Page 26 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

Working from home - keep calm but don’t just carry on

As I write the schools are set to close from this
afternoon due to government measures to address the
ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the UK. Thousands of
companies up and down the country are forced to make
difficult choices about home working, staff levels,
finances. Paradoxically some areas of the IT industry are
now busier than ever as especially our work and
shopping behaviours migrate online at an increasing
rate.

In the IT industry, we have the advantage that even
before the outbreak homeworking became normal for
some. However, most companies will still need to adapt
to have an entire workforce work remotely for
extended periods of time. For the inexperienced, the immediate reaction might be to schedule an
08:30 Monday morning ‘catch up’. It might work, it might not. At a time when the success of your
business is literally on the line and everyone working from kitchen tables and spare rooms, can we
really afford to just keep calm and carry on?

Now more than ever it is imperative that we as project managers, as line managers and as leaders
motivate our teams. Let me, therefore, share some ideas on how we at Stoneseed have successfully
managed an entirely remote workforce that has over 100 employees spread across the country with
a single head office in Nottingham.

Setting ground rules
It is obvious so let me get it out of the way: set some ground rules about home working and contact-
ability. Ensure everyone understands that there is an element of discipline required of each
individual and apply it consistently. Use the tools you have, whether that is Skype, Teams, Slack etc.
think about how communication can and should happen and what hours teams are expected to
keep. This has to come from the top-down, otherwise, each team will do something different and
communication will be frustrated.
1. Be clear about working times. The fact that the commute has now reduced, does not mean that
those 08:30am calls I mentioned are automatically accepted by your teams?

Use Skype statuses or your internal messaging or outlook calendars consistently. Answer the
following questions for your employees on how they can let others know:

IF I’m working and should not be interrupted? (e.g. for Skype “Do not disturb”)

IF I’m not busy, away from my desk but still available to work if called by phone? (“Away”)
IF I’m working and ok with interruptions (“Available”) or with a small interruption (“Busy”)

3. Consider the response times expected from employees. Ask yourself this: if they currently have
limited or even no work and are still able to leave to the house; are you ok with them to go for a run