivity. To help you make the transition, we’ve provided some helpful tips for working from home.

Helpful Tips For All Remote Workers

Tip # 1: Set Aside a Designated Work Area

• Try to work from the same spot every day, preferably separate from the rest of your home to avoid distractions.
• Pick a spot for your “office.”
• Make sure it’s organized and functions efficiently for you, your business and your style.

Tip # 2: Set Clear Boundaries

• Set physical boundaries that are off limits to housemates.
• Make sure your friends and loved ones understand that even though you’re at home, you’re off limits during your scheduled work hours.
• Schedule your time with your family and with yourself. Put those on your daily calendar as seriously as you would your work.

Tip # 3: Maintain a Regular Schedule: Plan and Structure Your Workday

• Make sure you’re thinking about how you’re going to structure your day similarly to how you did before.
• Maintain your normal morning routine. Take time to shower, have breakfast, brush your teeth and maintain a casual (not sloppy) work wardrobe. The way you dress affects you psychologically.
• If you made a to-do list every morning, make the to-do list. If you checked in with the same person every morning, check in with that person.
• While working remotely, try to maintain the same hours/schedule you follow at the office.
• Use your calendar to block time for everything — project work, breaks, lunch, etc.
• Schedule breaks.
  • Treat exercise, meals and stretch breaks as you would any other meeting: That means putting it on your calendar, at least to start.
• Transition out of your day. Even if you’re just moving from one spot on the couch to another or putting your work materials and your laptop away (just shut work applications if you want to use your computer for something else).

Tip # 4: Stay Connected: Think About How You’re Communicating

Go beyond email. Use digital tools to better replicate the in-person office experience.

• Employ your video communications, perhaps more than you normally would, now that you’re more isolated.
• Make sure you have telecommunication tools hooked up and ready to go so you can stay connected with team members or
• office mates. Ensure you’re available for video calls and teleconferencing.
• Over-communicate with your boss, team and colleagues. This could mean emailing more often, having conference calls and video conferences, using chat tools or just picking up the phone.

If you’re interested in learning more, refer to the list of curated articles, videos and other learning resources at the end of the employee guide.

Working From Home for Managers

For managers, leading a remote team can add a host of new challenges. Employees are not in the same location as their manager, and communicating across distances means that words or meaning can be lost in virtual calls or long emails.

Managers need to be able to stay in constant contact, promote frequent communication within their team and be ready to resolve conflict when necessary. To help you make the transition to leading remote teams from home, we have provided some helpful tips.

Snapshot: Top 15 Tips To Successfully Manage Remote Employees

1. Set Clear Expectations – doing something “quickly” means different things to different people. Be specific.
2. Treat Remote as Local – give remote employees as much access to you as you can and respond as quickly as possible.
3. Engage Regularly – engage daily through varied communication channels (phone, messaging, video conference, etc.). Consistency will help remote workers feel included.
4. Schedule Video-Based Coaching – schedule time and look at one another when you’re speaking. Not checking in and providing feedback can cause remote employees to question how they’re performing.
5. Trust Your Team – some companies are reluctant to embrace a remote workforce due to uncertainty that work will not get done at the same level as if they were in the office. To combat this belief, consider work-from-home guidelines that are appropriate for your team, such as email responses within 24 hours or using instant messaging apps for urgent matters. 
6. Make it Feel Inclusive – make remote staff feel included by using virtual meetings and create team partnerships that promote collaboration.
7. Filter for Mission, Values, Outcomes and Role – remote workers can feel frozen out of regular office human interaction, so be sure to over-communicate and align them with the mission, values, outcomes and how their role ties to it all. 
8. Have Reliable Tools First – and use them! If remote employees can’t download files, struggle hearing on a conference call and consistently receive meeting invitations for times when they are still asleep, you have failed to address the basics. First, invest in reliable tools to make collaboration possible. Then develop clear processes to use such tools. 
9. Stay Focused on Goals, Not Activity – don’t worry as much about what is being done. Instead, concentrate on what is being accomplished. It’s all about accomplishment, not activity.
10. Be Intentional – make each team meeting count with opportunities for everyone to engage and contribute.
11. Create a Communication Strategy – arrange the appropriate amount of weekly formal “check-ins” and set guidelines about daily needs. An understanding of what is urgent mitigates inefficiency, allowing productivity.
12. Avoid Multitasking – video conferencing helps with this because you are visible.
13. Connect Their Goals with Yours – take a personal interest in your team’s learning and life goals.
14. Use Technology to Build Community – use technology to create dedicated spaces for celebrating special days (e.g. birthdays), company milestones (e.g., months or years of service) as well as community recognition. Being intentional about creating community helps develop a corporate culture that inspires connection, which can result in increased productivity.
15. Establish Close Bonds, Help and Support Frequently – empathize and appreciate your team members’ lives by discussing family, commonalities, and shared beliefs.

How To Handle Conflict on Remote Teams

Normalize Conflict - Conflict is emotionally charged because it is rooted in unresolved feelings, unmet needs and the fear of the unknown. 

Name the Thing - What is triggering you? Common triggers: competence, inclusion, autonomy, status, reliability and integrity.

Be Curious - Turn your attention to the other person. Create a safe space by asking questions to seek understanding. Examples: “I read your email and I think I may have misunderstood it — can we talk through your takeaways?” or “During the meeting you seemed frustrated. Is everything okay?”

Say Your Side - Try the Nonviolent Communication Method:

• Observation – state a clear observation of what the employee did that you didn’t like.
• Feelings – state how you feel about what they have done. Needs – make clear what needs of yours were not met.
• Request – end with a clear request of what you would like the employee to do.

