Telecommuting deliverables are defined in the NCSA Telecommuting Agreement document, but basically they highlight the necessity of communication, availability, and delivering complete work on time. Because telecommuting is regular in nature a consistent schedule can be developed and everyone knows how to communicate with and get information from a telecommuter.
This page is designed to detail the expectations for someone who is working from home - what they should deliver to the group and what the group should do to support them as best as possible- when exercising the option to work from home for a limited period of time (home for appointments, sick time, etc.). This option is of benefit to both the person and the team to continue progress on projects while still acknowledging the needs of the individual at that time.
Highlights
Preparation for Working from Home
- Make sure you pack your laptop, charging cords and any necessary adapters to work in your home environment
- Pack any papers, notes, files, calendars needed to work from home
- Confirm all meetings have Zoom links
- Confirm you can access VPN from home
- Confirm Slack and Email are notifying you when you have messages appropriately
- Please use your teams channel to say hi every day. If you know you are going to be out, let people know.
- During Covid-19 work from home time: Feel free to say hi in the General channel as well, but during these times it is good to leverage the smaller groups so everybody knows everybody in the team is ok
Response Times
- Email - within 4 hours
- Slack - within 30 minutes
- Slack or Zoom calls - unless you are on another call you should be available
Ways to Remain Transparent and Productive While Working From Home
- Maintain Good Communication
The question really is: How do we know someone is really working if they're not in the office? The key to building trust is good quality communication. There are many different software and platforms that can help facilitate this. We utilize Email, Slack, JIRA and Zoom primarily. Make sure you are responding to email, are active on Slack, document you JIRA tasks, and regularly commit code so the team can see what you have been working on.
It might be of benefit to create a list of things you plan to do that day and send that to your team mates. At the end of the day send a summary of progress to document productivity.
- Focus On Outcomes
As a skilled member of our group we trust you and your unique skill sets to get the job done. We will provide tools and guidance and won't micro manage your time as to how you get things done at home. We do however want to be able to see specific outcomes delivered at the end of the day.
- Hold Each Other Accountable
When you share your to-do lists you keep everyone aware of what you hope to accomplish that day from home. Being accountable to your team is an important part of being a valuable team member. It helps everyone stay in the know, on track, and accountable. Help one another and that way no matter who is at home you continue to move forward as a team.
- Keep Connected And Engaged
Stay connected and engaged with your team during the day. When people feel like you are still actively part of the team, they will be more motivated to reach out to you and you will be more productive. Use our Zoom video (Zoom - https://zoom.us/download); video is the next best thing to in-person meetings. You can tell a lot more about what is being communicated by just checking out body language.
- Set Working Hours And Stick With Them
Set working hours, make them known and stick to them. Otherwise, you can end up with team members not able to contact you, which in the long run reduces productivity. It’s also important to make your family and friends aware of these hours so they understand when it’s appropriate to contact you. If they wouldn't call you at work for something they shouldn't call you just because you are working from home.
- Follow the Ground Rules
If you want to be efficient and effective working remotely, you have to set some ground rules. That is what this document hopes to help with. Hopefully this will help everyone consistent at home , and invest in the necessary tools to drive efficiency and collaboration.
Other General Helpful Hints
Pretend like you are going into the office
The mental association you make between work and an office can make you more productive, and there's no reason that feeling should be lost when working from home.
Structure your day like you would in the office
When working from home, you're your own personal manager. Without things like an in-person meeting schedule to break up your day, you can be quick to lose focus or burn out.
To stay on schedule, segment what you'll do and when over the course of the day. If necessary you may need to be a little more organized at home than you are at the office. Utilize your calendar to create personal events and reminders that tell you when to shift gears and start on new tasks.
Adapted from:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/productivity-tips-working-from-home