Prior to COVID-19, my firm was already using Zoom as a communication tool for our phone system and for videoconference calls across our six locations. We had administrative staff in every location, so we were used to seeing each other on a screen when we came together as a large group for our monthly team meetings. As our firm’s administration team manager, I was flying to our various locations to meet with our administrative staff face-to-face when possible. However, managing a team during a pandemic, where everything changed for everyone, created new challenges. In an instant, I needed to change how I managed the team including how we communicated with each other, how we partnered together to best serve our firm, and how I needed to advocate for them in new ways.

It quickly became evident that our administration team was going to be at the core of how our firm quickly moved to a work-from-home model effectively and efficiently. Our leadership was meeting daily, and I was in those meetings to take minutes, so I had access to pieces of information that could be shared with our administration team. I started by sending daily emails to the team about “what’s new for the day” as leadership was trying to figure out all the nuances of working from home. I wanted to make sure our team had as much information as possible because I knew their offices and teams were going to go first to them looking for answers. To help lift morale through all the multiple changes, I made sure to thank them for their hard work and perseverance through it all, as well including a funny meme or video at the end of each email.

We also knew that because decisions were being made daily, and that there was a lot of information to take in, we needed a single place to put all of it and communicate about it in one place. We began using Microsoft Teams immediately, sharing posts to the whole group (eliminating back and forth emails), posting files for all to see and edit in one place, and developed a Wiki of resources, instructions, and information for quick reference. We continue to use our Teams site today, adding new content and sharing best practices with each other outside of our meetings.

Now that we were even more physically distanced from each other it became even more critical to meet more often. We went from meeting as a large group on a monthly basis to meeting weekly. During these meetings we focus on what we have going on that week, who needs assistance, news from leadership, changes in policy, and any new software tips. We also started meeting weekly as small groups by office location. Our small group meetings are more informal where we focus on getting to know each other better and learning how we can support each other not only with work tasks and responsibilities, but also through the emotions of working in a pandemic.

I have found that by meeting more often, our team feels more connected and stronger. The challenges have not gone away and are often the same challenges we would still face if we were back in our offices, but we have had an opportunity to connect on a more personal level which has helped increase the level of trust we share, and our collective positive spirit works to lift each other up even when things in our world appear so negative at times.

By connecting and meeting more, I have learned more about our individual team members – what they like, don’t like, what is hard for them, what they are great at, what do they value, where do they want to go in their career, and much more. While I knew some of these things prior to COVID-19, gathering this information has been more critical as we are working to move away from a location-based support model to a strengths-based model. I want to be able to assign our team members to tasks and projects based on their knowledge, skills and passions. While this isn’t always possible due to availability and workloads, this enables our team to be more flexible and offer the best service possible for the task or project at hand.

Working from home and knowing our team members abilities also opens doors for our team members to work with other staff in other locations, including other leaders that they don’t regularly support. It provides them with opportunities to develop new skills, work on different project types, and most importantly, shine bright.

We recently needed to update a spreadsheet that contained over 2,000 line items by reviewing the corresponding changes on several floor plans. Over the course of a week, we had about seven team members working on it to finish it up. Not only were we able to finish the task much faster than if one person had been assigned to complete it, but we were able to share our tips and even bond over the mutual frustration with a difficult task. It proved to us and other staff that we are a strong team that is willing to work hard together to get the job done well, all while doing it virtually from six different offices at the same time.

I have also noticed the increased need in my abilities to advocate for our team and individual team members. I am asking myself the following questions on a regular basis now:

• Are they being asked to do something they shouldn’t be doing?
• Are they burned out?
• Are they struggling with a task or assignment?

As their manager, I have needed to learn how to read the signs of an employee struggling or in distress, and then follow up with them to see how I can be a resource, advocate or sounding board to support them. Sometimes, employees are fearful to speak up about concerns and need someone to simply ask them how they are doing or express concern in a sincere way. Our teams are tired, stressed and overwhelmed more than ever now. While we cannot solve all problems, we can make sure our team members know we can be trusted to listen to them, care about them as a person, and if needed speak on their behalf and in their best interest to make it better wherever possible.

