Part 2: What kind of knowledge and skills does one need to work remotely effectively?
The only thing that changes when one is working remotely is that they are no longer in an office environment or around colleagues physically. One should still remember that they are still working albeit with less distractions (debatable :-) given the WhatsApp tabs that are open on the side, or music being played from YouTube, or kids from next door, or husband or wife)
A quick search for the definition of knowledge on google brings about the below: knowledge is acts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
Skill is determined as the ability to do something well. It’s important for us to look back at what we covered in the previous article on the tools required because these tools ultimately dictate the range of skills we require to work remotely effectively. You can see the article here.
A reliable internet connection was one of the most important pieces of equipment/tools/facilitation that we mentioned. One needs to know how to connect their device to the internet. They need to know what works best for them. Is it a local area network cable, or would a Wi-Fi connection work best for them? They would need to understand as well issues to do with tethering. How do they connect their computer or laptop to their mobile phone to allow them to tether? Ultimately one would need to explore all the various methods they would need to connect to the internet and all the devices that could help them achieve this cost effectively.
After one gets connected to the internet what next? Logically this means one has to have the basic knowledge of operating and working on the internet. One should know the basics of internet security, how to send and receive email, working with different cloud collaboration software such as office 365, google suites, amazon web services etc. Depending on the organization they work for, different project management software for online collaboration. Some examples are Asana, Clickup, Trello, freedcamp etc. just to mention a few.
A key skill that is required to thrive in this environment is excellent communication skills. This goes hand in hand with having a great camera and a great mic for you to be heard clearly when you are on video calls and attending meetings.
One needs to know how to use tools such as zoom, google meet, WhatsApp video calls, signal etc. So many video tools are coming up right now therefore one should have an idea of using them. Still inline with communication there is the need for one to present effectively and confidently to make sure the correct message is passed along to the intended audience at the right time given how fast information moves in this digital age.
Many at times when we work in the office or face to face we are used to synchronous communication (real time communication) but in remote work especially when one is part of a team working in different time zones we shall find ourselves communicating asynchronous (communication is not real time). Both methods of communication have their expected use and one needs to master when information is needed in real time vs. when information is not needed real time. This usually depends on the urgency of execution expected of the outcome of the message.
Communication in remote work is a huge topic as it can not be covered in one article. Various teams and various types of work need different methods of communication. A great tip for anyone working remotely is to be proactive in their communication rather than reactive. This is because it is very easy to assume things when working remotely. It is advisable for one to ask clarification questions to understand better and also repeat shared communications in different forms to ensure easy comprehension. A rule of thumb is to always ensure one’s messages are simple and clear. If one is on the receiving end they need to ensure that they understand and clarify where they are not sure of what is being communicated.
Time management is another must have skill to ensure one works effectively and reaps the maximum rewards of working remotely. Your calendar needs to become your best friend so that you schedule and prioritize your work and your break times well. It is important for one to differentiate work time and rest time so that they can have a healthy balance between the two. Failure to do so usually leads to burnout or the opposite of work not being done.
When we talk about having a good chair and table, this is in regards to organizing your workspace. One needs to have great organizational skills. Separating their work area from their play area and rest area. This will help them to disconnect from work and reconnect from work effectively without them feeling bogged down and overwhelmed. A clean environment as well ensures one is fresh and has a serious productivity boost. The same cannot be said in the case for a dirty environment where one cannot locate the tools they are using and at times could be smelly and not conducive for work. Bottom line one needs to customize their work environment to what suits them the best. This is one of the biggest advantages of working remotely.
As I conclude there is the tendency for one to think that they can multitask when working remotely because of the “presumed free time” unfortunately in some instances this is not the case. One has to ensure their schedule is well planned out to get their work activities and non work activities done at the right time and day.
Let’s continue this discussion and I am free to connect on LinkedIn. Are there any important skills that I have not mentioned that one would need to have to work remotely? Feel free to add them in the comment section as well as any feedback. In the next article we shall be talking about the work to work on.
