If you are a team that is used to working in the same physical space, working from home can seem like you are stranded alone on an island.  While there are inevitable challenges in the transition process from office to home office, especially when you were forced into it due to COVID, there are many ways to stay connected and grow stronger as a team during this time.

We live in a world where we have a plethora of online tools, platforms and apps at our fingertips to keep us connected. The trick is applying simple strategies to maximize productivity and connectedness.

Here are 5 tips from Elastic to help your remote team work better together.  We live by it!

 

  1. Daily Video Calls with your team: Video is a great way to keep connected with your team. We start off the day with an on camera meeting [over coffee of course] where we catch up on yesterday’s work and then jump into the day’s plan to tackle what needs to get done. Team members summarize their tasks for the day and ask for help in areas we are struggling. The key to these meetings are keeping them short and productive so you can get started on completing your tasks!
  2. Structure your day like you are in the office: Accountability and time management are two key elements when working together as a team.  When planning out your day in your morning meeting make sure that you set deadlines for yourself and check in with your team if you are falling behind.  If you usually have a Wednesday staff meeting at 2pm when you are in the office, still schedule it on your calendars and meet online.
  3. Empathize with your Team Members: Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we have all been doing our best to adjust to this new normal. Empathize with your team members that may be juggling having kids at home and no childcare, or any other personal stressors they are managing. Trusting your team to get the job done, support them when needed and empowering them to balance their workday in a way that works for them will become critical for teams success moving forward.
  4. Use centralized Apps & Tools to collaborate:  Simon Sinek says “the reason we get too many emails is because we reply to them all”. At Elastic we are intentional with our emails and try avoid inundating inboxes.  We use Slack to communicate on quick items, when collaborating in real time, or sharing articles and resources for team members to review in their own time.  We set up multiple channels for various projects we are working on. For overall project management we like to use Trello which is like an online To Do Board. Our team sets up the board with columns such as “Backlog”, In Progress,” “Awaiting Feedback” and “Done”,  and create cards for tasks.  This not only holds us accountable for our work but it also  us to avoid two people working on the same task or a tasks falling to the side.When collaborating on ideas, strategy, or communications, we use OneNote.  It is simple software which allows you to share in real-time, organize your notes in tabs and create different notebooks.
  5. Pick a definite time to end for the day: I am sure you have heard the airplane saying to put your mask on before you help anyone else put on theirs. We feel the same way when working on a team. It is easy when working from home to let the time slip away and suddenly it becomes 9 pm and you have not eaten dinner and you are burnt out. When you are burnt out and exhausted you are no good for your team. Make sure you are clocking out at the end of your work day and spending time unconnected and recharging. If you are really stuck on a tight timeline for a project ask your team for help to get it done so that everyone can rest and recharge equally.

If you would like to see more tips and tricks shared follow us on social media while we ride out this pandemic together. Find us on Twitter and Facebook @ElasticEvents. We would love to connect with you on how to take your events virtual, connect with us!