4 Lessons Learned From Working Remotely During COVID-19

The world changed due to COVID-19—it was forced to. And now, work as we’ve known it, in quite a few industries, will never be the same. We’ve learned a lot since the pandemic first forced most people to stay home in March of 2020. But perhaps the biggest takeaway is that remote work is not only a viable option, it’s actually a successful one, so long as your business has the right tools in place.

Data shows that only 16% of American professionals want to go back to working in an office once things return to “normal,” with more than half preferring a hybrid remote/in-office arrangement. In other words, virtual work is sticking around and will ultimately require organizations to figure out how to accommodate a hybrid solution for the long run.

To help your business prepare, let’s discuss some of the biggest lessons learned from working remotely during COVID-19 and how you can use this information to drive a smarter way of working in the future.

Lesson 1: Better Communication Is Critical

Clear communication in a crisis situation is crucial. We learned that in 2020. And we learned that creating a dedicated channel (be it instant message, email or intranet) to inform everyone of important news is vital to keeping your wider organization in the know. This may include details regarding office closures, available resources, systems access and more.

There’s ultimately no such thing as overcommunicating. And to be sure your communications are reaching people effectively, consider doing the following:

Update employee contact information. Employees should add their personal email and phone number to a master spreadsheet that everyone (or at least management) can access.
Create a phone/email tree. You can break it out by team, location, etc. If company systems go down, you may need to rely on good old-fashioned word of mouth.

Test out your proposed communication plan. Do this in advance of a real issue so that any necessary troubleshooting is handled before it must be put into action.

Beyond the communications you send during disastrous situations, also think about how communication affects current staff now that they’re distributed. For example, communication is more likely to suffer without daily face-to-face interaction. When colleagues don’t physically see each other every day, they may feel siloed, isolated from the group and even confused about their individual priorities and goals.

Video conference calls can certainly address some of this, but does it completely make up for the impromptu chats over coffee in the communal kitchen or those that happen in conference rooms before and after meetings? Probably not.

The key takeaway here is that whether folks are working from home, working from the office or enjoying a mix of the two, communication is an essential foundation to keep the team tight now and in the face of the next disaster. Group meetings, one-on-one meetings and quick “stand up” sessions can all be essential to keeping your team informed, accountable and connected.

Lesson 2: Flexibility Benefits Everyone

The traditional workday, comprised of a commute, a cup of coffee and eight hours behind a desk, is behind us now. While it provided a nice routine for those who crave structure and social interaction, the pandemic has proven that with great change, many thrive outside of traditional parameters.

Not long ago, most employers preferred having workers on site so they could be seen and held accountable—a model that hadn’t changed in centuries. But even before the pandemic, this model proved restrictive and ineffective a fair amount of the time. The hours spent getting to and from the office, the many distractions throughout the day and the cost of renting large office space were all factors that pointed to a need for refinement and rethinking the norm.

Many remote workers report that working from home has led to increased autonomy, more motivation and higher productivity. With this prolonged break from the rat race, it now feels like an overdue change. Add to this the many roles that are unaffected by flexible working, which begs the following question: If workers can still produce the same output without having to clock in at a prescribed time at a prescribed place, why not support that?

Flexibility, with respect to hours worked or the location where that work takes place, will likely have a positive impact on countless workers, particularly those with dependents, long commutes, extracurricular activities at the start or end of the day, etc. The idea of returning to the old ways isn’t sitting right with people. This means that management must explore ways to implement flexibility that benefits both employee and employer moving forward if it wants to truly support the health and well-being of the company.

Some guidelines to consider:

Let employees schedule their time. That way they can take breaks to do essential things throughout the day (e.g., drop kids off at school, go to the doctor, run errands that can’t be done outside of typical workday hours because businesses are closed).
Support atypical hours. Some employees work better in the early morning or late at night. If the work gets done, it shouldn’t matter what time it is completed. If you want them to overlap with teams in different time zones, consider having them start and end earlier or vice versa. If their job requires them to overlap with both early and late time zones, consider allowing employees to work in two shorter shifts with a break in between (e.g., from 7–11 a.m. and then from 3–7 p.m.).
Respect that people have their own lives and will not be available at all times—nor should they. Texting your team after hours or emailing an important mandate at midnight will only discourage employees and make them feel overwhelmed. Try to avoid this if possible.
Encourage employees to enjoy a change of scenery. Many people are leaving primary residences and traveling for long periods of time during this unprecedented time. Again, why not if the work at hand is addressed without issue?
Encourage people to unplug when they have finished their tasks for the day. One way to ensure your team wraps up at a reasonable hour is by sharing your own availability and reinforcing that after 5:00 p.m. you may only be reached for urgent matters. This will relieve others of feeling they have to be “always on” to add value. Remember, burn out is real!

