It goes without saying that we are living in unprecedented times right now. Navigating our way through this unchartered territory, we are seeing all around us the impact that the ongoing global Coronavirus pandemic is having on practically every aspect of our lives. This is especially true for teams around the world.
As the virus has forced much of our world into lockdown, enforcing self-isolation laws and rules, many companies within these global economies have had to adapt.
If you are like us and are fortunate enough to already work for companies that function around a remote basis, then odds are the transformation of your company has (hopefully) not been too drastic.
On the other hand, if you work at a company that has never even begun to embrace the concept of remote work, then chances are your company has been turned upside down.
Transitioning to a remote team
Practically every industry has been impacted by the current circumstances. Rather than shutting their doors temporarily (or unfortunately, altogether), traditionally office-bound companies are coming around to remote work, if for no other reason than sheer necessity.
If your company has recently found itself having to adapt and embrace remote work, then Slack is the best remote tool to assist your workplace in transitioning to a remote framework. Built around the very notion of giving teams that are dispersed around the country and sometimes even around the globe the ability to communicate quickly, Slack is all about providing streamlined connection and communication so that companies can flourish and thrive at their peak.
While remote companies have been emerging more and more in recent years, this is still very much a new approach to working. So, it pays to invest in some baseline tools like Slack in addition to some specific tools like Slack Scheduler to make the transition to remote work easier and more efficient.
The balancing act of adjusting to a remote workflow
Slack Scheduler is a valuable tool not just for your job performance but for taking control of your quality of life. Here at Slack Scheduler, we work remotely ourselves, so we understand the ups and downs that come with this career approach. We know all too well how challenging achieving a healthy work/life balance can be when you work remotely.
This is especially true if your company has only just shifted into remote territory as a result of the virus. So many people think that working remotely is the dream - and for a lot of people it is - however you also have to understand that working remotely demands:
- Self-motivation
- willpower
- reliability
- and initiative
It is very much a balancing act. Because we are all used to the ebbs and flows of a traditional workplace, where we are able to be efficient and productive relatively easily.
When it comes to familiarising yourself with a remote workplace, however, the fundamentals of a remote environment are drastically different to that of a traditional workplace. It takes some readjustment. Quite often, that adjustment is made easier when you still have open lines of communication with coworkers and management.
Navigating unfamiliar territory through remote work
Your job performance is only going to be as efficient as you are. When the workplace is quite literally broken up into multiple different environments anywhere around the globe, it can be easy to fall off the wagon and get lost in this new professional environment.
Luckily, tools like Slack and Slack Scheduler are designed and intended to give remote workplaces a stable platform to stay aligned and connected. The companies that are just now finding themselves forced to adapt to remote work are companies that inevitably have to gain their confidence in this new professional framework.
Slack is there every step of the way - but even Slack has its moments of confusion and frustration for newly remote teams.
- Too much time can be spent on Slack and not on meaningful work
- Leaders find it hard to communicate regular announcements
- Globally remote teams find it hard to communicate across timezones
This is where Slack Scheduler comes into play and makes such a monumental difference for companies around the globe.
Utilising Slack Scheduler to maximise productivity
Slack is renowned for its ability to keep coworkers connected at all times. For the most part, this is a positive. However, it is important to acknowledge that when you are working remotely (or through any modern company, for that matter), sometimes staying productive can be easier said than done.
Your most comfortable and personal environment, it is easy to get distracted when working at home. Having a tool like Slack at your disposal keeps you accountable for the way that you are spending your time by allowing for the entire workplace to still have direct access to you. This is somewhat of a double-edged sword, though, because it means that it can be harder to switch off - and stay switched off - at a healthy time.
When your boss or your employees can have 24/7 access to easily contact you, it can be a challenge to maintain that work/life balance as easily as you perhaps did in the office.
Now, Slack Scheduler has a feature called Advanced Scheduling that essentially gives you more in-depth streamlined control over your scheduled messages. Through this new feature, you can:
- Organise scheduled messages to be sent directly to set channels or users
- Send messages at specific times (right down to the minute)
- Send recurring messages for daily standups or weekly announcements
- Send messages via set timezones
Above all else, Advanced Scheduling is tiered towards assisting you in mastering your time management skills. You can schedule all your messages in one hit, regardless of when those messages are due to be sent and who they are due to be sent to. This saves you hours and potentially even days (depending on the company and your position within said company) on Slack at all hours of the day and night. And that isn’t all.
Using Slack Scheduler to focus on mental health and company morale
One of the biggest struggles for us as remote workers is the seemingly never-ending pings that build up throughout the week (and even on weekends, in some cases). We have all been there...every time you feel like you are getting on top of your to-do list, that ping comes in and the list continues to grow.
Slack Scheduler works its magic by giving you the freedom and flexibility to stay on top of your job with less time-consuming processes. In streamlining and simplifying the way that you can send and receive messages through Slack, Slack Scheduler puts the power back in your hands.
The simple fact is that some remote companies struggle to maintain a healthy approach to Slack and all that comes with it. And ironically, while Slack is all about making you all feel connected, it can sometimes lack that element of connection that makes other remote companies thrive so well.
This is where scheduling weekly messages and meetups comes into play. Your team’s mental health can suffer if they feel overworked (and everyone knows that you can’t produce your best work if you are not feeling your best), and without the physical connection and communication of your fellow employees, it can feel like an alienating environment. As a result, morale can also fall.
To avoid this, schedule a weekly meetup. This will keep your team feeling connected and excited to communicate about the week ahead or just past. Even if you are remote, you are still a team, and staying aligned and connected is just as important as it has ever been (if not more so). Having scheduled meetups has been one of the biggest positive impactors for us as remote professionals, so we know all too well how much of a difference having that reliable weekly communication makes.
Whether it’s scheduling weekly checkings, bridging the gap between timezones, or just helping your team spend more time on meaningful work instead of Slack messages - Slack Scheduler helps you bridge those gaps and establish a stronger and more efficient remote culture going forward.
Written by: Brittany