The coronavirus pandemic has quickly changed how we work as a nation, with the vast majority of employees now positioned away from the traditional office environment and working from home.
This is all possible through the use of technology that allows us to stay connected with colleagues through broadband, phone lines and perhaps most effectively, video and conference calls.
Technology for remote working
With these unusual times upon us, it is uncertain to know when we can resume normality in our day to day working life. Remote working is likely to continue for an extended period of time, and once this is over, may allow for more flexible working in the future.
Through the use of technology you can ensure that your clients and customers still get the same level of service they expect, especially as you can reroute calls so your work contact stays the same, and with reliable telecoms such as hosted telephony, you’re easy to reach any time of the day.
Advice on working from home
If your comms are already set up for remote working, we have collected some top tips for working from home which will be especially helpful if it’s a new way of working for you and your team.
Start as normal
Get ready for your working day as you would if you were going into the office by getting dressed into smart or smart casual clothes. As you may not be dealing with clients on video calls you can relax workwear to suit your new routine as the need to ‘dress to impress’ may not be applicable each and every day.
By starting early, getting dressed and getting a coffee, if that’s part of your normal routine, you can set yourself up for the rest of the day and get into a productive mindset to succeed.
Have a dedicated work space
A dedicated work space is good to have if possible when working from home. It means that you can have a proper set up with everything you need so you’re ready to be productive during your working hours. It also means that you’re able to leave that area at the end of the day knowing that your working day is over and now is the time to relax. It can also be a ‘no go area’ for other members of the family for certain times of the day, giving you the boundaries you may need.
If you have a business mobile, then try turning it off at the end of the working day and leave it in your dedicated workspace (if this is applicable for your job role). This allows you to separate work life from home life.
Stay connected
When working from home it is really important to make sure you still engage with the people that you work with. It is sometimes easy to get caught up in your work as there are less distractions around you so it’s a good idea to pick up the phone to a colleague from work to help engage in normal work life.
If your business uses hosted telephony solutions, getting in touch with your team can be extremely easy as everything is based in the cloud. This allows you and your colleagues to all keep the same phone number and easily call internal phone lines, as it would be from the office, as well as contacting customers.
If you can, try to:
- Have a dedicated time to talk to your line manager or team
- Maintain scheduled meetings as normal, simply host them digitally rather than face-to-face
- Use cloud based software to collaborate on work rather than working individually
The flexibility of hosted telephony solutions can certainly help make ‘the new normal’ feel less uncertain and stressful.
Keep active
Keeping active is very important, especially as current restrictions limit our time outside, including commutes. Whilst it is easy to simply transition time outdoors into looking at our computer or phone screens, make sure you get out for a form of exercise, such as going for a walk, run or a bike ride near to home.
Staying active has an incredible host of benefits; it keeps you fit and healthy, encourages endorphins and can break up your day.
Take breaks
Taking breaks is very important to do when working from home. It can sometimes be easy to forget to do because you are not in your normal routine.
To make sure you are taking any entitled breaks you usually have when in the office, make sure you tell your colleagues you are on your break and will not be responding for a while. Then make sure that you move away from your working area and log off, maybe using this time to go for your daily exercise.
Maintain a routine
It is important to keep a routine when working from home to allow yourself a balance between your work and private life. This can be achieved by maintaining your normal working hours – 9am-5pm, 8.30-6pm, whatever they may be – and signing off as you would usually. Routine can also include when you take your daily exercise, when you make yourself a coffee or tea, or when you have company wide or team meetings scheduled.
Keeping the same working hours may be complicated if you have children at home or need to share any technology with a partner or other family member. If this is the case, being flexible might be necessary, in which case try to maintain your workspace as discussed.
Contact our team about remote working
If your business is already utilising our cloud based phone systems and wants to know more about the features that can help your team work more effectively from home, then please get in touch with us on 01256 391 046.