The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a “new normal” for almost every aspect of our lives, especially in the workforce. Remote work and increased digital activity has been normalized everywhere; changing the way businesses and employees communicate, connect, and create.
The rapid spread of technology accelerated by the pandemic has pressured businesses in their need to adapt. This has led to a considerable amount of hype surrounding work from home, putting emphasis on flexi-time and digital literacy amongst the current workforce. Many digital platforms such as Zoom and Slack are playing an important role in the way we work now.
How many Zoom meetings do you think you have attended since March?
Our team has taken it to the next level. Not only are we all working from home in Malaysia, some of us are also working from home in different continents! We are an international team and digital mediums have allowed us to collaborate and generate ideas with people in various geographical regions, coming together to make things happen.
We have gathered a few tips that we have found helpful in making #WFH better for our team. Read through the notes and strategies that helped us create an online workshop experience for communities from across Southeast Asia.
- Use Zoom and Slack as consolidated communication platforms!
Communicating via Zoom can help break the social isolation faced when working from home and prevent miscommunication that can occur through other means such as email. If it is something you would have spoken about to a co-worker face-to-face while at the office, do not default to email, use Zoom or Slack!
Slack allows for group workspaces and 1-to-1 chats with co-workers where you can disseminate information, share resources, and categorize your projects and teams efficiently.
- Use G-Suite for collaborative work
Equipped with useful apps and features, G-Suite encourages the ease of collaborative work and co-creation between teammates. You and your teammates can edit and provide feedback and comments on each other's documents, all done on the browser. It is also highly compatible with tablets and mobile devices so you don't have to worry about missing out when you are on-the-go.
- Conduct weekly team meetings to organize your schedules
This is crucial especially when you are working with people internationally! When you have team members in different time-zones, scheduling earlier in the week will allow everyone to be more time-efficient and ease the allocation of tasks. Since everyone is scattered geographically, it is important to give each other as much information and resources as possible during your weekly catch-up to reduce uncertainty and best position the team for success.
- Trust your teammates
Everybody works at their own pace, especially when working from home. You and your teammates should empower each other and give each person space and opportunity for personal and professional growth.
Remember to always communicate without judgment. Building trust with one another will only lead to a stronger network and maximized impact!
- Diversity in the workforce
Remember: everyone works differently! A digital transition and dealing with the new way of working in the middle of a pandemic is not going to be easy for everyone. Each person has their own personality, feelings, and external situations affecting them. WFH can be more stressful for some, so communicate as much as possible to reduce uncertainty and help those who are struggling with the change.
Embracing technology has allowed us to continue being changemakers from anywhere in the world. So tell us, what do you think the future of work will be like a year from now?
