For one reason or another we may have to empower our team members to work away from a central physical office. In these moments nonprofits want to be sure they are fully leveraging resources to support the success of team members but also maximize the use of organizational resources. Here’s a quick check-list to get your organization’s internal operations started on the right path for remote workers.
- Plan ahead
- If you’re lucky you’ll be able to work with partners across your organization to ensure the team has all they need to successfully work remotely–planned or unplanned.
- Map out jobs and tasks and how they could be affected.
- Define measures of success for remote work to answer the question: why don’t we always do this?
- Have the right tech and access?
- iPads, laptops…
- Phone access, server access…
- Work to close any tech gaps…
- Know the tools
- VPN, VoIP
- Skype, Zoom, GoToMeeting
- Slack, Zoho
- G-Suites for nonprofits
- Practice (if you can)
- Technology can be tricky; human error is known to happen; being prepared helps in a smooth transition.
- Communicate consistently
- Make sure colleagues know how to contact each other.
- Use collaboration tools that foster virtual engagement.
- Define communication, response, engagement expectations.
- Does your organization have a continuity plan? Has it been communicated?
- Security + best practices
- Continue to employ best practices as you work remotely; no your organization’s policies–if you don’t have some now may be a good time to get to work.
- Prioritize work
- Talk with colleagues to determine what is the most important work to complete during the time working remotely.
- Things that took priority while working in-house may shift in importance.
- Update meetings
- Look through calendars and add call-in/video options. Practice using video calling and screen sharing to maintain team dynamics and continue to collaborate.
- Know your backups
- Know to whom you can hand off essential work if you become unable to work.