The global pandemic, social distancing measures and the implementation of remote working in companies has given them a sense of isolation to the new working environment. This includes problems of mental health related to working from home. In front of this new way of working, so new and also hostile to many workers, being a good colleague is now something absolutely essential. Productivity, results and completed objectives are also important, but those are not possible without a human component. So, here you will have a series of tips and tricks to make yourself into the ideal digital colleague.
Constructive feedback as a good colleague
Although this is the basis of working remotely as good colleagues (whether working from home or in the office) it is worth reinforcing. To give good feedback at work and be a good colleague we need to find the crossing point between positive (the positive points of the sent work) and the criticism (what needs to improved with our colleague’s work).
When you only signal negative factors and we forget the positive, something that can result in a lot of tension – especially when working from home where you can’t establish informal links – you are not giving constructive feedback. Rather it is merely an opinion.
Be clear and direct to avoid misunderstandings
Another point that is the same in your day to day office life, but that has a crucial importance when you work from home. You use Skype, Whatsapp and email and the written medium, especially with instant messaging. When we don’t see each other as colleagues face to face we lose our ability to communicate. For that, ensure that you do not leave anything for granted and your messages are extremely clear.
Record everything you can in written form
Even though you can organise virtual meetings much easier these days, a good practice is to take notes in point by point form of the most relevant aspects of each meeting. The same when you are organising who does what applies. No matter how long you talked over the phone, make sure to record and share in written format (through email and Skype or Slack message systems) so that there are no doubts.
Hold video-calls with your colleagues
This is as much about the fundamentals of a working day as it is about having some trivial conversations between you. Both things are important to survive the day to day working life in the best conditions possible. Whenever the working schedule allows it – as deadlines often do get adjusted and you sometimes need to bog down from the word go – a simple call to ask how your team are doing can make all the difference. A trivial conversation to break the ice before you take on more professional affairs will improve your working relationship at a distance.
Inform your project delivery dates or completion dates
Although this is also an important tip when working in the office, doing it from home is doubly important. Make sure your team is monitoring your completion rate in tasks. You may have more distractions at home, so knowing the completion deadline of a job from minute 1 of starting our working day helps you unforeseen obstacles. You can also monitor your working hours remotely as a team with an app like Sesame