Remote Work to Combat COVID19: Tips for Entrepreneurs

The situation is going out of control each passing day due to fatal Coronavirus. Almost all countries have announced lockdown and almost all companies are closed due to COVID 19. We, at Digital Marketers India, as well have shut down the offices so our team of digital marketing experts can stay safe and also contribute to combating the spread of this virus and its infection.

The world economy is suffering due to this pandemic and we need to take action for that. Some organizations have to work in the field or in the shops. However, due to increasing digitization, there are many firms that can take care of work remotely. Also, there are many things that can be handled during the time of lockdown. This is not the time to panic, but this is the time to help each other and focus on the priorities or long pending things.

Being a digital marketing specialist and an AI consultant, I have been working with some leading companies across the globe and with my surprise, many founders, directors, and C-level executives are working 15 hours/day which is more than their routine. I have worked in the Home office for almost two and half years and my digital marketing team also had worked remotely for the same time in a virtual environment. Based on my personal experience, I have some tips to share for the entrepreneurs to make this time productive.

Of course, entrepreneurs and owners of companies are enthusiastic and passionate enough to not get carried away, still, there are some tips which might be back of your mind, but get wiped off due to the current situation of COVID 19. So have a look at some tips and get benefited from the same.

1. Create clear “Remote Work” Policy for your team

Everyone might not be as enthusiastic about work as you are. There are some people who may take this opportunity to relax by watching online streaming shows or do nothing. Thus, it is necessary to let everyone know how they should take care of work and what are priorities. The team also needs to know what kind of support they can expect from the company and what kind of results are expected from the team while the “Remote Work” model is applied. You can create a PDF of the Remote Work policy and email it to all clients.

2. Deploy seamless communication and collaboration tools

Communication will be one of the contributors to assure that the work goes on smoothly. Communication with the customers and other team members must be done seamlessly and for that, you must provide the required tools to your team. You can use Skype, Zoom, and similar VoIP solutions for cheaper yet ongoing communication and collaboration. WhatsApp is also one of the most widely used and feature-rich communication and collaboration tools that can be used.

3. Deploy supervisory tools

In offices, companies have many supervisory tools such as CCTV, HRM, biometric attendance system, and more. When your team is working from home, supervision becomes difficult. Thus, you need to add certain tools and infrastructure even if they use their own systems and devices to work. For example, HRM system can be used to log the hours of people. Some tools take screenshots of the screen and pass images at the server. There are many such tools that can be helpful in assessing productivity while fighting with Coronavirus by applying the “Remote Work” model.

4. Safety cannot be compromised

Here I am talking about Safety of both types:

1. Personal and
2. Professional

Ask your team to be careful and follow the required safety measures to be safe. It is necessary to follow safety precautions even when at home. Some of the most renowned and necessary safety tips are as below:

• Wash hands frequently or rub them with sanitizer.
• Do not touch the mouth, nose, or eyes.
• Do not cough or sneeze in palms or openly. Use a tissue or elbow for the same.

Along with personal safety, the safety of data and business information is crucial. For example, data transmission needs to be performed via a VPN or in an encrypted manner. Some third-party communication tools use the data for their own commercial advantage. Thus, sensitive information should not be shared over there or use custom VoIP development to build different secure communication and data sharing solutions.

5. Use digital marketing techniques to keep your clients and followers updated

Taking care of the team is important and it is equally important to nurture customers. You need to keep them posted about ongoing updates which can be the work updates related to their projects or updates related to your office lockdown and how will you handle support during the lockdown, etc. The digital marketing landscape can be really helpful here. Some of the tips that you must follow are listed below:

Social Media Marketing: Inform your followers with different posts to inform about your shutdown of offices and remote work. If your office will stay open with changed working hours, use social media platforms to inform the followers that can be your customers, prospects, or just brand advocates.

Email Marketing: Nothing can be better than sending a personalized email with all details related to the lockdown and how you will cater to customers during the lockdown. Keep customers posted by sending timely emails with emails related to lockdown, working hours, possible delays in response, etc.

6. Follow your work routine

When you work from home, it may affect your routine. You may get carried away by checking the news all the time or looking at the market graph going up and down or you may overwork by not looking at the clock as there are no disturbances. Both cases are not good. Thus, as a majority of entrepreneurs do, keep following the routine, you usually do when going to the office.

7. Give a look to long-pending things

As offices get locked, all personal meetings and business travel plans get cancelled or virtual. It would actually save a lot of time and this time can be used productively. Each business owner usually has something on a deck, which is pending due to no time and low priority. For example, many entrepreneurs want to use expert digital marketing services from full service digital marketing company or the best SEO company, but they cannot opt for it as they never got time to look for a provider and discuss for the same or there is a competition which can bring some benefits or there are some cloud cleaning tasks. All these can get your attention and pushed forward by taking some time for the same.

8. Do not forget to take care of your health

Work is important and definitely, there is no doubt about it, but your health is equally important. In fact, during this pandemic, taking care of health becomes even more mandatory. Thus, make sure you get enough sleep; you eat healthy food; you follow the tips shared with the WHO (World Health Organization) to stay safe.

9. Your family needs you

As we all know, the situation is getting complicated due to a number of increasing cases of COVID 19 and deaths because of it. As we all know, there is no vaccine for this virus at the moment. People are panicking and anxious. They need emotional support. Thus, you must be that pillar. Spend some time with family and give them courage. Help them get over this situation.

10. Plan ahead for the upcoming weeks

Nobody knows for how long this virus will stay active and till how long we will not be able to find its vaccine. Also, once the lockdowns will be released, how much workload will be there to tackle is indefinite at the moment. How the world economy will turn is another question. Thus, it is necessary to plan ahead. You need to make both, Plan A and Plan B. Plan A will be to tackle the ongoing situation of lockdown due to Coronavirus spread and Plan B is to tackle the changed market dynamics after resuming the normal life.

Conclusion

Time has changed drastically and it is affecting all sectors of industries. Work from home and remote work models have become a necessity these days. Thus, it is necessary for entrepreneurs to take precautionary steps to keep the team, society, and business healthy. Follow the above-mentioned top 10 tips to deal with this Pandemic.