GETTING TO KNOW REMOTE WORK

In dealing with a pandemic, one of the best choices that we have to contain the spread of COVID 19 is to work remotely. It has been almost 2 months since the lockdown in Luzon keeping most of us at home to work remotely. Let us therefore examine how to work at home and be productive and successful at the same time, we can also examine what are the best tools to work from home and how to have a successful remote meetings and project management which are part of our work as regulatory affairs officers. So how do we define remote work? Remote work is the same work as we have in the office, it is the same thing that we do, not somewhere we go. Work is still work. We still communicate with FDA-CDRRHR, process licensing requests and update the company stakeholders on important regulatory development on medical device especially in the midst of COVID 19 where PPEs and COVID kits are of great demand throughout the country. Working remotely has been done though in many settings (managed care, customer service, etc.) especially in the United States and observations from this work arrangement includes more productive personnel and more savings to the right person working from home. Working at home gives the employee more time to focus on his priority while doing the work at the same time. Example is instead of commuting to work, he may make use of the commute time to take care of his health by exercising. Also, work at home can allow somebody to spend less on food and eat healthy by eating home cooked meals. Before enjoying the perks though, one needs to understand the basics in working from home or remotely. For example, it is vital to have internet, phone and computer. One may also invest in a stand-alone monitor, keyboard, mouse, headphone with microphone, a comfortable desk and chair and a good lighting at the working space may also be necessary.

Working remotely also makes one choose where to work, in these COVID times we can choose which spot in our house but really in a COVID “less” norm of working remotely, we have a lot to choose from like coffee shop, co-working space and other comfortable places. So if one works remotely, consider also the need to have portable materials for transfer from one spot to the other like the gears that should fit in a back pack. There are also vital things to carry, most importantly - a laptop (always ensure that the laptop is fully charged), power supply and over-the-ear headphones (to eliminate background noise that may be distracting). On top of these gears, one is also never alone! There is an online community at https://workfrom.co. One can also get some deliveries and services done through www.yelp.com from food to repairs. So work at home need not be lonely, can be challenging though but with the right information, it could be a good set-up for the right person. Remember though that working remotely is not existing because of COVID 19, it has been there for a very long time, even in the Philippines and maybe this pandemic is just an opportunity for us to rethink our working style and possibly explore other working opportunities. In a remote working arrangement, it is not only confined to  a home, there are also working spaces that may be used for the employee and for other workers to build a community where one may be able to use printing services, conference rooms and even meet physically with a client which is better than meeting them in the home office. There are websites to check on co-working spaces some of these are: https://www.wework.com and https://impacthub.net. In Metro Manila, there are co-working spaces like Launchpad Coworking which is nearest to FDA, an hourly pass would cost around 200 PHP for 3 hours, 500 PHP for whole day and around 4000 PHP for the entire month. Of course, there are too many in the Manila and BGC area. Always remember though that working remotely is a privilege so it also comes with extra logistics like you may also have to seek deliveries to get done through Lalamove from time to time. Working remotely when done in a disciplined manner can be very productive, enjoyable and fulfilling.

Starting to work from home

    When one is new to working from home, there will be adjustment periods that he will be going through but there are certainly tips that we can make use of to make the transition less stressful. One is, it would be nice to clarify on the company’s remote work guidelines like the working hours or if there are days that the employee would need to report to the office, this is important because this needs to be adjusted with personal priorities like exercise or household chore times. Second is to ask the boss about the best way to communicate as well as the other stakeholders. Third is to know ahead of time the scheduled and regular meetings so as not to miss them and be prepared. Fourth is to have a buddy that is not the boss, somebody that may be asked on the submission schedules, remind mutually on daily tasks and other things that the boss shouldn’t be bugged about. Finally, it has been suggested that the best way to start the day on working remotely is to start it by listing the things needed to be accomplished for the day and it does work for many people.

     Speaking of the boss, it is also important to set expectations, like the best form of communication preferred - email, chat, phone etc. Being open to this is usually seen as a form of gratitude and if the boss does not open-up, at least he is asked and the employee did gave an idea of how he communicates, mutual understanding creates a very helpful and productive environment. One may also ask his manager about office hours, meetings, milestones and feedback because this builds a foundation to great communication and these frequent check-ins will keep the remote worker on track. Keeping a good relationship online is also vital as in the office setting so if there are times when one feels that he might have offended someone or someone is being offensive, always remember to give the benefit of the doubt and he should reach-out. Reaching out will get one to know people and know them at a personal level which would turn offense into a fruitful working relationship.

Productivity when working at home

    In order to work productively, efforts must be directed toward a clear goal. It is therefore important to set goals. To do this, first, there is a need to determine who are the stakeholders so that one can get to know them and therefore get to know what and how they want to get the work done, this also facilitates easy and direct communication. Second, it is equally important as well to get to know the team members in a project for the same reason, so far, this might sound like an overkill in communicating but clear communication lines are fundamental. Third is to determine how to track goals, working remotely also means that there is less liberty to tap people like in an office setting, this tracking is important so as to avoid unnecessary delay in work as well as avoid frequent unproductive online meetings.

   One of the advantages in working at home is that one gets to avoid the usual office destruction like gossips, unnecessary meetings and noisy officemates but note that working from home also have destructions, these includes the following among many others: Noisy roommates or family, when there are people doing construction work, barking dogs and doing even small errands may be destructive when done frequently or even the ambient noise in a coffee shop. The thing though with remote work is – You have the power to control the unproductivity! To do this, one can be regular with his remote working schedule, set boundaries with people when working, get coffee when a little tired (remember the courtesy to buy something every 2 hours when in a coffee shop though), take frequent small breaks and walk or do jumping jacks at home (no one will judge you!). In short, you can manage effectively and have the (many) opportunity to prove to your boss that you are trustworthy! We sometimes fear that our work creeps into our home/family life but if we can manage and separate them effectively there is real beauty in working remotely. Managing this includes responding to chat and emails (especially if they can wait) within working hours and another thing that may be helpful is to have some mental transition equivalent to going home from work as the shift ends, this could be in a form of turning off the laptop or taking 5 minute stroll to condition oneself and mental state that “you are home and not working!” these set the boundaries between work and home and maybe challenging at first.

