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How To Be Professionally Visible And Valued As A Remote Worker
Creating A Digital Office That Feels Connected
There are four steps to it:
- Communicate frequently.
- Cultivate a shared identity and purpose.
- Be dependable, reliable, and accessible.
- Connect with others authentically.
To key to building a culture of visibility with your remote team is perceived proximity, where your remote team members feel connected to others mentally and emotionally. In the physical work environment, you feel comfortable talking to people, regardless of rank. However, you may feel more awkward to ping the CEO a question in chat when you've never seen them in the lunch line or said hi in the hallway.
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Assembling the Team
... that's capable of executing in a remote setup:
- Hire doers: they will get stuff done even if they are working from a secluded island.
- Hire people you can trust. And trust the people you hire;
- Hire people who cand write: communication is one of the most important parts of a remote team - good writers are critical to a team's success.
- Hire people who are ok without a social workplace.
Software/Tools
In a remote team, you'll need the right tools to make sure everyone stays on the same page and can continue to execute without a physical person standing next to them.
You likely will need a tool in certain categories like group chat and video conferencing to make remote successful.
Processes
Good processes let you get work done in the absence of all else. They provide structure and direction for getting things done.
A few examples from Zapier:
- Weekly Hangouts;
- Weekly One-on-Ones;
- Bring the team together 2 times/year somewhere cool;
- Automate anything that can be automated.
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The shared context
For the whole idea of remote work to actually work, you have to develop a remote culture for your team.
And that means having a shared context: everyone plays by the same rules, you have to understand your team's practices and everybody has to have an overall feeling that you are working in an equitable environment.
Working from home misconceptions
Working from home does not mean you are a remote worker. For a lot of people “working from home” is synonymous with not really working, but instead sitting at home in comfy clothes and doing anything but working. Because no one is really watching you.
Rules for remote work
- Assume remote, even if you have only 1 person that is not coming to the office. So make sure to share all the information from meetings in a written format.
- Have a private, quiet, dedicated space for working in your home. Preferably with a door that closes.
- Have the right digital equipment.
- Over-communicate.
- Make sure you get to actual meet your colleagues face to face.
- Have a time overlap with your team.
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A Central Management Tool
Physical presence does play a large part in moving our projects forward. Managing a project remotely requires a diligent and transparent approach to keep track and maintain the various tasks, deadlines and processes.
It's important to deploy a project management tool, assigning each different task to all the team members. Have regular check-ins and status update meetings. Having a singular place for distributing information ensures that team members do not complain that they were not updated or didn’t know where the specific file was.
Keep teammates accountable
Creating accountability is a great way to manage the work remotely. Accountability is shifted to the teammates, who are now supposed to be responsible for their own work and decisions.
One way to build accountability in remote teams is to assign groups and let teammates hold each other responsible. Also make teammates share their work experience and any issues they face, publicly (within the team) so that it acts as a ready solution for others, reducing repeat work.
Document Everything
Even if the team is small, document, formalize and map each process, making it scalable and automatic.
Standard Operating Procedures, if used correctly in a remote setting, can act like a central nervous system.