COVID-19: Work From Home Tips for Managers from Experts across the Globe

There are uncertain times.

While we considered work from home a perk a while ago, now it is no more a luxury. Almost every organization capable of running their business from home despite these uncertain times is now looking for the best tips to work remotely and still keep the teams’ spirits high.

While working remotely is not new, the transition to remote work can be challenging. Also, work from home at this moment while also being isolated is different than working from home when there are no restrictions like those.

We asked experts their WFH tips for managers during coronavirus. We are glad they all volunteered and shared their best tips. Please give them a read and pick whatever you relate to the most. We hope these tips help in these difficult times!

Here are the expert WFH tips for managers during coronavirus:

1. Sandeep Kashyap, CEO & Founder of ProofHub

Empathy goes a long way in these difficult times. We had to do our bit both internally and externally. Internally, we made sure we are available for everyone with the right equipment sent to their homes and the right communication tools in place to stay on the same page. With daily standup meetings in the morning, it is easier to set a daily agenda for the team. Management has to be proactive and take care that nobody feels the FOMO.

Statistics reveal teams are more productive while working from home than otherwise. However, isolation and remote work, both at the same time, are already very difficult and to expect teams to be as productive as in the office will be a folly. As these desperate times call for desperate measures, the key is to engage, not let them get bored, and give them challenges to get past the boredom. When you do this at the start, it is easier later on. We use ProofHub, our own tool, to manage work and stay connected. The tool helps us stay on the same page and since it increases transparency, nobody really feels left out. Externally also, we tried contributing to the cause and are offering ProofHub free for schools for the rest of 2020.

“Make your teams productive while working from home! Give ProofHub a try.”

2. Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation

My best work from home strategy for managers is to communicate with your respective teams frequently. Check in regularly to see how team members are doing on both a professional and personal level. This is an unprecedented time and working from home may require a bit more of a transition for some than it does others, so it’s good to check in and see how they are acclimating, if they have any questions or concerns, and simply to talk and build up morale with each individual. This too shall pass, but now is the time to stay connected to your employees and be patient and compassionate about their individual needs.

3. Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications of SEMrush

10 keys for Remote Working

If we talk about remote work, such as that provoked by the COVID-19, what is really important is not the schedule but that the person complies with what was committed to do. So, you must value this job like any other.

• Set strict schedules and habits. Another basic question is to establish a daily routine. In this sense, it is advisable to set the alarm clock in time, shower and have breakfast before starting. Like if we had to leave the house.
• Having your own space to work in. Working in a bedroom or kitchen is not a good idea. Disorder or the association of ideas with other obligations can disconcert us.
• Keep in touch with colleagues. Even if we don’t see them every day, there are many ways to have a fluid relationship with peers: meeting for lunch, speaking on social networks, working in person for a few days, etc.
• Separating leisure from work obligations. Remote employees have the risk of becoming addicted to the world of work. Even if we have access to the company system or to the work mail, we must know how to separate the different parcels of life.
• Take small breaks to eat or stretch the muscles. Contractures may appear if we are in the same position for a long time, this also happens a lot during long flights. Likewise, we have the right to stop for a few minutes to gather our strength.
• Don’t check social networks. When we work alone and from home, the temptation to consult social networks is greater. Avoid them.
• Count on the support of those who live with you. The family must help to respect spaces and not disturb them.

4. Ojus Sharma, CEO of Applify

Adopting remote work during a global health crisis is an especially difficult task. Though we all have worked from home in the past, however, it’s a totally different situation when all your coworkers and customers are working from home at the same time for the first time in history. So, it requires a new way of adapting to how we work, and how we communicate.

It starts with managing expectations. Thus, it becomes the duty of managers and team leaders to clearly define the scope, deadlines, and deliverables for each task or project your team is working on.

We are using communication and video conferencing tools like Google Hangouts and Zoom to have daily quick check-ins throughout the day. We also use instant messaging for quick questions, video chatting for meetings, and project management tools for our overall work communications.

5. Reuben Yonatan, Founder of GetVoIP

I have two key WFH tips for managers during this pandemic.

1. Keep in touch with your teams through video conferencing. The manager can organize regular meetings maybe every two days to catch up with everyone and monitor the progress of ongoing projects.

2. Either use social media or specialized chat software to facilitate constant communication between team members. That will allow them to bounce ideas off each other continually.

