Our nation and world is facing the battle of a lifetime. COVID-19 has forced the shutdown of schools and business, not just in the United States but worldwide. Many businesses have been asked to implement emergency work-from-home protocols to limit and if possible, avoid exposure in the workplace. Even some of the world’s largest organizations like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are limiting exposure for their employees by implementing work-from-home policies indefinitely.
With so many employees being asked to work-from-home, the structure of businesses and how we do business with others is changing drastically. While these adjustments can be difficult, there are a few technologies you and your team can adopt to make the transition a bit easier.
Video Conferencing
Chances are you already have access to some kind of video conference platform, like Google Hangouts or Zoom. Using video conferencing might feel awkward or uncomfortable at first, but it can add an extra layer of communication and understanding to your meetings. Video conferencing software will also typically include screen-sharing capabilities, which most companies will find to be useful when sharing or reviewing documents, purchase orders, presentations, etc.
Chat
Communication can feel significantly different with a work-from-home culture, especially if you’re used to communicating in-person with your team members. Chat software like Slack can significantly speed up communication processes. Even better, Slack allows for communication between individual team members, entire departments, and the entire company — or any subset of employees. Each group can have their own channel that allows for constant communication and brainstorming without disrupting other team members that are not a part of that conversation or project.
Project Management
Not everyone is great at time or project management, and keeping your employees on track and monitoring their progress can be even more difficult when done remotely. That’s where project management tools like Trello, Asana, and Basecamp come in. Tasks related to specific projects can be assigned to team members, making it easier to quickly view progress and identify what still needs to be done as deadlines approach.
File Sharing Applications
Web-based applications like Box and Dropbox make file and document sharing easier than ever. In fact, this is actually how PSSC Labs shares their own files whether working remotely or in-house. By moving files over to Box or Dropbox, your team is given uninterrupted access to documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. It’s also easier to collaborate on these docs in real time without the risk of sending edited or incorrect versions back and forth.
As we’re all adjusting to a new normal, it’s important to note that you and your team members will need to adjust to a new workflow that works for your company and that might not look exactly as you thought. Don’t be afraid to try new things or technologies for working remotely to find what works best for your business processes — and most importantly, stay healthy!