Almost all teams worldwide are now working from home. However, while there are many perks, like more time with the family and less time wasted commuting, many leaders and companies are scrambling to adapt to manage this new situation.
In this episode of the Selling in Asia Podcast, Tom Abbott discusses how to keep staff productive while working from home, tools you can use for remote work, and how to keep a social connection when no one is working together under the same roof anymore.
Preparation
When physically preparing to transition into work from home, it’s vital to remember to start cultivating mental preparation and a motivational mindset to help you succeed. As a leader, it’s crucial that you first reassure your team, perhaps give them a pep talk, but be realistic about the situation at hand and, most importantly – be honest.
The next aspect to consider is how appropriate your home workspace actually is! Are you distraction-free? Have you got a clean space to work in? Does your family understand that when you’re working – you’re working!? While it’s okay to relax into some of the perks of working from home, like sleeping in or more quality time, you must ensure you stick to a regular business day routine and set boundaries with your household to stay laser-focused on the task at hand.
Also read:
- How To Manage Remote Workers Effectively With AltCoin Fantasy
- How to Run Effective Remote & Virtual Sales Presentations
- How to Identify Drive In Sales Candidates With Dr Chris Croner
Communication
In the office, you could quickly have face-to-face meetings, read your team’s body language, and see what they’re doing, but not anymore. Now, you need to make an effort. It’s fair to say that communication is the biggest challenge for most working from home, but in fact, it’s almost impossible to over-communicate! If you’re a leader, check in with your team constantly, every couple of hours. Check in with them to see how they’re doing and what they’re working on. When staff work from home, you can’t wait until the end of the day to find out they were doing the wrong thing.
A good practice is to ask your team what they’ll be working on at the beginning of the day and what they accomplished at the end. It’s as simple as that and keeps everyone informed and accountable for the expected work each day. You can even ask the staff to repeat back what they understand their task to check and always encourage your team to send partially completed work to you to check they’re on the right track.
It will be tempting to quickly send off messages because it can seem like a hassle to do phone or video calls, but you need to do them. Otherwise, you’ll find that miscommunication happens, leading to more and more mistakes. So do video calls whenever you can, and better yet, schedule daily calls to make it easier for people to ask questions they might not otherwise ask.
Vital Tools For Remote-Working
Video Communication Tools
Video chat is the closest you can get to an in-person experience; understanding your team through their gestures, tone, and facial expressions is vital to practical, concise, and clear conversations.
Online Office Suites
It’s no secret that office suites are no longer software but apps online with multiple connection capabilities. For example, Microsoft Office Online and Google equivalent, G Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.), allows you to share a file with others effortlessly. Better yet? They can add comments or make edits in real time.
Password Managers
Frankly, hackers are becoming more advanced than ever before. Why risk your sensitive information anyway? We all have way too many passwords to remember, and changing your password is usually, at best, an inconvenience. So choosing a password manager to negate these issues is excellent, but some even have a function enabling you to securely share passwords with others.
More About SOCO Sales Training
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A high-performing team is highly motivated. They take on challenges with an eagerness to exceed expectations, and they don’t blindly follow orders; they look to improve upon them.
Leading a team to new heights takes understanding your team’s unique strengths, how to navigate uncharted territory and how to inspire them to reach their maximum potential. It takes a talented leader to do that.
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