You’ve taken the quiz. You’ve packed your bag. It’s time to make your remote working experience a success.
Cora Rodenbusch (@corasauras) is a senior communications manager at PGi (@PGiMeetTweet),a virtual meetings company, providing audio, web and video conferencing solutions to over 75% of Fortune100.
In Part II: Three Steps to Taking Your Show on the Road we shared that working outside the office requires flexibility, determination and plenty of energy and optimism to get through the day. These traits are necessary for the remote worker because when you work outside the office, your final output is often your only success measurement. Forget showing up early, staying late and looking the part, most will only know you by the quality of your work.
Understanding this freeing, albeit slightly frightening, reality will help you shift gears and focus on what really matters during your work day. And thankfully, we’re not the first to figure it out. I’ve found that those who run their own business encounter the same challenge.
As a remote worker, take note from your successful start-up friends and ensure the quality of your work remains high by aligning your efforts with company goals, building your “customer base” and keeping your stakeholders satisfied, just as if you were running your own business.
Five Tips for a Healthy “Work-from-Anywhere” Business:
- Keep set hours to ensure your time in the “office” remains productive. The sense of urgency you feel in the final hour will help drive productivity throughout the day.
- Absorb small costs to keep a long-term customer (i.e. your employer) happy. For example, put in an extra hour or two to make a deadline, fund emergency airport internet or splurge on a long-distance call. Don’t let a small cost keep you from a big win.
- Stay front and centre by keeping your stakeholders in the loop – they probably didn’t hear you land that big deal, so once a month write up your successes and what’s to come in your very own “customer newsletter.”
- Look the part – not just for those on the other side of the webcam, but for you! Keep a tidy workspace and look professional.
- Ask yourself: “Is it working?” Once you’ve lived with your new work environment, check in with your stakeholders (and yourself) to make sure expectations are being met. The fact that it’s not working isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however not doing anything about it is. You can modify your remote working experience a number of ways so don’t head back immediately if you run into a problem.
Plug Into the Mothership
Finally, don’t forget the power of the office. In-person relationship-building and collaboration is still best, so before you start your journey, make sure you’ve accounted for a trip to headquarters at least once a quarter.
Recharge your corporate batteries, check in your laptop in with IT, stop by your team members’ desks to thank them for their help on the latest project and don’t forget to pick up your corporate pom-poms before you leave – You’ll need those in the 11th hour when looking for inspiration.
Best of luck fellow remote workers! You can follow the second half of my yearlong journey to PGi’s EMEA and APAC offices in the Cora the Digital Nomad section on Blog.PGi.com.
Do you work outside the office? What advice would you give to a new teleworker?
Supported by Plantronics. Simply Smarter Communication solutions for the Mobile Professional