Unique Remote Communication Challenges

Loss of in-person signals and loss of context. Consider the pros and cons of remote communication channels:

Leading At a Distance

What it Means to Lead at a Distance

Leading at a distance is different. We aren’t going to run into people in the hallway or in the breakroom. With remote teams, we must be more intentional and build processes and systems to make sure we are connected to our team members. Interpersonal dynamics change when you’re leading remotely. It is your job to role model the changes, work to build the relationships, build trust, effectively communicate and help your team adapt as well. Remote Leadership Model – this model has three gears, and when working correctly, will propel us to greater success. The largest is leadership and management, and it hasn’t changed. What has changed is your location. Now, we must use technology and tools to do things we never had to think about before because they just came naturally. The third gear, while the smallest, is where the rubber meets the road — the skill and impact gear. When you apply your leadership skills and embrace our tools, you will get the results that you need. Call to Action: identify one tool that you are uncomfortable with and make a commitment to learn and master it.

Understanding What Success Looks Like at a Distance

There are three types of outcomes: organizational, team and personal. Organizational – where is the organization going and how is your team helping to get there? Team – are your people clear on what’s expected of them? Personal – how effective is your team at reaching their individual outcomes? Understanding each of these outcomes will help you define success and set clear expectations.

Remote Goal Setting

It’s not about setting the goals; it’s about getting the goals. Think about two kinds of goals: Results goals are what you typically think of goals as being (sales numbers, quality scores, etc.) — it’s a specific result that you’re after. Process goals define how you will achieve results goals. Process goals help in three ways: 1) your team has a better chance of reaching the outcomes you want, 2) allows you to stay in sync and know you’re on the right track and 3) allows a little less worry in your life.

5 Tips to Remote Coaching and Feedback

Make it a two-way conversation; use your webcam; make it more frequent and consistent; deliver it formally and informally; and assume positive intent.

The Remote Employee Perspective

The Golden Suggestion – treat others the way they want to be treated. As a leader, it is your job to understand those that you lead so you can understand their perspective. Here are some ideas: use style tools (DISC, Myers-Briggs, etc.); look for clues in their behavior and how they communicate with you and others; be willing to flex the way you communicate or the way you coach to meet the style and perspective of those you are leading. Lastly, ask what works for them.

Working From Home - Tips for Team Collaboration

Working from home often means long periods of time without face-to-face contact with your team. This means you will need to get creative with your teamwork, using collaboration software, video conferencing tools and more forms of communication than you’re probably used to. The rules for attending meetings will be drastically different — you will need to find a way to focus on the person speaking while keeping everyone else engaged. Being apart can increase feelings of loneliness. While you can’t completely avoid the feeling of isolation, you can take steps to lessen the impact. To help you make the transition, we’ve provided some helpful tips for working collaboratively from home.

Helpful Tips For Improving Team Collaboration

Tip # 1: Keep Communication Clear and Straight-to-the-Point

• Don’t bombard your team with messages.
• Best practice is to ensure you send your whole message, then wait for a response, rather than
  waiting for feedback on point 1 before you share point 2, which could potentially stretch out
  conversations over days.
• No matter how small a decision or short a conversation, try to summarize important project
  updates or meeting notes and share them with the rest of the team.
• Make sure you have specific norms around the way you communicate, including the following:
  • Which communication channels your team members should use and when, e.g. email,
    chat, phone, company apps, etc.
  • When team meetings are held
  • Timeline for when responses should be received from team members

Tip # 2: Lessen the Feeling of Isolation

• Since remote workers are spread out across multiple locations, that normal feeling of closeness is
  usually absent. Employees can begin to feel isolated and distant from the group.
• Check in with your colleagues periodically and give them updates on recent events.
• Ask teammates how they are feeling in their work and if they are having any problems.
• When possible, try to arrange conference calls or video chats to talk to one another.

Tip # 3: Learn How to Maximize Your Virtual Meeting Effectiveness

• Make multitasking difficult! Keep participants occupied by asking questions and soliciting
  feedback. Remove distractions from your desk and try not to read emails during a meeting.
• Mute your microphone when you’re not talking.
• Keep in mind that when you connect to audio using your PC mic, other participants can hear you
  typing, which could be distracting. A possible solution is to use a headset or headphone.
• Don’t be shy! Use your video camera if your video conferencing software allows it.
• Don’t be afraid to speak loudly during a virtual meeting. Your team will appreciate being able to
  hear you.
• Text-based communication places less importance on interpersonal skills and physical appearance, offering an effective way to share power and decision-making. Research shows that introverted individuals are less inhibited in online versus offline

Tip # 4: Choose the Right Tools

• On a virtual team, software is crucial for communication and collaboration.
• Pick your software tools early and ensure everyone knows where to find support and learning
  resources on their proper use and procedures.
• Know Your Team: In the end, only you will know what works best for your team. Use the software
  you have and learn by trial and error. Make adjustments as necessary, and don’t forget to communicate throughout the process!

If you want help assessing your workforce’s needs, employee benefits strategy and improving the HR ecosystem at your organization, reach out to our Human Capital Solutions experts for a consultation. 

Additional Resources

How to Actually Work... When You’re Working from Home (Video)
NYTimes, How to Work From Home, if You’ve Never Done it Before
Business Insider, 10 Do’s and Don’ts When Working From Home
Forbes, Top 15 Tips To Effectively Manage Remote Employees
HelpScout, How to Handle Conflict on Remote Teams