The Corona virus has changed the way companies work and many of them have been forced to send their employees home and let them work remotely. But how do the companies stay productive? Barbara Larson, Professor of Management at Northeastern University in Boston, who studies remote working says “Have really clear-set expectations for communications day to day,”

In 2020, workplaces are embracing remote work options more than ever before. But how do the companies stay productive?

BBC wrote and interesting article about working from home with tips and tricks. But also the software development company HubSpot based in the US, with more than 300 full-time remote employees, has some interesting views.

The skepticism about working from home is understandable and companies may wonder what their employees are doing while not being in the office. But it is important to acknowledge that working remotely is not a trend, it is here to stay and especially within development of new technologies.
Balancing both remote workers and in-office workers is a reality for many companies. The Corona crises has accelerated the use of remote work and has in fact speeded up a development that was already on the move. One of the things that changed completely was the use of Microsoft teams. Within the first weeks of the Corona crises the use increased with 755% which underpins the fact that virtual work is extensively used.

BBC has shared some tips which can be used during the Corona crisis.

Crank up the communication

1. Clear communication with your employees. They need to know exactly what’s expected of them.
2. Suggest a 10-minute call to kick off the day and wrap up the day, and if possible a virtual face-to-face meeting.

Treat it like a real job

1. Because you are working from home it does not mean that you have to stay in you pajamas. Take a shower and get dressed every morning.
2. Create a working space at your house with a good table and chair far away from any distractions. This also serves as an important signal to those who live together with you that you’re ‘at work’.
3. Working from home also enables you to work more concentrated without too many interruptions from colleagues.
4. Keep the mindset that you are at work so laundries etc. have to wait until you working day is over.

We, at CrossWorkers do all our business with our clients remotely. Our developers are located in Cairo and clients are located in Europe and GCC. The working situation in our office has also changed during the Corona crises since all employees are working from home. This is of cause a challenge for each team, team managers and our service delivery management team. But fortunately all our employees are used to working remotely. The current change requires more online meetings within each team and a daily follow up with the service delivery management team than normally.

The Danish Management team is stuck in Denmark and not able to fly – normally one of the Danish managers is in Cairo. In this situation, the many years of experience working remotely has been very beneficial. Both the Corona related contingency management and the day-to-day management have been working smoothly in close corporation with the Egyptian management team.

BBC: Corona virus – how to work from home the right way

HubSpot – 40 remote stats to know in 2020

Buffer: State of remote work

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