6. Dmytro Okunyev, Founder of Chanty

Managing a team from a remote work environment is not that much different from managing a team from your office. The biggest trap for managers that work remotely is micromanagement — they want to see that their team is actually working all of the time, because they can’t see them.

To avoid this from happening, don’t force your employees to be fully productive for 8 hours per day. Instead, set goals for the day, week or month and make sure that employees achieve them.

The second tip I have is to be super clear in your communication. If things are left unsaid, you will end up with poorly done tasks, so give each set of instructions like the person just joined the company and has no clue what they’re doing. The more instructions you give from the start, the fewer questions you have to answer later on.

7. Andrus Purde, Co-founder and CEO of Outfunnel

The one thing everyone can agree on is the importance of communication. 99% of the time, over-communicating and adding additional context in conversations is more beneficial than not.

On work communication: adding more context reduces room for misunderstandings and wrong assumptions. It’s a simple thing that makes a huge difference!

On personal communication: real conversations help people bond. Managers and employees should also think about connecting as people. This relieves minor friction that eventually builds up as we lose touch on a face-to-face level.

8. Erica Chappell Content Manager of Clickup

Communication, clarity, and alignment are the three most important aspects of a successful remote team. Group all of your action-based communication in one place, and host higher-level discussion around tasks and projects related to goals and OKR’s. Avoid team or departmental procrastination through start dates, due dates, priorities, and effort levels for tasks and projects. Stay informed of what needs to be done, by whom, and when. Break down workload by person, team, or department. Standardize processes and systems through templates and knowledge bases. Create a single source of truth measurement across each team, company, and department.

9. David Ciccarelli, co-founder and CEO of Voices.com

Managing a team during a crisis is all about communication. With my company’s switch to remote work, we’ve run a series of management training sessions to ensure that we’re all managing our teams effectively from home. The best management rules remain the same whether you are working in the office or remotely. Provide clear communication, lay out expectations from the beginning of a project, have productive meeting protocols, and practice transparent performance management. To keep lines of communication open, our teams use communication tools like Google Chat and Slack. Being intentional and clear about communications includes sending quick check-ins throughout the day, while being mindful not to be overbearing, and showing your appreciation for your team often. We also find that it’s useful to keep a sense of normalcy during a crisis. We have a weekly Huddle every Monday, which we’ve been doing via Google Hangouts since working remotely, and managers have kept their regular cadence of meetings in place.

Bring your team working from home at one place. Use an all-in-one project management software — ProofHub!

10. Matthew Ross, Co-founder and COO of The Slumber Yard

Tip 1 — Set Up A Daily Check-In System

I require all of my remote workers send me daily emails detailing what projects they are working on and how they are going to allocate their time for that specific day. I’ve been burned in the past by giving remote workers too much flexibility and freedom. By requiring them to send daily report emails, it keeps them honest and focused. If they try to skate by doing the bare minimum, I’ll quickly notice that they’re not accomplishing tasks in a timely manner.

Tip 2 — Implement Guidelines For Video Conferences

During video conferences, we require our employees to use the chat function to state they have a question or statement first instead of just blurting it out. When multiple employees are on a video call, it can be a nightmare if everyone is just speaking over one another. By following our guidelines, we ensure the call proceeds in a structured and organized manner. We also have employees wait for two full seconds after someone is done speaking before they jump in. This gives the video conference software time to catch up. I’ve noticed that lag in the system can create a hectic and unproductive call if everyone immediately starts speaking right away.

Tip 3 — Hold Conference Calls With Remote Workers Bi-Weekly

I have my department managers hold conference calls with the remote workers that fall under their umbrella on a bi-weekly basis so that they don’t fall behind. This keeps everyone on the same page regarding company initiatives and strategies. A big pet peeve of mine is when remote workers say well, I didn’t know or no one told me.

11. Sara McGuire, Content Marketing Manager of Venngage Infographic Maker

Find ways to maintain “face-to-face” interaction through video chat. There are many different ways you can do this. One simple way is to ask your team members to turn their video on during meetings, to keep team members engaged and accountable. But you should also look for ways to hang out and enjoy each other’s company as well, outside of meetings and work calls. Try organizing virtual team building activities. For example, since our team went fully remote to practice social distancing, I have been organizing a weekly trivia night over Google Hangouts. The response from my team has been great. One of my colleagues has also been organizing a weekly movie night where the team streams a movie together and chats about it while we watch. Finding creative ways to maintain your company culture is important for keeping up your team’s morale and sense of camaraderie in tough times like these

12. Simon Nowak, founder and CEO of Authority Dental

Personally, my number one is to participate in online meetings. *Talking about business with colleagues reduces stress. This allows you to focus on what you need to do. It’s important to think about work and life, not just about COVID information.

