Revisit the where

We are approaching the first anniversary of the lockdown one year of working from home. We now have a lot of experience doing virtual meetings with whatever platforms we are using. Remember the start of the lockdown when people struggle to work virtually? The usual expressions you heard were:

Can you hear me?

I can’t hear you.

Please unmute.

While communicating with the boss or peers, you hear dogs barking, cars honking, babies crying. You spoke with people who did not have proper lighting. The person facing the camera looks so dark; you can hardly see the face that makes you feel like you are conversing with a person who has enrolled in a witness protection program.We have improved a lot since. People now even know how to use virtual backgrounds. Those who do not may be like the lawyer whose identity is represented by a cat during actual court proceedings. (The video went viral on YouTube.)

There are different sentiments expressed with the work-from-home experience.1

• The hilarious thing about people working from home is when their work is done, they say, “Let’s go home.” Then they realize they are already at home.

• Working from home becomes more complicated when your bed and YouTube constantly beg for your attention.

• Freelancing or remote jobs give you the ability to get panic about your work instability at any time.

Now here is a salient point that is so important to consider. When you are working from and not in good touch with clients and the team, that silence could be deadly. Shelley Kurian and Krish Dhanam write a material entitled: “Revisit the Where.”2 And here is what they say:

The physical has now changed to the virtual. The scope of offering demands a new way in which deliverables are made and warrant a greater degree of flexibility in your method, message, messenger, and medium. The main goal here is to continually look at your reputation and engineer new avenues of affiliation so that you can continue to be known for what you do. Almost everything done in person has been attempted virtually, from dance competitions and magic shows to keynote speeches and board meetings. The reaction of the moment is due to fear, but the long-term adjustment will stay because of familiarity and flexibility. Suppose the value proposition remains the same, but the cost of deliverables is considerably lowered. In that case, industries engaged in the service sector will have to increase frequency to meet the exact numeric expectations.

1. Your “where” must include digital and electronic messaging in text, audio, and visual platforms.

2. Expertise for some of these may require online tutorials if the effort is designed to be rudimentary and informative.

3. It may also require specific training and development internally for new portfolios of engagement.

4. Consistency is imperative in the “where” as it pertains to the branding of your offering.

Let me offer a few thoughts. The biggest thing about remote work is that people miss people the most. We long for the physical office environment when we had people to cheer us up and our managers to encourage us; this is what we miss the most. Okay, perhaps this comes second or third to what we miss the most after a strong internet connection, the pantry, and free coffee.

But we are working professionals and should not lose our professionalism just because we are doing remote work. We should create a comfortable work environment that can induce us to be more productive than ever. In my case, I do webinars all the time. I have had clients commenting about how proper I look and how well lit the setup is. That is not accidental. Our team continuously seeks ways to improve the lighting, background, sound, and seamless transition of slides because we still have to work professionally. We want to give clients the best and do not want to short-change them.

Next to consider is that there are many distractions while working from home. Our focus is to get over these distractions so we can deliver our best.

And finally, we must be productive and show initiative. Work-from-home does not mean our career growth and trajectory are put on hold. We still have to show initiative and deliver excellence and at the same time engage in personal growth and development journey something we need to do whether working from home or not.

(Connect with Francis Kong at www.facebook.com/franciskong2. Or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday at 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. over 98.7 DZFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch,’ the classical music station.)

1 https://www.quoteswishesmsg.com/work-from-home-quotes.html

2 www:[email protected]