Working in pandemic conditions has meant different things for different people, and for those with the privilege to work from home, it might be, “awesome, I get to work from home!!” and for others it could be, “yikes! working from home will be hard”. Individual and team readiness for remote work will vary in the best of times, and I’m sure we can all agree this isn’t that.

There’s lots of resources being generated with practical tips, strategies and technology for working from home and managing remotely and these are helpful for teams tackling this for the first time, or at this new level.

Businesses and teams still able to operate on site will also have unusual conditions that could make work routines and communication more difficult.

For all teams, there’s one practice that’s critical for effectiveness and that’s creating shared understanding and more specifically, concrete agreements with each other about how to work and communicate together, especially in rapidly shifting conditions.

You can start this by considering your current operating or communication habits, practices and activities then determine what needs to continue, change or maybe even be cancelled in these conditions. It’s also important to check the assumptions behind them. To help with decision making, consider the following question:

How does this (activity, practice, meeting) contribute to….

• our level of clarity?

• our feeling of connection?

• our ability to follow through on our commitments?

Anything not contributing to these 3 areas should be re-evaluated. You might also need to add activities to ensure these key areas for team success have the support they need.

For leaders, including your whole team in conversations to re-set expectations and agreements about what’s critical for team functioning means a) you don’t need to have all the answers and b) you create shared responsibility for success.

The process of creating shared agreements also helps create a sense of agency and control when the world is spinning around us. Creating shared agreements can:

• Support trust and relationships when working apart

• Provide a sense of security and consistency  

• Improve clarity and accountability

What Agreements Should Teams Focus On?

The right technology and equipment is important, but below are some other areas to explore and a few questions that teams can use to consider how to actually work together in whatever conditions you might be facing:

Communication - Methods and Content

• What situations call for in-person vs. written communication? Why? (what’s needed for purpose, context, understanding, immediacy?)

• When do we need to communicate at the same time and when is it ideal to respond at different times?

• When is face to face (video) most effective or not? When is phone OK?

• How will we use text, email and digital work spaces? How will we organize and streamline information? ( e.g. storage, labels, subject lines etc.)

Team Behaviours and Connection

• How will we connect as humans, check-in and support each other? **

• How and when will we call-out behaviour or raise a concern?

• How will we let others know we’re struggling?

• How will we confirm understanding? How will we resolve disagreements?

Availability and Boundaries

• What expectation do we have for available time?  (time of day and total?)

• How will we make sure we provide and respect off-time?

• How will we balance the need for responsiveness with need for focus?

Meeting Practices

• What is our purpose and agenda?

• What frequency and duration serves this best?

• How will we show up for our meetings? (i.e. preparation, interaction, engagement)

• How will we expect each other to contribute? Who needs to be there - or not?

Accountability

• How will decisions be made, followed-up and followed-through?

• What assumptions do we have about productivity? How will we acknowledge different ways of working?

• How will we determine priority?

• How will we revisit and adjust our Agreements?

(**This one is crucial during crisis and should be a priority for leaders guiding teams through uncertainty.)

If you’ve made it through the last few weeks and found effective ways of communicating and working, great! It could be helpful to check-in and re-calibrate now that you’ve experienced some challenges and successes.

Regardless of where your team is located as things develop, it’s important to create consistent ways of communicating when things are uncertain (more on this here) and helping your team find ways to keep things simple and streamlined can reduce unnecessary stress. Priorities will also shift as things that were important a few weeks ago need to be put on hold or forgotten altogether as new options emerge.

As a leader, dedicating specific time to work through this together is vital. It can make the team’s work easier and more efficient in the long run. Shared agreements can connect your team, help manage conflict, boost confidence and sharpen focus, helping the team build a collective guide for success.

For a free infographic of these questions for shared agreement click here.

Vibrant Work empowers teams and leaders to have conversations that count. If you’re looking for customized guidance or resources or help facilitate this type of conversation with your team, we’d love to start a conversation to offer some ideas and see how we can help.