Tools for Remote Work

     Are we now interested in working remotely? https://remote.com provides information about working from home from answers to queries to job hunting, this site should be the first tool to check! There are many tools that can be used for remote work. First is the instant messenger which is used for quick back and forth communication. Second is the phone but it is suggested that it should be used in a sort of “scheduled” way as the phone enables the worker to lose focus when it rings. Third is email which is used for short threads and for things that are not urgent. Fourth, is screen sharing which is usually part of our fifth that is video conferencing. Video conferencing is vital, this is where discussion on important matters from a group of people is conducted that is hard to do in chat and in other media (like how we do it in PAMDRAP for couple of times now!). There are many websites that cater to video conferencing, including: google hangouts (https://hangouts.google.com), zoom (https://zoom.us), blue jeans (https://www.bluejeans.com), joinme (https://join.me), and skype (https://skype.com). There are also video conferencing websites for larger groups like gotomeeting (https://www.gotomeeting.com), one may explore which is right for the situation and the organization.

    Working remotely can also be done in an office feel to simulate office environment, this maybe done through couple of applications including sococo (https://sococo.com) and a fackebook-like social media for office use can also be taken advantage of in yammer (https://www.yammer.com). Collaboration in a remote working environment is also made easy through cloud-based sharing like Box, Dropbox, Microsoft 365 and Google drive. There are also project management tools that allows real time updates and avoids unnecessary meetings like Trello, Basecamp, Asana, and Pivotal Tracker which may serve as the minutes of the meeting if the remote workers would want to. These tools can be used asynchronously (not in real time) for work that are not time sensitive, for status update and for questions about ongoing projects while the video conferencing solutions discussed previously are for synchronous collaboration (in real time) for urgent matters, brainstorming solutions and of course, facetime with members. There are many tools available online but it is important to find the right tool for the right job (like planning when to do phone meetings against cold calling). Most importantly one may find out how these tools can customize the needs to make remote working much easier.

Successful project management

   Managing a project has always been a part of the life of a Regulatory professional but how can one do this remotely? Project management also means interacting with stake holders constantly so it also calls for successful facilitation of remote meetings. To do this, learn the style of the stakeholders, do they prefer a weekly call or a one-on-one meeting? Also, determine the availability of the team, there are online tools to do this like Doodle (https://doodle.com) and Calendly (https://calendly.com). Best practices in successful remote meetings include sending the agenda at least an hour before the meeting and making the joiners feel comfortable by initiating with a greeting as the moderator and one may chat about life prior to the meeting to make everybody feel comfortable first as a form of a warm-up before the agenda. Note also that topics for one on one must not be discussed in a group meeting to avoid wasting other attendees time.

     To manage projects effectively, everybody must be transparent about task and deadlines and all involved must have access to shared files. First, get approval from your manager for monetary and opportunity costs. Second, the entire project must be broken down into tasks and assigned to each member of the team when applicable. Third, focus on the scope and thrust of the project so the steps are guided and the actions remain relevant. Fourth, always check from time to time to ensure that the project still makes business sense. Lastly, measure the success and debrief how the project went. Make the most of each project and treat it as a learning opportunity including all conflicts that may arise must be embraced positively to make it fruitful amidst diversity. Embrace healthy conflict to get to the goals! Conflicts may be respectful and productive but it may be avoided by watching the tone of emails and chat messages (always give the benefit of the doubt when confronted with a harsh tone), ask questions for understandings, do not make assumptions and spell it for everybody to help make a comfortable culture.

   Working from home for sometime will also make one examine his career goals and know that working from home also leads to a career path if one is wise. To succeed, make sure that there is visibility of the person and of his work, learn to share the work done with the stakeholders, be clear about professional goals set, have frequent checks in performance to stay on track, improve the workflows and procedures and one must be competent at working independently. Most importantly, track accomplishments! It is good to highlight it in the annual review to keep the organization reminded of the contributions like the number of registrations finished and the short lead time involved in this work with CDRRHR prior to registration release. Always remember though not to brag, because people can feel it (even remotely) when one is not sincere.

Wrapping it up

  Working remotely doesn’t mean that one has to be alone most of the time, there is also an opportunity to build a culture like the ones that maybe found in the office. Dressing for an occasion, sharing photos and pizza party can still be done in a remote environment taking into consideration the time zones if other teams are abroad and other distance considerations. Culture evolves daily and it is amazing that one can be a part of building the company culture even at a remote setting. A good remote culture that we may want to consider generally builds trust by leading through example, do not micromanage (it is very hard to do this in a remote setting). To build transparency, one must provide access and updates to projects and to build openness, one must be vulnerable in meetings and know when to ask for help. A regulatory officer is often alone in a company so a support group from a good culture is needed.

   A good message to take home is that a remote working environment is a good set-up for the right person. It enables one to have more time to take tea breaks, exercise, get sunlight, eat healthier (and cheaper), it also gives a good investment in self love by taking care more of ones-self, working independently and having more options to do what makes sense to the employee. Visit https://www.flexjobs.com for online opportunities that maybe available if you want to try working remotely, there are quite a few regulatory jobs there.  This article is mostly based from the presentation of Mike Gutman at LinkedIn course entitled Working Remotely.