Working Remotely
The popular audiobook application Audible has been pushing out a TV advertisement where we see a lady exits her home as if going to work but then the footage implies she returns after a brief journey. A man, she had just said goodby to welcomes her back with this response, “I do think it weird you have started to commute when you work from home.”
In normal times 90% of the workforce at Brindlee does commute to our beautiful 40+ acres home to offices, shop bays, fire trucks, and a few animals. It is a great campus, but what makes it even better is the connection the whole team has with one another as they work hard: catching up on life, supporting each other during hard times and even talking a little trash during the daily volleyball games.
However, during this season we have made a few changes to ensure the safety of both our employees and customers, allowing most of our office personnel to work from home and encouraging those left on campus to keep a reasonable distance from each other.
Some of our team have been working remotely on a rotating basis, including our V.P. of Sales and Marketing, Billy Claunch. Below you will find his practical suggestions for making working remotely productive.
Billy Claunch, our V.P. of Sales and Marketing recently sent out an email giving some tips to our employees on how to have an efficient and effective day while working remotely.
Team - as more of us may be working remotely, I wanted to share some of my experiences and lessons from doing this over the years.
1) We are still all pulling for the same goal.
Nothing has changed in what we do at work. We buy, sell and fix used fire trucks. This remains a part of critical infrastructure in modern society. Even though COVID is rightfully the focus of all the headlines, worry and attention right now, there will still be fires. There will still be accidents. There is still a need for an apparatus, and each Fire Department still wants to get better. There is still a market; we can still work in it and do good for our customers. Whether or not we do it from the shop or elsewhere is inconsequential.
2) It's still a workday.
I can't work in pajamas, or not showered. For me, I find it helpful to get up, shower, dress as if I was going to work, put on shoes, and be ready to "go to work". Work now is in the kitchen or on my desk at home. But, it's still a day to get ready, get dressed, and get to work.
3) You Need a Schedule
Without the social pressure of an office to a) stay on task, b) be busy, etc., it is easy to start to slip. You will not feel as good about yourself at the end of the day if you don't produce and do the best job that you know in your heart you can do. For me, I find it useful to set a daily schedule, laid out roughly by 1 or 2 hours, showing what I will be doing during that time. It helps keep me on task. In Sales and Purchasing we have reports that show total activity so we can measure against ourselves and against each other to know to help keep us all focused. If you need help building a report for yourself, see Michael, Nathan or me and we can help.
4) Schedule your breaks, walks, family, etc.
I schedule myself walks around the neighborhood, taking the dog for a walk, or even a short nap during the day to recharge. If someone comes in and interrupts, it's usually Paula or one of the kids, and just like when someone interrupts at the office, I can stop doing what I am doing and reply as necessary. It's nice to have your family interrupt sometimes.
5) When you finish at night, be finished.
Comments about this are probably overdone but I will pile on here as well; schedule your time to clock-out. Don't be on 24/7; when you finish at night, be finished. I don't mean, never jump back in, if you want to work on a project or make up some time that you missed during the day. I mean, don't kill yourself and work 60 hours per week at home for the next 3 weeks. 40 hours is a reasonable number; work that, if you need more do it, but feel free to tell someone if you are crushed with work so someone else we can help. We can all work to not just get through this, but get better and learn whatever God wants us to learn by walking through this point of human history.
6) Stay connected.
None of us live on an island. Stay in touch with co-workers. Phone Calls, Department video calls, Facetime, etc.
7) Limit the news intake.
Don't be a news junkie. Trust a few sources, and limit the intake to a certain time of the day. Most of it doesn't change what we have to do, during each day.
8) Not everyone is shut down.
We are working remotely as a precaution, but we haven't seen a major impact on customer inspections yet. We have 3 happening this weekend, and still, customers making plans for other trips. Let's be wise and do our part to stop the virus' spread, but realize we must also work to accommodate others who may or may not be making the same decision.
Stay strong everyone - let me know if I can help!
Billy