Managing a remote team is no easy task, but implementing some key practices for communication, partnering with other team members, and advocacy will enable your team to work well and positively even in a pandemic. What are some of the successful ways you are managing your remote team during this time? Share them in the comment box below.

Danika Larson, CDFA is the Administration Team Manager at Cuningham Architecture Group in Minneapolis, MN.

She currently serves as the National Education Services Committee Chair for the 2020-2021 term.

The last weeks for the country have created a new brand of normal that is anything but for most of us.  Most of the country is currently still under some form of a shutdown order due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  At the onset, essential businesses scrambled to establish protocols to allow their employees to continue to work, and nonessential businesses have had to shut down and either transition employees to remote work, or place employees on leave, furlough or layoff. 

The CDC guidance as well as a myriad of state and local orders continue to change.  For example, Colorado’s State-wide Stay at Home order transitioned as of April 27th to a “Safer at Home” recommendation while Denver’s Stay at Home order was extended to remain in place until May 8th.  This poses significant challenges for employers looking to keep businesses afloat, remain in compliance, and keep employees and customers safe. 

With that in mind, many companies are strategizing how to return employees to the workplace—no small task.  Any return to work plans will require flexibility, creativity, and consideration of complicated legal, logistical, and practical issues.  

When to Return Employees back to the Workplace

•  Determining when to return employees and whether to implement a phased return. How will employees be notified, and with how much notice?
• Selection of employees to return to work. Decisions regarding furloughed and recently laid off employees.
• What will the job look like when employees return (full-time, part-time, in-person, remote).
• Process for determining if individual employees are safe to return. Protocol for returning employees who have tested positive or may have been exposed.
• Protocols to address employee logistical challenges, such as lack of child/senior care, limited public transportation, and employees who may fear returning to work.
• Process to handle return and inventory of all employer-owned or leased equipment

Development and Implementation of Social Distancing

•  Changes to open workspace configuration.
• Repurposing of conference rooms, lunch rooms, and other communal spaces to allow for more distance.
• Installation of physical barriers.
• Reconfiguration of work schedules and/or shifts to limit the number of employees physically present in a specific office, facility, plant, or other work location at any one time.
• Implementation of full-time and/or part-time work-from-home arrangements for positions where it is feasible.

Development and Implementation of Additional Workplace Health/Safety Protocols

• Daily temperature checks and other screening protocols.
• Periodic employer-provided COVID-19 testing when such testing is more widely available for all employees.
• Development of an action plan in the event an employee tests positive for COVID-19, such as to whom does the employee provide notice if he or she tests positive, what information is the employee required to disclose, how is the information provided and with whom is it shared.
• Personal protective equipment and other safety equipment (employer-provided face masks, gloves).
• Handwashing protocols.
• Periodic deep cleaning of office, facility, plant, and/or other work locations by a professional cleaning service.

 Development of Additional Policies

• Updating COVID-19 related policies, such as COVID-19 related paid sick/paid leave, travel policies, social distancing protocols and safety-related policies.
• Confirm accuracy of sick, vacation and PTO banks and ensure compliance with COVID-19 related leave laws.

 Considerations for a “New Normal” Workplace

• Employees’ increased expectations for flexibility in work location and time, following significant changes to many businesses in moving to remote and flexible work.
• Increased focus on a contact-free workplace and economy.
• Desire for changed / different benefits, including in areas of health and wellness.

Considerations for Other Workers and Visitors in the Workplace

• Determine how, if at all, the above health and safety, social distancing, and other protocols above for employees will apply to vendors, customers, contractors, delivery workers or staffing agency workers when they are in the workplace.

There is not a single one-size-fits-all solution but the items above are issues that should be considered when developing a return to work strategy.

What tips/areas are your firms considering as part of your return-to-work strategy? Share them in the comment box below.

Anne McNeely, CDFA, is the  Project Administration Manager for Fentress Architects in Denver, CO.

She currently serves as the 2019-2020 SDA National Secretary.