There have been a lot of questions on the operations of a business with the rules and restrictions that we have due to COVID-19. For a lot of companies, remote work is a completely new practice. While it is important for these businesses to continue operations, safety of people should come first.
If you are looking for ideas on managing through this crisis, here is how some members of our community are adjusting to the new normal!
Paolo Bongato of Xtenit Philippines
Our team has been working remotely from time to time, even before the pandemic. To manage, we keep communications open daily, make priorities clear, and coordinate meetings to strategize using our internal tools. For Acceler8, we have been in serviced offices for 3 years, and are familiar with its benefits, for financial and operational considerations. We kept the office because our team still prefers to have an office to go to. But in the short term, we needed a place to work in case our remote setup is not working out, such as reducing distractions or technical concerns.
Monica Ong of Transbiz
It wasn’t really a big change for us as we have three different offices and lots of remote workers – this meant working with individuals remotely. The only change was us not being in an office. We’re still using Asana for project management but we’ve changed our time tracker from Hubstaff (randomly takes screenshots of your screen, tracks time and activity level, and removes idle time) to Everhour (integrated to Asana, trust-based). For my team, we have a daily 30-minute meeting for checking of tasks and re-alignments.
Ding Manucot of Urzo Ventures, Inc
I’m so happy to be part of a management team that quickly brainstormed on how our companies can prepare and survive the challenges of the pandemic. We stay in touch with our business unit heads so we know what’s happening with our businesses and our people; and we can prepare for the different possible scenarios ahead of us.
We kept our serviced office suite in Acceler8 despite the pandemic to keep our sanity from cabin fever! Working from home has its perks and hassles. We could do full telecommuting, but we agreed that we needed a day or two to physically congregate (with enough social distancing of course) because we are social animals. Everybody missed their daily routine which even includes the iconic Edsa traffic. Yes, that’s true.
Morhad Benallouane of Hubstyk
I really appreciate A8, especially the one in Legazpi as it is located near my house. But the main reason is that I feel more productive when I am surrounded by people who work. Having also certain facilities like the kitchen and meeting rooms are also a good point. I love the concept!
Kristina Manalac of Goldpac Fintech Philippines Limited Inc
Aside from regular updates with regards to teams productivity or work output, our team holds a weekly meeting or communication to see how our ‘virtual’ team members are coping with this new style of working. It is imperative to establish a structure with the team and be open with different communication technology options as part of engagement.
Though work flexibility is recommended, it is important for managers to acknowledge the stress and offer encouragement or emotional support to provide cues on how to react to certain situations, such as COVID-19. Being able to have a schedule of office interaction helps us focus on outcomes, not an activity, and having the flexibility to get work done either from home or in the office.
What have you been doing to adapt to the new normal? Let us know and we’d be happy to share this with our community!
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