How Managers Can Support Remote Employees
As many employees continue to work from home, remote work can be filled with challenges. Even though the working-from-home routine is not new to society, some managers are still struggling to support remote employees. There are some relatively quick and inexpensive things that managers can do to help their employees. Here are some actions that you can take today to assist your remote team:
Daily check-ins
Many successful remote managers hold a daily call with their employees. The calls must be regular and predictable, and that they are a conference in which employees know that they can consult with you and that they will be heard.
Use various communication technology options
Email alone is insufficient. Remote workers benefit from having options such as video conferencing, which gives participants many visual cues that they would have if they were face-to-face. Investing in a channel-based messaging platform, like Slack or Microsoft Teams, is a good option for shorter or more urgent matters that can arise during the workday. Utilizing another platform will also ensure that messages do not get lost in an overload email inbox.
Establish rules for communication
Set expectations for the frequency, means, and ideal timing of communication for your teams. For example, do not use videoconference for every communication. Establish rules for when to use email versus other forms of communication and lead by example by following these rules.
Provide remote social interaction opportunities
A manager must structure ways to interact socially with their team while working remotely. The easiest way to establish some necessary social interaction is to leave some time at the beginning of team calls for non-work items.
Managers can implement these tools quickly to support remote employees better for the new year. With this support, employees are more likely to take up the call with a renewed sense of direction.
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What is Emotional Culture?
Whether you work together with your staff at the same location, have multiple offices across the country or have the ability to work solo from a remote location, creating the culture that enables your team to perform at its highest may not be as easy as just hiring good quality employees.
Emotional Culture is a lesser known piece of today’s work culture, and it is getting more attention these days. Emotional Culture is defined as the culture centered around the effective values of an organization—i.e., feelings, moods, and attitudes—in contrast to the intellectual values that typically make up the traditional corporate culture.
Although technology may be able to cross physical and time-based gaps, the cultural and social gaps — differences in social habits and communication styles — are problems that have yet to be solved. If not addressed, these gaps open can pose significant performance issues for teams.
When working virtually, ways to be a communicative team member is an even harder nut to crack. Teams must make a point not only to be clear about how they will interact with one another and shift modes when needed but also address the role that their desired mode(s) of communication with each player as this will play in facilitating their way of working.
When working remotely, you aren’t at the luxury of popping in to your coworkers office, or having the insight as to whether “now is a good time”…keeping your status or schedule on your shared calendar (and messaging platform) updated is an easy way to let people easily see when it is OK to break in and “say hello”. We should make space for these moments, because if we were in an office, we would likely be spending 8 percent of our time socializing, according to a workplace study by Gensler (pdf).
If an effort is made to develop empathy among team members, experience random moments of connection, this will build the discipline that is necessary to a successful team.
New Location – Historic Downtown Melbourne Florida
If you are following us on social media, you may have seen some posts about our new location in Historic Downtown Melbourne, Florida. This location officially opens this Friday, February 1st, and we are incredibly excited about this new venture for several reasons.
We are a Family Business.
One of our own will be running the day to day of Work Webb Melbourne. Our eldest daughter, Kady Webb is moving to Melbourne and joining the Work Webb team as the office manager of the Melbourne location. She recently graduated from college and is very excited about being a part of the family business, and so are we!
Another Historic Downtown
We love the historic feel of our Daytona Beach office, and that environment continues to our new location. Historic Downtown Melbourne is a charming part of the city with a history that dates to the 1800s. In recent years it has become the destination for locals and travelers, alike, who are looking for a quaint and historic town for shopping, dining, and entertainment. The downtown has a packed event calendar, and we are excited to feature them in our What’s Happening Around Work Webb blog series. Sign up to learn about these events hosted in Melbourne on our website blog.
A Great Building
We love our Kress Building, and our new location is just as charming. Work Webb Melbourne is located in a fully renovated 120-year-old former hardware and farm supply store. The office décor has an industrial feel and is very welcoming. Here are some photos:
Surrounded by Great Food
There are some fantastic restaurants new our Melbourne office. Hell n Blazes is a place that we have frequently visited. They are a family-and-friends microbrewery known for traditional brews as well as the adventurous spirit that defines craft beer. Their website boasts, “Consistently pouring 12-18 unique house beers, with a 25-bottle wine list, the taproom pairs the old Florida lifestyle with the comfort of your own living room!”
