Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1256765
REMOTE WORKFLOWS www.postmagazine.com 24 POST MAY/JUNE 2020 M arch 23, 2020 will be a day all of us at Puget Systems will re- member. Earlier that day, rumors swirled that Washington state governor, Jay Inslee, would announce a "stay-at- home" order amid the coronavirus out- break. For the next few hours, employees flooded the company's Slack channels with speculation on how an order would affect the company and their role within. By the end of governor's press con- ference, speculation turned to confu- sion and concern. Jon Bach, president of Puget Systems, reacted quickly by sending a company-wide email with this understanding of the stay-at-home order. Many questions remained, but that single action put many at ease. It's now weeks later and Puget Systems has remained open. We can take orders, build workstations and continue to support customers. Most days, about half the company (20 employees) works from home. In that time, we've learned some lessons, adopted new habits, and continued to adjust to a changing world. Here are a few things we've learned over the past several weeks. Home office basics One benefit that comes from working from home is that you get to control your environment. Do you want a view with a window? Sun or shade side of the house? Is some foot traffic OK or do you prefer to work behind a door you can close? Selecting an area of your home or apartment that feels comfortable and will allow you to concentrate is important. Once you have selected an area, the next thing you need to nail down is the equipment required to perform your job. For most people, this means having a laptop or desktop computer, a monitor and a printer. Personally, I prefer working on a high-performance workstation with a multiple-monitor setup, but some may prefer the portability a laptop offers. The key here is to secure good quali- ty equipment, especially when IT isn't there to assist you when problems arise. The software you use to do your job is usually dictated by your employer, but using cloud service (email, CRM, CMS) when possible makes for a much easier transition than VPN solutions. Another basic is fast, reliable inter- net. Having access to fast internet may influence where you setup your office. Some employees at Puget Systems moved their office to be as close to the cable modem or Wi-Fi router to ensure a reliable connection. Remote collaboration remains an integral part of the workflow, especially for those working in content creation and post production. Tools like Frame. io allow teams to collaboratively create content, no matter their location. Video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet provide a virtual space to connect and discuss projects, while Google Docs and Evernote allow teams to review plans and scripts. Employee well-being How do you replace the company wa- ter-cooler, breakroom or coffee station? These are areas where people engage in casual conversation, which builds em- ployee ties and enhances their well-be- ing. In the past several weeks, we have learned these casual community interac- tions are difficult to replicate from home. We've experimented with a few ways to encourage employee interaction. For the past few years, we've been using Slack, which makes it easy to contact anyone in the company. While we've found it does a good job of furthering departmental communication, employees were begin- ning to feel they had lost contact with those outside their group. One way we've been combatting this is to hold a 20-minute daily Zoom video call. Anyone can join from the office or home, and participation is voluntary. Each day is a little different because you never know who will jump on the call from one day to the next. Conclusion Given the nature of the coronavirus, no- body knows when work-life will return to normal. It's difficult to predict how things will change, but taking care of your em- ployees is a savvy investment, no matter what market you compete in. Setup is key in WFH scenarios BY BRETT NORDQUIST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ENGINEER PUGET SYSTEMS AUBURN, WA WWW.PUGETSYSTEMS. COM Brett Nordquist's home setup is based on a workstation with multiple displays.