Let’s not sugarcoat the facts: the COVID-19 is a real threat to not only our individual lives but the businesses that we have spent our lives building together. With several cities, states and countries on lockdown or practicing social distancing, many businesses are unable to function without an open workplace for their employees. Even though these trying times seem bleak, things will get better. In fact, there are ways to keep your business alive, even without direct interaction between employees and clients. Let us show you how we are working from home with these awesome tools and recommendations.
Tulfa remains strong during these trying times.
Let us show you how.
Communication
The most challenging aspect of working from home is proper communication. While phone calls are easily made to communicate daily, it can be difficult to understand and address work-related issues without in-person interaction. Luckily, there are a few resources that greatly assist us with communication.
One of the most underutilized Microsoft Office tools is Teams. This messenger app is Tulfa’s primary method for communicating remotely. It works flawlessly with other Office apps, making it easy to add specific employees to group chats or conference calls. Speaking of conference calls, this is where Teams shines brightest. While it’s great for our employees to be able to talk in a group setting, the icing on the cake is the screen share feature. This allows any person participating in the call to share their screen with everyone else in real time. You can even grant other callers permission to take control of your screen. This is essential for presentations, meetings or solving work-related issues. Another great app with similar functionality is Zoom.
Accountability
To maintain productivity for your company working from home, accountability must be a top priority. Without direct interaction between employees and their supervisors, things can get complicated. Along with proper communication, organization of work files, materials and daily tasks are key.
As well-known as Microsoft Office is, many people use its services without unlocking its full potential. Our most used tool in this arsenal is OneDrive, a cloud that is used to store documents, photos or even Adobe software files. Each of our employees has a Microsoft work account with a cloud tied to it. What makes this service essential is that clouds can be shared with anyone who has a link. Not only is your work data constantly backed up to the cloud, multiple people can work on one document at the same time. OneDrive is our favorite cloud service, but there are many alternative options, like Google Drive.
Another essential tool Tulfa uses when working from home is Trello. This is a list-making service that works with the monthly calendar to create a kind of task board. We use one board for each team of employees, including content, social media, marketing and more. Each board has sub-categories to organize every note. We use simple categories like “To Do,” “In Progress” and “Completed” to easily track what our employees accomplish daily. Running a business is complicated, so Tulfa uses services like Trello to keep our workflow running smoothly.
Safety
Any efforts made by a business to maintain workflow are in vain if its employees are unsafe and unhealthy. Employee safety is Tulfa’s top priority and is what we want to stress most when discussing strategies for getting through this global crisis.
Many of Tulfa’s employees in India live far away from our office in Hyderabad, so they currently stay in nearby hotels and hostels to shorten their commutes to work. When India ordered these living establishments to close to prevent the spread of disease, many of our dedicated employees were left without places to stay.
For our employees who could not work from home, we converted one of our large office spaces into a work shelter. Dubbed our “tiger team,” these employees have selflessly volunteered to live in this shelter to ensure critical content is edited and deliveries are met. The shelter is fully stocked with needed groceries and food, everything that our valuable workers need to live.
For every employee who is currently working from home, we have deployed workflow setups, including computers, necessary equipment and inverters/UPS to prevent data loss from power or internet interruption. Employees are prepared with communication and escalation protocols, work-from-home guidelines and troubleshooting procedures. They maintain a direct line of communication with any Tulfa employee and are briefed daily by key decision makers.
Stay Positive
While these strategies provide effective solutions for Tulfa to maintain its workflow and protect its employees while working from home, some, like establishing a work shelter, may not be a viable solution for every business. Every situation is different, so we recommend weighing your options based on workload, necessary equipment and ability to work remotely.
The final essential strategy, second only to safety, is to, above all, stay optimistic. No matter how bad things get, we believe there is always something positive to take away. As bleak as the present may seem, at least our employees are home with their families. When they do finally return to work, they can be fully rested and happier than before. Our company is only as good as our people. We’re all in this together.
