The world is in a panic mode right now. The speed at which Coronavirus is spreading, it has made the World Health Organization (WHO) declare the virus outbreak as a pandemic. 

Many governments have declared shutdowns to control the virus spread. Clouds of uncertainty are looming over the Olympics 2020 to be held in Tokyo. Chaos and anxiety are evident everywhere. 

A week ago, I stressed the importance of Business Continuity Plans for organizations. The present scenario has forced companies to opt for emergency protocols to protect their workforce from this plague.

Remote working is an option that we inculcate in such situations. But there is a major problem. The concept of remote working, though old, is still new for many organizations as well as its employees. Rarely it happens, when companies must send their entire team remotely. The communication gap, lack of experience in remote operation, etc can lead to a severe loss of revenue and productivity.

Sarvika Technologies provides IT outsourcing and consultancy services. We work remotely for our global clientele. As the Business Operations Head of the team, this blog is my effort to help organizations and employees enjoy result-driven remote operations.

Times like these offer a much-needed learning curve for organizations and their people.

The prime need for team leads/managers is to keep the entire team on the same page. They should use tools like Slack, GoTo Meeting, Google Drive, JIRA, etc to ensure smooth functioning.

Over time, the companies can also consider outsourcing core and non-core functions to remove their dependencies on location-based resources. This will help tackle future disruptions in an orderly manner without a major impact on daily work.

A positive side to such scenarios is that companies can gain hands-on experience in handling/managing remote working. It will help them learn from mistakes and problems faced when teams are remote, and what steps should be taken to avoid the same in future.

How to be productive during the remote work tenure?

Office is a place of work, school is for education, and home is where we spend our leisure time. That’s the generic and widely accepted categorization followed by the masses, and this is where the productivity problems stem from. First-time remote workers unintentionally fall prey to the laid back attitude often associated with personal spaces. This results in work delay, missing deadlines, and revenue loss to the business.

Below I have mentioned some unique yet extremely effective tips that will help you achieve goals irrespective of the place you work from.

• Pretend that you are going to work.

Stick to your morning routine even if you are not going to the office. Get up early, bath, have breakfast, and be at the home desk at your regular office timing. It will keep you active and in sync with the day.

• Prepare a to-do list.

Prepare a to-do list at the end of each day. It should contain all the tasks that you need to accomplish in the next day. Start with one aim: to complete the listed tasks no matter how often you get distracted.

• Have a dedicated workspace or desk.

Though many people will argue that working from home means sitting on the couch with a laptop and taking charge. But couches and lounge chairs are associated with leisure time. A dedicated work desk will signal your mind to enter that work mode, as a result, you’ll be able to deliver more effectively.

• Create a signboard, if you have people around at home.

It may sound amateurish. But you should put up a signboard outside the study room that highlights your work timings. It will stop family members from disturbing you.

• Do not entertain random calls.

It becomes difficult to keep a track of time spent on the phone when we are not in the office. When you receive such calls, pick up and gently convey that you are busy right now and will call them later.

• Define your work hours.

It is easy for people to work long hours while at home. It may sound and feel good at the start, but it can eventually degrade the quality of your work. Keep yourself sane and healthy by defining the hours during which your office work will be the top priority. Post that, shut down your system and spend quality time with your family.

• Communicate actively.

Keep updating your team or reporting manager about your work status, even if you are not habitual of that while working at the office. It will make you feel accountable and motivated to finish the tasks at hand. And if not that, just check-in with your peers about how their day is going, greet them with morning and evening wishes, etc.

In the end, I will just say that you should have one aim: to complete the tasks at hand. And everything will be just fine.

I’ll also advise people to stay calm and not create panic by supporting and/or spreading rumors. The key to fighting the current situation is by keeping yourself and others informed with reliable information and listening to the government agencies.