The Coronavirus has thrown a curveball at all of us.  How do we work in isolation and still be as effective? There are so many secrets to making this work so I’m glad you are here.

The good news is you will most likely make this new way of working part of your typical routine once things get back to normal.  Engaging remotely and not wasting time commuting is a great productivity strategy. Our most precious resource is time and there are so many ways to get more time back in your day.

So look at this time of having to work from home as a time to experiment with new productivity tools to help you earn back time in the future.

It’s easy to just pick up the phone, but often video is a more effective tool.

There are three reasons video is better than the phone:

• Reading the person
• Developing the relationship
• Collaboration

Reading the Person

Did you know that 93% of what we communicate is through our body language?  Seeing the other person can ensure you are effectively communicating and reading their signals.  So leveraging technology like video is a much more effective communication tool than the phone.

So if you have something sensitive to discuss with someone, video is your next best option after face-to-face.  Maybe it’s a performance discussion or a salary increase. In fact, during this strange time when we are all working in isolation focusing on one-on-one calls with your team members and their personal development is a great productivity strategy. Often we don’t get enough time for these discussions. So take advantage of this potential lull in the action. Schedule a video call and start brainstorming about their performance today and their career goals. Take the time to build a skill-gap roadmap that you can implement when life gets back to normal.

Developing the Relationship

In addition to being able to read the person better, video is also a better tool for getting to know someone and building the relationship.  Seeing how they are dressed and what their office looks like will tell you a lot about their personality. If you see a lot of pictures of their kids on their desk you know family is important to them. So using video to see the person and their environment will tell you a lot about them and what they care about.

Also, first impressions are powerful. Don’t let yours be limited to just your voice.  Seeing a person even through video will catapult the connection you will make.

So video is a much more powerful tool if you need to build or sustain the relationship.  So if you are in business development or recruiting or some role in your company where you need to quickly earn or gain someone’s trust and get to know them, use video if face-to-face is not an option.  Avoid the easy decision to just pick up the phone.

Collaboration

We have such amazing tools at our disposal these days to help us collaborate more effectively.  Many of the newer tools that are being rolled out are all about improving communication and collaboration. Like the Microsoft Office365 suite of tools.   Often when we are collaborating we not only want to see the person, but we are also referencing documents, plans or business applications. 

We are working with many companies to help them understand how to fully leverage the Microsoft Office365 suite of tools. It is a complex but powerful toolset to increase productivity across their organization. Their communication and collaboration hub Microsoft Teams is outstanding. Okay, I digress. Back to just the benefits of video.

Even if you don’t have access to an enterprise-wide communication and collaboration platform like Office365 there are so many free technologies available to aid in the process of not just communicating but collaborating on shared documents or screens.  

Here are some great free options:

• Zoom –  Zoom Link
• Free Conference Call – Free Conference Call Link
• Go To Meetings – Go To Meetings Link

It’s easy to sign up and send a link to anyone to start a video call.  No need for the other person to have the technology already. Each of these technologies allows you both to share your screen so you can look at the same information whether that be a PowerPoint document or a business application.  

I personally prefer to be using video when coaching a client on email management.  It is much easier to see their screen on my computer then leaning over their shoulder to see their screen. So video is a tool I use often.

Now is the perfect time for you to start practicing with video conferencing.  It will not only help you be more productive during the Coronavirus situation, but I guarantee it will become a part of your daily routine. Saving you time and stress trying to figure out how to get more time back in your day!

If you need help figuring out how to work from home more productively please contact us online or give us a call 651-600-8382.  Solving productivity issues is what we do!