DBI & TQVS Working Remotely – Together – Happy!
Here at DBI & TQVS we have always had some elements of remote / home working as our team is spread out over three countries (UK, France & the Philippines). In the Philippines, even pre-Covid our operations were split into DBI and the Head Office working from Alabang and TQVS (our privately-owned call centre) operating from Bacolod.
However, as most of you are now experiencing, home working is now the new norm and even for us, with 7 years of experience of remote working, with the majority of our support / administration team now set up to work from home, we too have had to adapt to new ways of working.
For some of our team, getting used to their new home office environment has been difficult, purely because of the lack of personal contact with their team members and friends. It has left some feeling isolated, as though they are no longer part of a team. They miss the moral which comes from office working and all of this can have a negative impact on their mental health.
Having a happy workforce, is vital if you wish to maintain good production and productivity. Even more so, studies have shown that the welfare and health of employees has a direct impact / link to their and the company’s success. At DBI and TQVS we take the responsibility of our employees’ welfare very seriously and have ensured the following protocols / incentives have been implemented to try and combat the risk of feeling isolated and the associated reduced productivity that comes from this.
- Using Cloud-Based Video Conferencing Services
Like many of you, we heavily rely on services such as Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts and WhatsApp to keep our team communicating. Simply having the camera turned on when you talk to a colleague can make you feel less alone!
- Dress for Success Each Day…But Dress Down Friday Still Exists
Just because you work from home, doesn’t mean that you should still be in your pyjamas at 12pm!! Dressing for success has a big impact on your productivity, performance and success at home. Just think about how you feel when you put your comfy clothes on at the end of the day…relaxed, right? Now think of how you would feel in your suit or formal work clothes that you would wear in the office – you now feel professional, confident and ready to work!
As a team we decided that we would continue with our office tradition of Dress Down Fridays. We feel it gives the team something to look forward to and brings a new dynamic to the working week.
- Communication is Key
When you worked in the office and you were finished for the day, you wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye to your co-workers would you? Or would you go on lunch without letting your line manager know?
Setting up key Skype / remote team groups in which a select group of employees are encouraged to communicate regularly with each other throughout the day helps with team building and reducing isolation. Simply sending a message to say ‘I’m off for lunch now’ or ‘see you all tomorrow’ is far better then just disappearing without speaking to the rest of your team. Additionally, we try to encourage short group calls first thing in the morning, even if there is nothing on the agenda to discuss, as it is easy to become cut off and out of touch with the rest of the team if daily calls aren’t made.
Another thing we do is ensure that all team members speak to each other, even if they are in different departments / remote team groups. When working alone you can quickly lose your confidence and it becomes so easy to stay in your own ‘isolated bubble’. Ensuring you regularly talk to other members of the team can help to prevent this.
- Celebrate Success!
Do you remember that feeling when the whole team hits their target? The excitement, the joy that buzz you used to get. Well, working alone from home doesn’t have to stop this! We ensure as a team we have ‘Calls to Celebrate Success’. It’s vital to still celebrate these moments as a team. Perhaps you can all sing a song, clap together, cheer together. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it is…TOGETHER!
Incentives and rewards can also still exist. We’ve used food delivery, amazon credits and movie vouchers to name a few.
- Get Outside (If Restrictions Allow)
Don’t forget to exercise. When commuting to the office, whether it be by car, train, bike or on foot, you were at least getting out of the house. Working from home tends to lend itself to a sedentary lifestyle so keeping up with exercise and getting outside for regularly exercise will keep you healthy – body and mind!
At DBI & TQVS even when we are not all together in the office, we still work together as a team remotely and celebrate success together. Take a look at our photo wall which includes all our remote and call centre workers! All our team should feel proud of how they have adapted to their new working environment!
What do you do as a team to stay together? Let us know
