When you have a part of your team working at home and another part that has transitioned back into the office, and they are all working with those who had to remain onsite for equipment purposes, it can become difficult to balance. We talked to Asif Ali Gohar on how he found software for his team that makes it easier for each of these situations and for everyone to still work together.
What we learned first was that the software can only do so much and it is key to have the right equipment. Laptops that are all compatible make things seamless, so he ensured that each person was supplied with a company computer that would allow them to integrate their systems. It eases the difficulties in working cross platforms and allows for security and tech support to be better able to do their own jobs as well.
It is key to have a solid email platform and the software that will support it on all devices. The larger the company the more email addresses are supported, and it is necessary to ensure that the one chosen will allow for expansion in the future as well. By planning ahead for things to expand and grow it can save some growing pains in the future. Once the email has been set up and is ready, choosing a teamwork platform, often created around the idea of a calendar or a whiteboard, is a much more efficient method of communicating and integrating information from several sources. There are several of these available but only a few who have all of the functions needed, including integration with email, team messages, short notes, and that can be accessed from anywhere. Each company must have a reliable document system as well, a platform that provides a writing tool, that has a spreadsheet capability, and slide shows are beneficial for fast notes and helping people catch up on new advances.
After selecting these platforms, the next step is to set up the training for the whole team. It can be done in sections, and the teams can train together rather than company wide training, depending upon which is most effective for the specific business. Training may take a few days, and should be done by someone who is proficient in each of the software choices, the hardware that was chosen, and the ability to integrate each of them with the others. Calendars should be able to fit into the workspace and sync to the emails as needed, and once setting these up has been completed it will be easier to complete all of the regular tasks. It is highly recommended that training be complete and to not skip this step or to cut it short. If one or two team members require additional training they can take it with the next group as well, as this proficiency will be key to the success of the company.