When the novel coronavirus shut down communities across the world, more and more businesses moved their workspaces remote.

Here at 9 Clouds, our internal team didn’t have any major changes to make. We’ve enjoyed remote work as a benefit for years, so making the transition to fully remote was natural. Or, as natural as something can feel while we manage the uncertainty of a pandemic. 

Because we have the privilege of working remotely, we’re here to help our community navigate the challenges this pandemic creates. We’ve put together some tips to make remote work effective if that becomes a reality for your team. 

Make “Work From Home” Work

Many businesses are transitioning to remote work for the first time. If you’re finding yourself Remote Under Duress, don’t panic. You can be just as effective as a remote employee as you were at your office. 

We recommend building out a physical work space to give work-life separation. This will look different for everyone. We have folks on our team with separate home offices, kitchen counter standing desks, or even (insulated) garage spaces to move work away from the kids. 

Wherever you choose to work, make sure it’s a place you can disconnect from when it’s time to sign off. 

Another vital element of remote work? Overcommunication. Seriously, no one will accuse you of communicating too much when your team goes remote. 

We have a messaging tool called Slack that helps us keep in tune with everyone’s status. This will not only help projects stay on track when you’re all separate, but it also gives everyone an opportunity to connect as coworkers. 

Think of it as a digital water cooler space. Especially given the social distancing we’re all doing, it’s vital to keep some light-hearted conversation going in the background. 

At the end of the day, we’d encourage you to approach remote work with an open and understanding mind. Nothing that’s happening right now is anyone’s ideal situation, but if you give your team grace during this time, they will succeed.

The work will get done. 

Learn from Us

We understand the speed at which COVID-19 spread pushed many businesses who had never considered remote work to move their team to operate fully remote.

It’s an important protective measure, but it creates a challenge when processes aren’t in place to make remote functional. 9 Clouds has enjoyed the benefit of remote work during less stressful times, and we want to share some of our best insights for working remotely.