7 lessons we learnt from working remotely

Posted on: August 27th, 2020 onPlatinum

It has been a difficult time for businesses around the world, with most shifting to remote working. After returning to the office, we’ve had time to reflect on working remotely and the changes seen since. Here are seven lessons we learnt when working remotely.

1. You need to plan out your day – there are more distractions when working remotely or from home. Planning out your day will help you stay on top of your tasks. You can do more focused jobs during quiet times with fewer distractions.
2. Balance your contact points – when working remotely, we often found ourselves pulled into more ad-hoc calls or videos chats. It can feel like you have no time to do your work, so you need to keep communication intentional and balance your points of contact throughout the day.
3. Unplug at the end of the day and set boundaries – it is very tempting to continually check your messages and emails at all hours of the day. It is essential to switch off and maintain your work-life balance like you would when working in the office.
4. Equipment and workspace shift your mindset – a dedicated workspace can dramatically improve your productivity and comfort levels throughout the day when working remotely. It will also help shift your mindset into the working routine to help you transition from ‘home time’ to ‘work time’. Here are some ergonomics tips for your home office or workstation.
5. Changes to workplace communication and collaboration – since returning to the office, there has been a shift in workplace communication. More people are utilising Microsoft Teams chats and video calls to stay connected, as opposed to more traditional emails and phone calls before remote working.
6. Increased interest in multi-factor authentication (MFA) – with an increase in phishing attacks and employees using personal devices when working from home, there has been an increase in businesses looking for MFA solutions to keep their business safe. Find out more about MFA here.
7. Keep building team culture – building team culture often depends on frequent, face-to-face get togethers. We found that a lot of these can be held virtually to keep building this culture, even when apart. For example, the onPlatinum team sung happy birthday to our teammate over a video call to keep the team connected.

The quick shift to working remotely has taught us many lessons and will have a lasting impact on the way we do business. Technology has enabled this transformation, and we found that there are already changes in the way we communicate and collaborate in the workplace. Find out more about building deeper engagement with your team here.