There are very few circumstances that can force a business to shift its entire workforce into a remote capacity practically overnight — and a worldwide pandemic is one of them. The unprecedented current crisis required most of us to quickly adapt to a new normal and prompted a reevaluation of the systems and processes that keep us united and efficient.
Are you making the best of this time as an opportunity to evolve and elevate your workforce? Here are three key tools to evaluate that may help your firm emerge from this situation stronger than ever.
An Internal Messaging Platform
Are long email chains helping or hurting collaboration in your company? We ditched our old internal messaging system for Slack just a few months ago and have already seen a reduction in internal email volume and an increase in connectivity. Choose a platform that allows your team to ping the entire firm, reply through threads, direct message colleagues, quickly respond to messages and more, all without clogging inboxes. A conversation and file-sharing workspace should be team-centric or project-centric, and used to streamline productivity by keeping the dialogue and work in one searchable location.
Team messaging spaces can also be just for fun. For instance, we created a channel for people to share pictures of their pets at home. A co-worker’s French bulldog gazing out the window can not only warm hearts, but also help subtle aspects of company culture translate and thrive in a remote setting.
A Modern Project Management Platform
In highly collaborative firms, having real-time transparency into what others are working on is crucial to staying aligned and on track, especially when working remotely. Documenting and sharing work, projects and statuses allows teams to be in the same boat, paddling in the same direction. And if you’ve ever watched a rowing competition, you’ll know how important those factors are (if you’re trying to win, anyway!).
How can you accomplish this? By leveraging centralized data systems designed to do just that. One of our favorite programs is Airtable, a powerful spreadsheet-database hybrid that makes collaboration and project management a breeze. Airtable is highly flexible and powerful, but it also takes time to learn; alternatives like Trello and Monday may work better if your team doesn’t need all the bells and whistles.
Video
What email communication provides in efficiency it often lacks in humanity. Envision receiving an important firmwide update in your email inbox. Now, picture the same message communicated through a short video from your CEO. Which feels more engaging and personable?
Consider integrating new practices, such as a firmwide video updates channel, new employee welcome videos and a cameras-on virtual meeting standard. Through internal video channels (we use Vimeo), leadership and others can upload and share announcements with the company in a flexible and often evergreen environment. To instantly connect teams to their brand-new co-workers, ask incoming employees to record one-minute videos of themselves answering questions like, “What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?” Finally, encourage all employees to opt for a videoconference over a phone call. Don’t underestimate the power videos can have to connect and inspire, which can have a real positive impact on productivity.
As with any new system, firmwide adoption is critical to success. But updating long-standing processes can cause friction. How can you do this efficiently and effectively? Have a clear rollout plan that highlights each new technology’s benefits and relevance, and get your leadership team on board and ready to advocate.
At the end of the day, embracing practices and technologies that make your organization nimbler in a remote environment can only serve to elevate your workforce in the future. Your company can emerge from this crisis more productive and prepared than ever before.
