Improve Online Collaboration While Remote Working

Remote working has become a standard part of the day-to-day for many people. While some people have adapted to it quickly, it has been a tough transition for others. Luckily, we are seeing a rise in hybrid offices and flexible working. For those looking to maximize their collaboration while working remotely, we have some tips to make your life easier!

Best Practices When Working From Home

Working from home, like anything else, has its own set of best practices. The rules of WFH etiquette will vary depending on your method of remote working.

Asynchronous communication has its own set of challenges. Many companies now use services like Slack to communicate, which does not require an immediate live response from everyone. It's important to remember that when you're communicating in this way, to keep things short and to the point. This way, nothing gets lost in translation, which is easily done in text-based communication.

This was something the rise of the Zoom call was designed to eliminate. Now, we are face to face! However, this again gave rise to its own set of problems. Much like in the office, things can end up being a meeting when it could have been something shorter. This has become the same sort of time sink we had in person. If you're going to make a meeting, make sure you schedule and plan it correctly. Something we will discuss further in future posts, but in short, make an agenda before the meeting, ask what everyone wants to discuss, and take notes!

However, this isn't the asynchronous dream many of us wanted when working from home. Surely some apps could help us do this better? Funny you should mention that.

Apps To Help You Work From Home

While every workplace is different, and there will always be different types of remote working apps for different needs, there are some universal truths. For example, are you working on documents, spreadsheets, etc? Using the Google Suite is perfect for asynchronous work. You can set a document so that only people from your company can access them. You can even select the access levels you want them to have. For example, you can set it so people can comment but not edit. The Google Suite even allows for live, real-time editing by multiple people, so you can use it for brainstorming or working on a document together as a team!

For asynchronous communication, VideoCom Capture will eliminate a lot of video calls! Quickly take a screenshot from your desktop and add annotations. This image is then stored in the cloud, and you get a link right away that you can share with colleagues. Need to explain something with a few more steps? You can just as easily record a video with your own voice-over. So, for example, a colleague wants to know how to access the reporting side of your internal site? Make a quick tutorial and send it over! This saves another call, but it also lets people access that information whenever they need to view it again. Many companies have found it helpful to send asynchronous reports to their management teams, saving yet another meeting for an already remote team!

Keeping everyone working on the same timeline is also important, so using systems like ClickUp or Trello lets you set projects, tasks, and more. What platform you use depends on your workplace. For example, for these blog posts, I like to use ClickUp as not only can I track all the articles, I can export an online calendar view for others internally. This means people can track what is coming out when within the company.

Structure Is Key When Working From Home

While working from home does make it seem like you could get your work done from your bed as and when in my experience, this tends to fall apart pretty quickly. I'd strongly suggest sticking to work hours if you can. Now, what these hours are is completely flexible on what works for you if your company has flexible hours. Keeping work time and non-work separate, however, helps your company and you. You don't want to be “always on.” This will only lead to burnout!

Making sure you have a dedicated workspace, even if it's the kitchen table, that you can leave can help with this. You can turn on your computer and get into a work headspace. Then at the end of the day, you can turn it off and relax.

Here at VideoCom, we're always looking into how we can make the work experience better and more efficient. If it's working asynchronously or giving live presentations from anywhere, we're here to help!