March 23, 2020

Telework Tips + Brainstorm

Agenda

1. Telework Considerations (40 mins)

• Benefits

• Organizational

• Employees and Managers

• Routine + Home Office

• Technology (Long and short term)

• Flexwork

• Lessons learned from COVID-19

• Resources

2. Brainstorm (15-20 min)

Quick Poll

Telework Benefits for Employer and

Employees

Organizational Considerations

Telework Considerations for your Organization

• Technology

• Policies

• Eligibility

• Pilot and Troubleshoot

Teleworkers Considerations

Routine Tips

• Employees:

• Set a work schedule and calendars to indicate the times they plan to be working and the times they plan to be offline

• Keep a regular routine - get dressed every day as if you are going to an actual office in order to get you in the mindset for work

• Amplify communication – written and phone

• Circumvent distractions – identify and come up with solutions

• Managers:

• Communicate clear expectations

• Manage by results vs sight

• View this as a time to develop trust and communication with your team

Home Office Considerations - Ergonomics

• Monitors

• Raise monitor to eye level

• Use books to raise your monitor if needed. When using a laptop consider using an external keyboard so the monitor can be raised

• Chairs

• Choose a chair that has a back to provide support

• Sit all the way back in the chair, if you are short put a pillow behind you to take up some of the space

• Raise/choose a chair that allows your elbows to be slightly higher than your keyboard to keep your forearms from being ”pinched” on the edge of the table, potentially restricting blood flow

• Alternate between sitting at a table and standing at an island/elevated station. Hack: try a ironing board!

Get up and move! Try to move around every hourto increase blood flow and keep your body limberand loose.

Technology

Considerations

Technology Tips

• Include a conference line or video conferencing link in each meeting that you schedule

• Consider video conferencing or web conferencing services (examples include: Zoom, GoToMeeting, Webex, Google Hangouts, Skype)

• Consider options such as Slack, Skype, or Zoom to allow employees to easily collaborate and check in with each other about work throughout the day

• Set up call forwarding from your office line to cell phones

• Ensure you can access voicemails from your office phone online or remotely

Flexwork

Flexwork Considerations

• Flexible Scheduling: Employees shift commute trips out of peak commuting hours (aka rush hour) to avoid congestion on transit and roads.

• Compressed Workweek (CWW): Allows employees to work a traditional 35-40-hour week in less than the traditional number of workdays.

• Satellite Office: Establishes a work location that is physically separate from an employer’s main office, shortening or simplifying commute trips for a nearby concentration of employees.

Lessons Learned from COVID-19 forced Telework

Resources

Resources

• Harvard Business Review How to Actually Work...When You’re Working from Home Short Video (3 minutes)

• LinkedIn Learning has 16 courses available for free including tips on how to: stay productive, build relationships when you’re not face-to-face, use virtual meeting tools (Microsoft Teams, Skype, BlueJeans, Cisco Webex and Zoom), and balance family and work dynamics in a healthy way.

• 60 Online Collaboration Tools to Help Your Team Be More Productive

• TransitScreen DIALING IN: HOW TO CREATE A PRODUCTIVE, HAPPY REMOTE WORKFORCE blog post

• Virtual Team Building:

• 13 Creative Virtual Team Building Activities For Remote Teams

• 18 Easy Virtual Team Building Activities for Remote Teams

• Scott Kelly, I Spent a Year in Space, and I Have Tips on Isolation to Share

• The Science Behind Why We Should Never Work From Bed

• Office ergonomics: Your how-to guide

Brainstorm

Thanks and stay healthy!