• The market situation is difficult, but it will pass.* We have to work as long as possible, therefore my industry allows me to work relatively normally. We just replaced face-to-face meetings with online ones. I don’t want the virus to contribute to the collapse of my business. A well-thought-out strategy will allow us to get out of this crisis. I am sure that next year it will be just a bland memory.

13. Natalie Ruiz, CEO of Answer Connect

We created our own technology to stay connected and keep teams accountable and transparent about work. We now operate 24/7/365 and offer people-driven services and technology to help the world work Anywhere.

Advice for leaders thrust into leading work from home teams: set expectations early, communicate often via video call and chat and have the right technology/tools to keep everyone connected. Figure out where you can be flexible and also what are the absolutes for your organization. Be human and real.

14. AnhTrinh, Founder and CEO of GeekWithLaptop

Create set work hours

You might hear that WFH employees can work flexibly. I don’t disagree with this since I do this with my workers as well. However, if you’re just transitioning from office work to remote work, then I recommend that you set standard work hours your employees will follow. You’ll have an easier time tracking them and it will ease your employees during the transition.

Motivate your remote workers

Motivation is one of the most crucial factors to consider in a work environment, this is more so when it comes to remote work. A lot of people will find working remotely hard and some of them will become discouraged or too lazy to do work properly.

This is why I advise that you find ways to motivate your employees. You can give them constant pep talks and even assign more important tasks for them. Discovering that you trust them enough for bigger jobs is always a big motivator for any employee.

Use software to bring your team together

Even without the pandemic, remote work can be a very isolating experience for some people. Being cooped up indoors the whole day can make us starved for social interaction, causing us to suffer dips in productivity. This is why I advise that you use instant messaging software like Slack, WeChat, and even Discord to bring the team together. These platforms even have minigames that all of your employees can play as a form of “team-building”.

15. Megan Marrs Founder of K9 of Mine

Working remotely can definitely be a challenge, but there are project management tools out there that make things much easier. Asana and Trello are two of the most popular ones I’ve used. These programs are a lifesaver for keeping track of various tasks and getting a bird’s eye view of what everyone’s progress is like on their assignments.

You can even set up subtasks that auto-notify the next worker in the pipeline when it’s time for them to jump in and complete task dependencies. I’ve found tools like these to be tremendously helpful!

Another important piece of advice for working from home — whatever you do, don’t work from the couch! It’s very tempting to work from your bed or couch, but it’s terrible for your posture and you’re not going to be able to focus very well at all. Even setting up a makeshift desk at your kitchen table is better than sitting on the couch!

16. Tricia Sciortino, CEO of Belay Solutions

In order to spark continued productivity, it’s important that managers adhere to a set schedule that keeps daily tasks and priorities in check. Creating processes for yourself and your team aids in getting things done effectively and efficiently. This often results in increased productivity, which is imperative for business incorporating remote work into their work model perhaps, for the first time.

Recognizing and Avoiding Challenges That Come with Remote Work Isolation can creep in for those working from home. Even though we are 10 years into this type of work environment, it happens. One way to combat this is by staying connected to your team and reaching out to them when needed. This presents a great opportunity to talk through an idea or catch up on ‘watercooler type items” you would normally discuss at the office. It’s okay to mix it up when it comes to day-to-day interaction with your team. Great conversation and a shared candor can go a long way in a remote setting.

“Stay in contact with your team while working from home. Use ProofHub chat and more. Sign up now!”

Over to you

What is your best tip to follow while working remotely? We hope you find these tips useful and apply some of them.

Having any trouble getting familiar with ProofHub to work remotely? You can anytime get a quick introduction to ProofHub to make remote work and onboarding easier for your teams and clients.

You can sign up for ProofHub immediately, and then send an email to support@proofhub.com and we will help you get started and get the most out of the software according to your workflow.

With the current situation in mind, we at ProofHub, understand the struggle of schools. That’s why we are offering ProofHub for free to schools for the rest of 2020, that too with unlimited users and unlimited projects.

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