Home office tips: from horror to pragmatic solutions

"Lockdown" - from horror to pragmatic solutions

March 16, 2020, the Federal Council decides on the “extraordinary situation” – from midnight, the corona lockdown applies to the whole of Switzerland!

We are deliberately not going into the controversy surrounding the lockdown – was it justified, too long or too short, opened too slowly or too quickly? Our focus is on how we can learn as much as possible from this situation.

Turbulent times - home office tips:

As a family business, it was important for us to function, to protect our employees as much as possible and to be there for our customers. We were able to meet the recommendations of the federal government and continue our work.

Employees were equipped with the necessary technical infrastructure and were able to start working from home at the beginning of the following week.

At the beginning, communication was one of the most difficult points. Messages on all channels: telephone, WhatsApp, email and bilateral video conferences. After consolidation, e-mail and video conferencing have become the norm.

The first video conferences with customers to drive projects forward were new territory. As in normal working life, preparation was crucial here too. The small technical glitches were overlooked with a smile from all sides – a very pleasant experience.

It has proved its worth and we will continue to use video conferencing in the future. A practical way to bring participants from different locations to one “table“ without a great deal of effort.

What can we learn from working from home and video conferencing for everyday working life?

Thanks to the experiences of the last few weeks, we will be able to react much more flexibly to unusual or unforeseeable situations in the future without completely disrupting structures.

Why not use the home office for other situations as well?

It doesn’t have to be a reason as dramatic as “COVID-19”. The next wave of flu (influenza) is sure to come. Normal colds are also common in everyday office life.
It is not necessary for employees to drag themselves into the office with a cold and cough; they can work from home and thus protect the healthy employees in the office.
An employee’s child falls ill and needs to be looked after. In the home office, this can be taken into account without having to take sick days.
They want to do something for the environment and stem the flow of commuters. By working from home, you help to reduce the burden on public and private transport.
You will be more attractive as an employer if you offer home office or part of the working time in the home office.

What does it take?

Trust in your employees is the basic prerequisite for a successful home office.

Other important requirements:

Regulation of working hours
Define tasks and their measurability
Agreeing goals for tasks
Ensure good accessibility
offer high visibility
Discipline, time management, good self-organization
Ergonomic workplace – light and climate
Quiet working environment without sources of interference
Technical requirements
Maintaining a work-life balance

Especially at the beginning, working from home requires motivation and good time management due to the greater flexibility and personal responsibility. But once you have internalized the new way of working, nothing stands in the way of successful working from home.

Where can we support you?

As a family-run company, we understand and share the needs of SMEs in the Zurich economic area. Our services are characterized by a professional and pragmatic approach. Profit from it!

Conclusion:

Extraordinary situations give us the opportunity to make changes. Much has already been prepared and, in retrospect, the changes are quite positive. It shows ways in which organizations can learn and grow from this: “The crisis as an opportunity”.

And another personal thing: you quickly realize how much you miss the team and how important personal interaction is in the workplace. An informal chat over coffee or spontaneous praise. We are grateful to work in a really cool team. We are all looking forward to the next office day.

The Staffel Medien team wishes you many positive “learnings” and we look forward to seeing you again in person soon.

Do you have another tip for our list?

We report from our point of view. If you have another interesting perspective, we look forward to your input.

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