"I’ve got an appointment tomorrow morning, then I’ll be working from home." Most people have already experienced a situation like this. It’s great when a company gives you this option, and even better if the necessary working materials can be accessed straight away! Admittedly, Haiilo is not sufficient as a tool on its own, but it offers you a comprehensive basis.
If you normally work closely in a team, two important aspects need to be considered when working from home: Self-organization and the availability of the entire team.
Self-organization when working from home
Working from home has a completely different dynamic to working in an office. You’re not interrupted by colleagues, there’s less background noise, and you can work in peace on tasks that require a great deal of concentration.
Self-organization when working from home is significantly dependent on the person’s own discipline and the circumstances in the company. That’s why we’ve put together a few tips for you that should help you work from home effectively.
- "Get ready for work like a grownup": Establish a daily routine and dress up for work properly. It will make you feel more professional and ready to tackle your work.
- Avoid too much distraction: Make sure notifications don´t keep distracting you. Turn them off if needed to reach your "deep work status".
- Talk to people instead of just writing in chats: Video or phone calls are more efficient and avoid misunderstandings.
- Stay reachable: Stay reachable for your colleagues. Add phone numbers to your profile and use the status in Haiilo.
- Take breaks: Make sure to take regular breaks. Stand up and move at least once an Hour. Consider catching fresh air and also do a proper lunch break.
- Remote Work is productive time: Your employer and team trust that you are as focused and committed as if you were in the office.
A Community for the team
Haiilo gives you a great platform on which you can work together as a team, even when you’re physically separated. Be sure to activate two elements: The communities and the chat. To can find out how to set up a good team Community here.
To enhance digital collaboration, we consider a video conferencing tool to be especially important. Having social interaction is incredibly important for people and gains a different significance when you’re not in the same office.
Chat vs. Community
The chat is a simple and effective means of communication. But be careful: Things quickly become very confusing here, especially if you’re working in a large team. Here a document to be proofread and signed off, there a short exchange, and where was the link to the document again?
Set clear rules on what belongs in the chat and what’s shared on the timeline in your Community. Short messages, such as e.g. "afk" (="away from keyboard"), or questions about appointments definitely belong in the chat. Documents, workflows that need to be discussed, finding opinion leaders – all of that should be in your Community.
Tip:
Don’t post everything on the timeline. Using the corresponding apps, you can create additional clarity here. The blog app is an excellent choice, for instance, for meeting minutes.
The Haiilo status indicator
You have two challenges when working from home: Concentrated working, and being available to your team and colleagues. Communication is everything here! We have a small but effective function in Haiilo: The colored status in the profile picture. Use it actively!
Are you going to be away for more than two minutes? Then just set the status to "Away".
Those who want to can also add status reports. In return, colleagues should naturally be considerate if their counterpart’s status is set to "Busy". Their response may be delayed. The same also applies after work: set the status to "Offline" so that your colleagues know that you can no longer be reached on Haiilo.
Working environment
Alongside the conditions for digital collaboration, it’s also important to set up a working environment at home that’s conducive to working.
Not every one has a separate office at home. Nevertheless, try to set up a small working area that best suits your workflows: Which and how many devices do you need? Is a laptop enough for you? Do you also need mobile access Haiilo or the mobile app? You need corresponding space for a telephone, an additional keyboard, monitor, mouse, and other materials. Once you’ve got yourself set up, there’s nothing to stop effective collaboration!