As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many large companies to encourage or mandate that employees work from home. 

For The Markey Group, working from home is very familiar. Over the last ten years, we have learned some important lessons about how to make the system work – and we are here to share them with you today. 

Communication

Ultimately, success is hinged on ensuring that remote employees still have a sense of collaboration and community. 

At The Markey Group, we use Slack for most of our communication. Slack is stocked full of integrations (google docs and fun memes to make you smile) and is an easy way for us to ask quick questions, talk about our days or just say hi without filling email inboxes. 

Project management

As a full service marketing agency, we always have what feels like hundreds of balls in the air. Did that last order ship? Did we create and design the newsletter for next week? Is that website’s SSL working correctly? 

Our project management tool, Asana, could essentially be another member of our team. We use this to track tasks, set reminders, and assign tasks to team members. This tool is SO EASY to use and has increased our productivity since we launched a few years ago. 

Video conferencing

We are partial to Zoom, but there are so many different video conferencing tools out there for you to look into. 

Encouraging team members to use video features on a regular basis will increase personal connections, which are important when you aren’t all in the office together. This helps employees feel less isolated and lonely, especially if this is a temporary solution during the pandemic. 

Google Docs or Dropbox

Admittedly, we use a mix of both Google Drive and Dropbox, but both tools are really great for teams. They allow you to share documents and review at the same time, present to large groups of people and finalize working documents together. 

Most importantly: trust, support and appreciation go a long way 

Without trust, a remote situation will never work. Set clear expectations for your team and your boss, and trust in everyone’s ability to get the job done. 

In addition, support the importance of a work/life balance. Especially in today’s unique time where some employees may have children and spouses home with them during the day. Be clear about the flexibility you offer and the non-negotiables when it comes to specific meetings, rules and regulations you have for your team. 

Whether your team works remote permanently or just through these unique times, it is important to take time out of your day to show your appreciation for their hard work and efforts. This helps to make employees feel appreciated, which is crucial with everything going on in today’s uncertain world. 

How can you do this?

  • Personal phone calls 
  • Reassurance and honesty 
  • Financial incentives
  • Gifts

Our team is working on pulling together a store of branded items you can send to your team to help them get acclimated to their new life at home. All of the gifts will include your logo and can also be used once back in the office. Expect to see more next week, however if you have any questions or need something sooner, please just give us a call.

Over the last ten years, being remote has yielded us better talent, an excellent culture and work/life balance and productivity. Do you have more questions about working from home? Drop us a note, we would be happy to chat!