Plan out regular meetings ahead of time on the calendar so everyone knows when they need to be available. And choose and use your communication tools wisely—remember that sometimes simple is better, and not all shiny features are necessary for leading a productive, focused meeting. Try different tools and channels to see what works for your specific team based on workflows, goals, preferences, and personalities. Onboarding plays a fundamental role in engaging your remote employees and setting them up for long-term success with your company. Focus on remote working tools that streamline communication, enable collaboration, and reduce friction for workers—whether that’s tracking work assignments or following up with coworkers.
Something as simple as shutting down your computer and turning on a favorite podcast will do. Whatever you choose, do it consistently to mark the end of working hours. If you share a space with another adult who’s home at the same time, you may have to negotiate quiet times, meeting times, and any shared equipment, like desks and chairs. Simply knowing that another person has a meeting at a certain time helps you prepare to work around it.
How to work from home in 2023: 30 tips for success
Communication plays a vital role in work, and when team members are apart, it’s vital to put communication front and center. Again, boundaries are key here and one way to maintain them is to set a time every day when you officially log off. On the flip side, however, working remotely grants you the flexibility to work when you are most productive. Just remember to monitor your hours and let your colleagues know when they can contact you and when you’re calling it a day. Whether you have a job designed for remote workers, or unprecedented circumstances arise that require you to start working from home, there are certain challenges that come with the territory.
That’s one of the first changes Caleb Sanders, a senior director at Talent Inc., noticed when he started working remotely more than four years ago. For many professionals who sit in an office under fluorescent how to work from home successfully lights all day, working from home sounds like a dream. You don’t have to pack lunch, and you can make your coffee as strong as you’d like. You can chill with your pet all day and pick the kids up from school.
Pick a definitive finishing time.
Employees who feel included and fairly treated are more likely to stick around and will have an easier time connecting with their coworkers. Luckily, remote work expands an organization’s opportunities to embrace diversity and inclusion because the talent pool is no longer limited to a specific location. Developing your remote employees requires strategic planning, honest communication, and consistency. When your teams are distributed, it’s easy for the right hand to be ignorant of what the left hand is doing. Misalignment can lead to missed deadlines, unclear accountabilities, miscommunication, and lower quality customer service across the organization.
It also doesn’t hurt to ask whether there’s a loan agreement or who will pay for return shipping or disposal of outdated equipment. Some remote organizations allow employees to bring in a consultant to make sure their workspaces are set up to be ergonomic. I’ve worked 100% remotely since 2015, with a few years of partial remote work before that.