Updated from an earlier post.
The coronavirus has forced all but essential workers into telecommuters.
As an organization, you may have already had a telework policy and the needed systems in place. Or, you may have been forced to make quick decisions about how to manage your team remotely during this crisis. We’ve pulled together some guidelines that will help you manage your team remotely during this time and beyond, because telecommuting is a great way to reduce your company’s environmental impact.
Does telecommuting actually make a difference to our environmental impact? Here are four positive environmental impacts of telecommuting according to Rachael Pasini of VirtualVocations.
1. Less fuel consumption: Americans use nearly 392 million gallons of gas per day on average. With about 325 million people, that means each American uses approximately 1.2 gallons of gas each day. Assuming that 24.7 million employees work at home, telecommuters can save the nation nearly 30 million gallons of gas per workday.
2. Reduction in carbon dioxide: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an average car emits approximately 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. Assuming that the average worker travels 30 miles or less each day for work (7,839 miles per year), each telecommuter can reduce transportation-related carbon emissions by about 69% or 3.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. That’s over 79 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually!
3. Less energy consumption at home: Offices typically consume more energy than home offices, and employees tend to treat energy usage differently in the office than in their homes.
A study conducted by Sun Microsystems found that office energy use is nearly twice that of home energy use. Sun reported that each telecommuter reduces energy consumption by at least 5,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. Therefore, the 24.7 million employees who work from home save the nation over 133 billion kWh per year.
4. Less demand for plastic: The world has produced approximately nine billion tons of plastics to date. That’s not surprising considering how many people buy coffee, breakfast, and lunch every day during the work week. Coffee cups lids, beverage bottles, utensils, food packaging, and plastic bags all contribute to the total amount of plastic used. The EPA estimates that 75.5% of generated plastic waste is sent to landfill, contributing 18.5% to overall landfill waste. The U.S. recycles only about 9.5% of plastic waste and combusts the rest.
Okay so all of that sounds great for the environment and your sustainability strategy, but you might not be sure how to best manage your team from a distance or how to keep them engaged with their peers and their projects. Tech Columnist Jason Aten at Inc. Magazine has these seven tips for effectively managing a remote workforce.
1. Have a Daily Check-In
Whenever possible, this should be one-on-one, and face-to-face via video. Phone conversations, email, and Slack go only so far. Your team needs to see you, and you need to see them. The good news is that services like Zoom or Google's Team Hangouts make this relatively easy.
2. Communicate a Lot
It probably goes without saying that you should be in regular communication with your team. One of the hardest things about working from home, especially if you're used to an office environment, is the sense of loneliness and isolation that can set in. That's especially true considering that many people are practicing social distancing.
3. Take Advantage of Technology
As a manager, your job is to keep your team connected. Communication tools are a simple way to keep everyone engaged. While email and text messages might be a short-term solution, tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams are far better suited for collaboration and communication.
4. Manage Expectations
Help your team figure out what they should do, and create realistic expectations for their work. Set yourself and your team up for success by clearly stating both the tasks and the reasons behind them, and help your team understand exactly how you will measure success.
5. Focus on Outcomes, Not Activity
It's not possible to manage every aspect of the work done by a remote team but especially when your team is distributed across different locations. Instead of focusing on activity or hours worked, focus on the outcomes and measure your team accordingly.
6. Resource Your Team
Make sure your team has the technology it needs to get the work done. If you suddenly have a team of remote workers, that means there's a good chance they need tools like laptops, software, mobile devices, or even a high-speed internet connection. It's not reasonable to assume that everyone has all of those things, and it's your responsibility as a manager to make sure they do.
7. Be Flexible
Understand that, especially in the current environment, your team has a lot going on. That's not an excuse for not getting things done, but it is a reason to reconsider what productivity really means. Punching a clock for eight hours is out. Regular work hours are also probably out for many people. Instead, trust your team and give them the freedom and flexibility to get work done on the schedule that helps them be the most productive.
We now know working from home is good for the environment and we have tips on how to manage teams remotely but what technology do we need? With so many online collaboration apps available, working remotely has never been easier according to Stephen Wright at Wright BusinessTechnologies.
According to Wright, employees will need mobile hardware tools like laptops, smartphones, and a good Internet connection. They will also need virtual collaboration and communication tools including chat apps (e.g. Slack, Rocket Chat and Flowdock), file sharing apps like Dropbox and Google Drive, and video conference apps like GoToMeeting, WebEx, and Fuze.
To keep track of workflow and project deadlines, managers and employees will need access to project management tools like Basecamp, Monday.com, Microsoft Teams and Asana.
To evaluate employee performance and productivity, there are a few apps that can help such as Trackstar and SAP SuccessFactors.
The final tool, not to be overlooked, is cybersecurity. Employees working from home are more at risk of downloading malicious software and being hacked than at the workplace. Remote cybersecurity must-haves include: Multi-factor Authentication , Virtual Private Network (PVN), Real-Time Security Monitoring, Multi-Point Network Backups, Cybersecurity Software, and Employee Monitoring Software.
If you are thinking about expanding your remote workforce now or after this crisis has passed — you can do it! It’s great for the environment, your employees, and likely, your company’s bottom line.