It is here!
Coronavirus variation Covid-19 has arrived and it is hitting hard. I am not going to repeat the news because it will be old before I finish typing.
Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Google have all asked as many of their workers in Seattle area as possible to work from home. I don’t have an accurate count of how many from those companies will stay home but it could easily be 100,000 workers will stay away from the office.
I want to focus business continuity and how businesses can stay on their feet.
As you know from my previous posts, I am a great fan of remote work. It is not a perfect answer and has many problems but it can solve many business situations.
Now, when governments are asking workers to stay home in places like Seattle, Redmond, Bellevue, and other areas in Western Washington, remote work becomes a lifesaver (or corporation saver!).
Technical Setup
For those companies that have the infrastructure for remote work in place and fully functioning, a little tune up may be needed but you are good to go.
Internet connectivity most everywhere is fantastic and, even before this disease outbreak, it is a fantastic tool (I have waxed about this technology in previous posts). It fixes problems and gives a business so many opportunities to maximize their workforce and help the environment not to mention their bottom line.
Now, with a medical event that requires people to stay away from each other, this technology becomes a lifeboat for a business. Any business with employees that sit at a desk all day and work on a computer, it can move to a remote work methology.
The business will need to have an Internet point where everyone can connect to securely as well as some productivity tools that will allow employees to work together easily. Connectivity is also needed to the internal computer systems that are accessible from an office desk.
Microsoft, Google, Cisco, and other companies have software for collaboration that needs to be up and functional for access by the remote worker. Luckily, these systems are all quite mature and functional. Some effort is needed to get them running but it is a relatively straightforward process.
Process Flow Issues
The technical problems of remote are nothing compared to the process problems. Employees that are used to working together in physical proximity and never or rarely worked remote may have a hard time adjusting to a remote work model.
Management can help in a number of ways:
- Set expectations of the employee – this is going to be a time of mass confusion and clear expectations will help.
- Communication methods – do you want them on a daily conference call? Using special software?
- Time – what time do they need to work? Anytime as long as they hit the deadline? Special hours for coverage (think something like a customer support team).
- Reports – what reports do you want from the team members and when?
Danger
There is a dangerous step that can be taken here when first starting remote work. I have met too many managers that instantly feel that their employees will goof off and not get any work done when remote. I have seen a couple of cases where that has happened – but only a couple of employees in over the last 20+ years. Most employees know they will be evaluated on their productivity while remote and will step up to the task.
I take the other view. If a person is working for me, I expect that I picked them properly and they are good workers (otherwise they would not be on my team!). If you expect the best from your team, you will get good work – not perfect but good.
I have worked for many managers that have a negative view of their team and it is deadly for producing good work. Employees were more concerned with staying out of trouble than they were achieving anything. Don’t frighten your team. Believe me, it is easy as I have done it without realizing the damage I did. A sentence or two wrong set a bad tone. Be constantly reassuring the team members you believe in them. Any mistakes they make can be something to fix and not to beat them with.
Expect Confusion
When a team is suddenly working remote like we are seeing in the Coronavirus problem, there is bound to be a sluggish start to everyone being remote. Be patient. Within a few days, I expect the team will fall into a rhythm that will be very productive.
We are living in an interesting time. This pain may be a transition point where business determine other ways to engage their employees to achieve their goals.
Constant tweaking of the team activities will help you find the best method of working with each team member. Could be a lot of work but well worth it.