In one of my first blog posts, The 5 biggest challenges while working from home and how to overcome them, I was talking about remote working etiquette. And I promised then I would write a post dedicated to this topic as I believe it is really important for everyone who work remotely. So that day has come. Go grab a coffee, tea or any other beverage you enjoy, as this is going to be a long one :D. You might be able to tell it’s a topic that I’m really passionate about 😉
But first and foremost, before we go into the nitty gritty of dos and don’t, let me put this out there. Working from home or any other place, camera on or off, does not spare you the need to act with common sense and in a polite and considerate way. If anything, when you interact with others virtually, I would say you need to be even more considerate and careful, as you might miss important queues in your communication with others. This is of course a skill anyone can develop over time, but at the beginning, try to put more effort into your conversations than you would in your face to face interactions.
So let’s get into the details.
INTRODUCTIONS
Just like in real life, when you speak to someone virtually, via Skype, Teams, Google + or any other platform, you still need to greet them. Also, if it’s your first time talking, you should introduce yourself. Of course they can check your online profile and know who you are. But introducing yourself will not only save their time, but also help break the ice and give you an opportunity to connect with the other participants on a more personal level.
BE RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS’ TIME
Show up on time. Working virtually does not make it ok to be late. In fact, when you work remotely there is no excuse to be late other than “my other meeting ran over”. But trust me, this does not make your colleagues who have been waiting for you in the call for 10 minutes feel any better. And if it does happen to run late, do me a favor and give them a heads up. There is nothing worse than wait in a call for 10min and have no idea if the other party will eventually dial in or if they’ve stood you up. The only thing that might make them feel better when you show up late though is assuring them the meeting with them will still finish on time, regardless of the delay.
TIME BACK IS A GREAT GIFT
And continuing on the same note related to time: if you happen to finish the conversation ahead of the scheduled time, do give the time back if you are the organizer of the meeting. Trust me, regardless of the level that your conversation partner has, they will appreciate the time back. I know that in some cultures you might feel that you “need to fill up the time” to show how important your topic is or how busy you are. But my experience shows that everyone appreciates getting those few minutes back, even if it’s only enough to get another coffee.
“Time is what we want most,but what we use worst.”
― William Penn
BE THOUGHTFUL AND MAKE IT EASY FOR EVERYONE
This one is related to those cases when you receive a meeting request with no details on the topic to be discussed. Expect and provide clear details regarding the purpose of your meeting to allow the other participants to prepare ahead of the meeting and make it a productive one. Everyone wants to finish as soon as possible. So please take 1 more minute and explain the scope of any meeting you set up. Sometimes 1 line is enough and it makes a huge difference.
FEEL FREE TO SAY NO
“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.”
– Josh Billings
In fact, one rule that I have with my team is that they can decline any meeting request where they do not receive context on the scope or where they don’t feel they can add value. This is driven by the fact that when you work remotely, people feel they need to set up a call with you for everything. And if you are not careful you can easily get sucked into a cluttered schedule full of useless meetings. This in turn usually leads to the need to work over time to catc up on all the work you wanted to get through that day but couldn’t due to all these meetings that kept you busy.
I challenge you ;). Try saying no. Trust me, it is refreshing. Not only does it save you a lot of time, but also keeps the “virtual” clutter away.
REITERATE THE PURPOSE OF THE MEETING
Another aspect that I find critical is reiterating the purpose and the scope of the meeting at the beginning of the conversation. This helps clarify for everyone on the call what you are looking to achieve and usually allows you to reach that goal within the scheduled time. Otherwise, you run the risk of going in circles and feel you are not getting anything out of the conversation.
WORKING VIRTUALLY OR VIRTUALLY WORKING
This is another aspect that annoys me a lot. People who dial into calls and say/ contribute nothing. Really, why would anyone want to be a wall flower? Time is so precious and scarce, why would anybody want to waste it on meeting where they bring no value? Is it just to look busy? Of course, if you are new to a topic and it is a valuable conversation for your learning, by all means. But even then I’d assume you would have clarification questions to ask. So please please do me a favor and if you chose to join a meeting make sure you have something to contribute and add value to the other participants. Otherwise simply don’t join.F
TECHNOLOGY GLITCHES HAPPEN BUT ARE VERY ANNOYING
It does happen sometimes that technology doesn’t work. You might be in an area with poor data coverage or your device decides to restart unexpectedly. And even if the other party can understand, it is still annoying. So you do want to make sure you check on the minimum requirements before you dial into a call. Be sure your device is charged – no one wants to run out of battery in the middle of an important call. I’ll touch on this topic in a post on charger and cables and how I manage this in a post that is coming soon.
I’d be curious to know what is your experience with remote working ettiquette. Leave me a comment below. I’d love to talk.
Until next time,
Laura
