5 Ways to Work Efficiently During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We must avoid physical contact and practise flexible working arrangements…

That's probably one of the last statements any skills provider wants to hear. The growth factor has been trending downward for the past three days (Towards Data Science, 2020) - let’s keep this decline going!

COVID-19 is not the only reason our Wisenet team can’t get to the office, there may be other factors including:

• No electricity for hours, Johannesburg (because of unexpected load shedding)

• Summertime Sadness, Melbourne (the office’s air conditioner was out for 3 weeks)

• Heavy, biting snow, Queenstown

• Hazardous air pollution, Singapore (due to fires in Indonesia)

• Smoke precautions, Sydney (forest fire crisis)

 Regardless of the reason, it’s business as usual for Wisenet across the world thanks to these five methods to successfully practice flexible working. Check it out!

1) Adopt a Cloud-First Strategy

Almost certainly, any aging desktop app you are using can be replaced with a modern, mobile friendly, easy to use cloud-based applications - probably at a lower price point, too! Aim to retire local storage and desktop apps in favour of modern cloud apps from reputable vendors.

Working remotely requires a reliable, low latency connection. Mobile 4G offers very good bandwidth and low latency - often better than wired broadband. A slow (<4MBs) and high latency (>150ms) connection will result in awkward delays when using the phone. It also makes video conferencing full of white noise distractions.

Thinking of starting a Remote Worker policy? For starters, have your remote team member conduct a speed test from their location and send you the report.

2) Collaborate with Office Productivity Apps

If you are still stuck using Microsoft Office locally, consider the significant collaboration benefits offered by cloud-based apps like Google Docs (or Microsoft Office 365). Your team can work on the same document at the same time. Sure, you might trade off some fancy features (which you probably never use), but that's in return for convenience and productive team work.

The best part? Thanks to cloud computing, your documents are saved on every single keystroke. Say good-bye to losing important changes you've made!

3) Keep everyone in the loop with Voice & Video

Out of sight shouldn't mean out of mind -- it can be easy to forget about a remote worker. This can lead to feelings of isolation and fear by remote workers that they will be excluded from projects and opportunities if they are not in the office.

Communicate effectively and efficiently, and take it online. Nothing beats telephone or video calls when it comes to this!

At Wisenet we use a fully cloud-based Cisco VoIP phone system, which we can access via an app on our iPhone or Laptop. It feels like we're on different floors in the same building even though we are in different countries! If you're not using a VoIP phone system, you're probably paying too much and are definitely stuck in the last century when it comes to convenience.

For video conferencing, we use Zoom which is a solid business tool, and in our experience is far superior to Skype, which is more of a consumer product.

4) Set Boundaries

With great flexibility comes great responsibility.

Most companies today lack the infrastructure, policies, and practices for flexibility in business operations.

Around the world, 44% of companies don’t support remote work at all (SmallBizGenius, 2020). Wisenet is certainly the exception here as we are part of the increased growth of 8% in this practise from 2015 (Financial Business Review, 2015). This includes an established strategy to manage it!

The impetus for the establishment of a well-developed company policy is greater than ever - flexi-work can work if all the right elements are in place. It's important that everybody understands the expectations of working remotely or with a flexi-work scheme.

At Wisenet we've found most people to be very respectful of the opportunity to work remotely. Our team understands that flexible work arrangements don't mean: "I'm preparing Christmas dinner", or "I'm repainting the house." The expectation is that the productivity level increases due to the absence of commute time or obstacles that might impact efficiency or concentration.

We've made a copy of our own Work From Home policy, free for download! Look below!

5) Practice Working Remotely

Remote working requires trust and takes some getting used to. By incorporating remote workers into day-to-day management, the culture will become shared and feel more natural.

We've tried and tested it, with ourselves as subjects.

Flexible arrangements help Wisenet attract and retain quality team-members from across the world. We are not limited by geography or the traditional 9-5pm work day.

Our Wisenet team has developed strong policy and quality management practices. Coupled with a common understanding across the team, our workplace dynamics are nicely flavoured with workplace flexibility.

With such practices put in place you too can rest assured that the Coronavirus outbreak will not affect your business operations!

Does your registered training organisation have flexible work schemes? Why/why not? Share your story in the comments!