Did you ever see that comedy sketch about a conference call in real life? This one? Go ahead and take 3 minutes to watch it, I’ll wait.
Back? Okay.
For the past 5 years, I have been working remotely for a digital marketing agency, Penguin Strategies and building an entirely remote team. In that time, I have made no shortage of mistakes, seen things done that perhaps would never have occurred in an office environment, and have, fortunately, seen a vast improvement in technology that has improved my quality of life.
In this 2 part series, I want to share some of the tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way to help you bring your best self to remote work. Part 1 will focus on all the things you need to take into consideration in preparation for remote meetings. Part 2 will discuss proper remote meeting etiquette.
Let’s dive in.
You want a tool that is:
My current favorite at the moment is Zoom for the nature of our work as a digital marketing agency. Larger organizations will often use Microsoft Teams which makes sense if most calls are internal. I prefer the agility and ease of a tool like Zoom and will probably stick with it until something better comes along. I also have to give a shout out to UberConference for no other reason than they have the best hold music.
At Penguin Strategies, we very much value a work/life balance. The best, most creative work comes out of happy employees that aren’t burning the candle at both ends. To that end, we want to do our best, in this international company who’s work covers 11 time zones, to be respectful of everyone’s time. I’m a parent of 2 small children, I occasionally have to step out in the middle of the day and so I will make up that time post-bedtime. But I make it abundantly clear that if I am sending an email or slack at 10 pm, I DO NOT want an immediate response. And I have been known to tell on my colleagues to their significant others when I think they’re not prioritizing the “life” portion of the equation enough, not to mention fostering a snitch or two amongst the ranks.
One way I guarantee to not mess up the time zones is to have them right in front of me. My Google calendar reflects both Israel and the US which greatly simplifies meeting scheduling. Outlook has a similar feature and it should be the default for anyone crossing time zones regularly.
Some additional tools we’ve found useful:
Everyone should have a hard stop always. If your meeting is going to run long, schedule another one. Assume your clients and colleagues are as busy as you are and respect their schedules. Some suggestions to ensure this include:
Stay tuned for part 2 and the Do’s and Don’ts of remote meeting etiquette. Is there anything this post is missing? Let us know!
Interested in working with the most awesome remote digital marketing agency team in existence? Check out our open positions here.