WHAT TO DO TO PREVENT REMOTE WORK FROM TURNING INTO A PRODUCTIVITY CRISIS?

The new reality of teamwork

In the past 2 weeks, the realities of our daily lives have been changing day by day before our eyes. The work style that was once enforced by the realities of projects or the job market for a narrow group of specialists has today become a more or less desired reality for many teams. Home office, or working from home, has already become (or will soon become) the daily reality of our teamwork. Permanent remote work for the entire team is a completely different story than home office, where sometimes someone is simply not in the office. This time, we are moving the work of the entire team to the virtual-telephone space. So, it’s about creating new frameworks, ‘rituals’ of teamwork in new conditions. Such frameworks create order and help to adapt more quickly to new situations.

What should a manager pay attention to in order to minimize the negative impacts of such a situation on the productivity of each team member and the entire team? Read on to find out what is crucial for maintaining team efficiency during this challenging time.

A few words about strategy: start with the end in mind.

The situation fills us with uncertainty and doubts, which strongly stimulate our emotions, accelerate our heartbeat, and…. lead us to make less thought-out decisions. Before we jump into the first idea to help with ‘efficiency’ (control), it’s worth reading and thinking for 5 minutes about what we should actually be focusing on when thinking about work efficiency.

• First word: if you want to take care of the team’s efficiency, you need to focus on two key areas: the atmosphere in the team and its productivity. When looking for ideas or making decisions about what your team’s daily work will look like from today, consider whether you are focusing on the most important issues (how will I take care of the atmosphere? How will I take care of productivity?). The mentioned areas are indicated (and described in more detail) by Patrick Lencioni’s model, which you can read more about HERE #

• Second word: the management process consists of 4 basic functions: planning and decision-making, organizing, leading, and controlling (R. Griffin, 2001, pp. 9-11; J.A.F. Stoner et al., 2001, pp. 20). This means that you can and should seek solutions in difficult situations on two levels: systems and people. The systems level, that is, how we can regulate the way we carry out actions through the system, the method of collaboration, the agreement in the team. The level of people, meaning the issues of understanding, taking care of, and addressing the emotions and needs of the people in the team.

If we want to efficiently handle a difficult situation, we should seek both systemic solutions (agreements, social contracts, tools, and work methods) and those that meet the emotional needs of team members.

Part 1: The first week of remote work – damage control or the first steps? #

When our reality changes overnight, the role of the manager is to act efficiently in seeking solutions that will help the team navigate the difficult situation. In the initial steps, it is worth considering three issues: the method of communication and information flow; the method of organizing work in the new realities; the way to deal with emerging emotions. Here you will learn more about how to react to a sudden change in the way of collaboration. Read on…

Part 2: how to take care of emotional comfort in a difficult situation? #

Without emotions, there is no motivation. And what to do when our emotions are in a completely different place than the tasks and projects we need to complete as a team? Many people may be concerned about the current situation, experiencing a lot of stress and not showing it or even being fully aware of it. People whose life and work order has been disrupted may be distracted, demotivated, and less effective. So take care of yourself: quickly establish a new order at home and communication rules with your boss or team (if you are the boss) as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to tell your boss what you expect from him in this situation: work tools, specific ways of communication, organization, etc. Fortunately, humans have high adaptive abilities, and the situation should normalize within a few days. Read more…

Part 3: How to ensure effective task execution? #

Many managers perceive the current situation as a significant threat to employees’ daily productivity, team efficiency, and ultimately as a threat to achieving goals. There is a thought lingering in our minds that people are lazy and might not be very willing to work. And if they are not in the office, it won’t be visible! Regardless of the level of ‘laziness,’ we know ways and tools to help maintain a good level of productivity. Read more… #