Improve Efficiency When Working Remotely

Set Personal and Team Goals

Whether in the office or working remotely, everyone has a role, and each role has an objective. However, working remotely calls for greater personal responsibility.

To achieve expected results when working remotely, you need a clear overview of your goals, which should be set through discussion with your manager. Your goals also need to be SMART.

Imagine you’re asking a colleague to carry out some research on what brand of cell phone your company should invest in for its employees. We’ll use SMART to clarify the requirements and goal of the task:

• Specific: here, you’re comparing different phones for the whole company. 

• Measurable: e.g., compare products from four different brands of phones costing between $400 and $500.

• Attainable: check that the request is feasible. If I’m asking you to compare all of the products from all of the different phone brands, you probably won’t be able to manage that. Challenge the request if need be, or suggest a reasonable alternative. 

• Relevant: am I being realistic in my request? What are the outcomes of my request or my goal? Is my goal respectful in terms of the time frame, or the environmental or human impact (e.g., “I’ve requested this study for tomorrow, so it’s highly likely my colleague will have to work late to get it done—is that respectful to them?”)? 

• Time-bound: or time-limited. Allot a certain number of hours for a task, or set a fixed deadline.

Here’s what our instruction would look like after going through the SMART filter:

“Camilla, we need to replace all of the company’s phones, so by the morning of xx/xx/xxxx, could you run a comparison of four mobile phone models, priced between $400 and $500, to find the best compromise between battery life (at least eight hours), usability (compatible with our IT system), and environmental impact (i.e., as low as possible)?”

You can go into further detail for each requirement. This way, your goal is part of a larger goal, and will definitely lead to different smaller goals.

Think of a task that you plan to do remotely, and break it down using SMART. If one of the principles doesn’t work, find a way to resolve the issue.

Keep Team Morale High

Your manager has just sent you an email informing you about an emergency virtual call that they’ve just set up. One of the company’s biggest clients had just filed a complaint. The meeting has been scheduled for exactly the time that you’d planned to pick your child up from school.

What should you prioritize? It’s not always easy!

For the example given above, politely decline, citing a personal commitment. But be sure to suggest solutions!

• Could you reschedule the meeting, suggesting times that would work for you?

• Could the meeting be recorded so that you can find out what was said when you have time?

• Could you dial in just with an audio connection (but still when you can give your full attention)?

• Suggest sharing an online calendar, so your colleagues know who is free and when. We’ll talk more about all of these solutions in the next chapter.

When there’s physical distance, we can sometimes forget that getting tasks done is a team effort. Our colleagues need us, and we need them!

So let me draw your attention to two key practices to keep team morale high:

1. Take Active Steps to Involve Others 

Take part in meetings that bring the whole team together, and have regular updates with all team members on how work is progressing, or to clearly explain what you’ve done and what you’re planning to do. Try to keep up everyday communication as well—a little “hello 👋” at the start of the day is always nice!

2. Keep the Team in Mind When Planning Your Work

Consider keeping company operations running smoothly within the scope of your job, how you can encourage good teamwork, and anything that will help boost the quality of work produced by the group. Say one of your colleagues loves working in the evening and always chooses this time to contact your team. This is not a constructive attitude, as it means you have to choose between sacrificing your evenings to make progress on a project and ignoring a colleague. It’s important to come to an understanding in advance so that you can find a solution that suits everyone, without infringing on anyone’s life outside of work.

Let’s Recap!

• Organize your work around SMART goals, whether these are individual or collective. These should be set through discussions with your manager.

• Remote working offers more flexibility in terms of how you organize your professional and private life. Don’t simply raise problems—offer SMART solutions.

• Actively suggest ways to create better working conditions for you and your team. 

• Work is a team effort. To keep morale high, take steps to ensure you’re still part of the team and consider the good of the group when you plan your work.

After the quiz, we will look at ways of improving collaboration in a remote environment.