In summary, treat your population like adults who can be trusted to manage their own time (so long as you’re not noticing any productivity drops when you do allow this flexibility). They’ll be happier, and you won’t feel like you must micromanage constantly, which frees up a lot of your time as a manager or business leader.

Lesson 3: Help Minimize Distractions

Whether people realize it or not, working from the office proved disruptive at times. From the chatter that echoed throughout open workspaces, to the long lunches with colleagues, to the parade of birthday cakes and celebrations supporting key milestones, many structured their days around these interactions making work secondary to the social aspects of the environment.

In fact, COVID-19 may have served to remove distractions for many, leading to greater productivity across the organization, much to everyone’s surprise. But, in order for work from home to really work, some guidelines prove useful:

Separate work life from home life. It’s important for employees to create a dedicated space for work. Even without an actual home office, it’s important to carve out space that’s just used for work. Some companies have offered employees stipends to purchase items for home offices, such as desk chairs, external keyboards and mice. This is a nice way to help your employees feel more comfortable in their new, dedicated work environment.
Create to-do lists. Without the benefit of a manager or team checking in physically throughout the day, it’s easy for employees to get distracted by the little things that crop up at home. As an employer or manager of a team, encourage everyone to keep a running list of what tasks must get done—ideally in a web-based tool so it can be accessed easily and not lost.

Turn off notifications. Incoming instant messages, email, and voicemail pings are very disruptive. Remind folks to turn them off when they’re able. You may also want to encourage employees to block off time to work on tasks that require intense focus, practice “No Meeting Mondays”, and other similar ideas that help mitigate distractions.
Create thoughtful boundaries. Some companies have implemented a 24-hr response time rule for all incoming emails so they don’t feel pressure to respond immediately. For more pressing messages, putting something like “URGENT” in the subject line lets employees know what they need to prioritize. Setting guidelines for how tools should be used helps staff understand your expectations and enables them to work more thoughtfully, with fewer unnecessary disruptions.

Take short breaks. Remind your team to breathe, stretch and even stand up every hour. Too many of us are suffering from aching backs and necks from hunching over dining rooms tables instead of desks. Encouraging employees to take care of their health while working remotely helps ensure optimal productivity.

Lesson 4: Implement the Right Technology

According to the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau, five million employees worked from home in 2019. In 2020, this number skyrocketed due to the coronavirus outbreak, which necessitated establishing best practices for seamless and secure ways to get work done remotely.

While video conferencing, file sharing, project management and time tracking tools are helpful for productivity and communication, the need for access to secure applications and virtual desktops that enable employees to work effectively from anywhere surfaced as even more critical.

Having the right technology stack in place is key to ensuring that your distributed workforce is on the same page, so to speak. As more and more employees move permanently to remote work, businesses can prepare for this in a few ways:

Install tools for business management. These include anything that streamlines accounting, documentation, HR and other business needs.
Implement a diverse set of communication tools. These support everything from quick check-ins to meetings, conferences and webinars.
Explore project management tools. A new range of tools keeps track of tasks, time management, prioritization, delegation and collaboration.
Implement data and security tools. Keep communication secure through public internet channels, and protect and store critical data.
Roll out tools that enable you to hire more remote workers. That can be access to a freelance marketplace or an internal hiring and tracking tool designed to scale your remote team quickly.
Provide access to a virtual desktop environment. This tool will greatly increase the flexibility of your workforce no matter where they are located.

A virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) tool enables employees to transition from home to the office (and vice versa) easily, with access to all key applications and desktops. Many people toggle between various devices throughout the day—desktop and/or laptop during normal business hours, tablet for ad hoc work on the go, smartphone from the comfort of the bed at night, etc. As such, it’s imperative that any VDI tool you implement be device agnostic.

By ensuring that employees can bring their own device to the proverbial table, you afford them the ability to work however they’re most comfortable. And, with the right VDI security measures in place, employees get access to files and data needed to do their job while ensuring that company data never leaves the perimeter of the network/virtual infrastructure.

How Parallels RAS Helps Improve the Virtual Office Experience

Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) makes it easier for organizations to connect colleagues with each other and with key applications and desktops that can support a remote or hybrid work environment. With a solution like Parallels RAS, it’s simple for employees to transition from home to the office and back again.

When you allow your staff to use their own devices, they’re more inclined to work in ways that better support their own productivity, whether that’s on a tablet, laptop, smartphone or traditional desktop. Parallels RAS clients work on a vast range of devices and can toggle between devices seamlessly without having to log out or disrupt a productive work stream.

Whether or not we face yet another disaster in the coming months or years, progressive employers recognize that their workforce prefers the flexibility of working from wherever they are most comfortable. Installing a VDI solution like Parallels RAS can be an integral part of ensuring your company’s ongoing success and growth.

Watch a free demo about how Parallels RAS can help your business manage a distributed workforce effectively.