There is also a wine and art gallery, The Living Room and Pan-Asian eatery called Mangetsu located in Historic Downtown Melbourne. As we try out more of the restaurants, we will post about them on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest) as well as our blog. The Facebook page for Melbourne Main Street is a good source of information too, follow them here to learn more.
2019 has started with a bang of excitement!
Is a Co-Working Space Right for your Small Business?
The typical office-leasing process can take months and involves a lot of numbers and paperwork, and even then, you could end up not getting what you thought out of your office experience. An alternative to this tedious process is to explore the option of a co-working space – rented space in a shared office with people from all different organizations. Using a co-working space allows you to have office space that is more tailored to your needs, not be committed to a lease, and have your employees feel comfortable in what usually is a more relaxed, inspired and productive environment.
Why co-working spaces?
There are numerous advantages to using a co-working space, especially for fast-growing and budget-conscious startups.
Sharing an office with similar-minded small business owners gives you the opportunity to network while you work and share resources that you’d otherwise have to track down on your own.
What to consider when choosing a space
There are several factors to consider when selecting a workspace. To get started, ask yourself the following questions:
• Are you interested in establishing regional offices for your brand or testing markets for corporate expansion?
• Will you be meeting with partners or clients?
• When are you most productive?
Here are some other factors to consider.
Location
Enjoy this view from our offices to cut down on work stress.
Shared offices are most frequently found in large cities like Chicago and New York, which can be a real cost-saver for businesses that want to be in these areas without signing an expensive urban office-space lease. However, be sure that your new co-working address is one that you feel comfortable not only showing up to every day but also inviting professional contacts to conduct business.
Design
The design of your co-working space is another critical factor to consider.
Since you generally can’t rearrange and customize co-working space the way you could a private office, you have to be satisfied with the existing layout and setup of a shared workspace.
Pricing structure and membership benefits
While a co-working space might have everything a growing business needs, not all of those amenities are included in your membership price. Be sure to read the fine print and know exactly what you’re paying for, so you don’t end up with any hidden fees.
Your neighbors
Your co-working neighbors can make all the difference in your everyday work experience, so try to find out what other businesses are in the space before you sign up. In most cases, you’ll find that there are a lot of different startups and small companies like yours so that you can benefit from each other’s experiences and connections.
Work Webb is affordable, has a great location and has a professional environment. Call us to schedule a tour of our co-working offices to see for yourself. We are located in historic downtown Daytona Beach which has shops, great restaurants, and a view
that can’t be beaten.
Music and Food with Chef Papa Along the Riverfront
What’s Happening Near Work Webb
There is always something happening in downtown Daytona Beach and this weekend it’s Music and Food with Chef Papa. As mentioned last week, Daytona Beach offers more than Bike Week and NASCAR. Step outside the Kress building and you can find a lot of choices for dinner, shopping and live music. No need to wait for a holiday. Excellent food and music is provided for no special reason other than it’s the weekend. There is no better way to end a work week than walking along the riverfront while taking in the gorgeous view or window shopping.
This weekend is the second to last installment of Music and Food with Chef Papa. If you do not know who Chef Papa’s Catering & Food to Go is, you are truly missing out. Located four doors down from Work Webb along the river walk, Chef Papa provides healthy, yummy and affordable lunches. All summer Chef Papa has hosted a themed menu dinner and live music. This has been on of the best kept secrets of the river walk shoppes . The second to last event is this Saturday, September 24th, starting at 6:30 pm. Chef Papa will host a NOLA menu this week with live jazz music provided by Clarence (of old Ocean Deck Band fame) and Church Archer. Only two more weekends to attend the Food and Music series at Chef Papa’s Catering & Food to Go. October 1 will be the last in this popular series.
Support downtown Daytona Beach and the Riverfront Shoppes by calling Chef Papa to make a reservation for this event 386-253-5080. Here is a directory of the Riverfront Shops of Daytona Beach.
Make sure you check The Watercooler Blog every week to stay informed on what’s happening along Daytona Beach’s quaint Riverfront Shoppes.
The Many Ways Having a P.O. Box or No Address at All Can Hurt Your Business
The Importance of Having a REAL Physical Address on Your Business Website–Rather Than a P.O. Box or Nothing at All–Cannot Be Overstated
If you’re an entrepreneur, small business owner or someone that works out of a home office (or remotely) – listen up!
Not having a physical address on your website could really be hurting your business; and no, a post office box won’t do you any good either. (more…)
