Need to go Remote? Don’t forget this

Use tools that allow you to go from "I have an idea" to "let's collaborate on my idea" within a few seconds. The digital equivalent to being able to walk over to someone's desk in an office and discuss a thought that popped into your mind.

What tools? We use Zoom, Slack, and cloud-based, multi-collaboration tools such as Google Drive and Monday.com, but your needs may be different. However, the tools are just table stakes.

Limit yourself. Create boundaries. Create a designated workspace. Even if it is only a few feet away from your living room, it allows you to have a space that triggers "work mode" and keeps your living room couch from triggering thoughts about your to-do list every time you try to relax at night.

Don’t bring your work into your home space. Don’t bring your home into your work space.

Bonus: Don’t check the internet for coronavirus while in your work space. Thank me later.

- You made it? Good. This is where the good stuff is. 

Once you are in quarantine for a bit, you notice that you are suffering but you might not realize from what. You might feel like you are losing your mind! 

- Why? Because a person is not an island. 

A person is defined by the groups they belong to. And they need to interact with those groups to feel connected. Those groups can be anyone. They could be the 3:30pm coffee group. They could be the SoulCycle bunch. They could be your close knit siblings or your commuting train car buds.

- So what can we do? We can hold the space for people to connect.

We can create time and have tools for people to nurture relationships that build up purely because we are human and occupy the same time and place. 

- How? Use the tools you chose and make some time together.

Be creative in the space, ask questions, and share yourself. Then wait. Let everyone talk. Nurture conversations and let everyone have a voice, even if people disagree. The space is for the relationship.

A Zoom chat with a coffee will never be able to replace sitting in a café, we still have a human desire for community that needs to be filled.

We can celebrate a friend's birthday, get together for a study group, or have an unofficial Zoom meeting to vent about what went on in the official Zoom meeting. This means letting everyone create groups and videos - so that people can meet without the boss.

One of the ways we do this at Clevertech is through Slack channels. We have channels that range from #thebachelor to #clever-pets to #cooking and now, our most recent channel, #covid-19_discussion.

The most robust communication is over video, and we do this via Zoom meetings, ideally in smaller groups about 6-10 people.

Make space to take care of each other, and trust that each person will then take care of the work.

If you’d like to find out more about our culture at Clevertech and current job openings, check out our YouTube channel and visit clevertech.careers.