1/7/2024 0 Comments Virtual city 2020 template![]() We would love to hear your lessons learned − add them to the comment box below. We know many of our partners also made a transition to working remotely while continuing to serve their clients. There’s always a Plan B, the trick is to know it ahead of time. What would you do if you lost your internet connection? The break-out rooms you set up didn’t work? You couldn’t share your screen? All of these (and more!) have happened to us. We do this via Team and also host periodic “Lunch and Learns” that provide informal opportunities for sharing tips and tricks. ![]() Focus on learning one skill at time to keep things manageable and practice it during a meeting with team members.As with any skill, practice is essential and has to be built into your routine. Although most of us felt fairly technological savvy, prior to Spring 2020 we had little experience using Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The transition to fully virtual work has required a learning curve. Lesson 4: Plan on lots of practice and patience with new technologies Blocking out times on our calendars for when we are not available for virtual meetings.Scheduling more touchpoints but shorter timeframes, such as brief meetings that occur more frequently.Allowing for periods of “camera off” time during meetings, like when a colleague is screen-sharing.Let’s just say a lot of us are feeling “Zoom fatigue.” Below are a few strategies we have found helpful for preserving our energy: We have also realized there’s a difference between in-person meetings and Zoom meetings. We have adapted to ensure stakeholder engagement is still embedded in our work and leveraged technology to help us to do so. We used to host half-day in-person logic model sessions or evaluation question development brainstorming meetings – but that strategy doesn’t work in our virtual world. We employ a participatory approach to evaluation and value stakeholder engagement throughout the evaluation process. Lesson 3: Adapt strategies for the virtual environment Hosting virtual happy hours and monthly socially distanced events for the team, like hikes in St.Integrating icebreakers and interactive activities into virtual meetings.Opening up meeting rooms a few minutes early to allow for informal discussion (i.e., What did you watch on Netflix this weekend?).A few of our new relationship-building strategies include: In this world of virtual meetings, we want to build in time and implement new strategies to continue to foster our relationships and collaborate in meaningful ways. We used to have informal conversations in our offices or as we waited for a meeting to start. Teams is also great for an all-Center chat sharing funny life stories, interesting news, and pictures of pets. We use Microsoft Teams internally to streamline our workflow without endless e-mail chains. We found that certain apps help us stay connected to one another. Lesson 2: Focus even more on relationships, connection, and collaborationĬonnection and relationships matter even more. A separate space dedicated to working, and including things that bring you joy.Maintaining a schedule, with a definite start and end to the workday.Using the outdoors for a reset or change of pace: working on the porch or balcony, going for a midday walk, or having a walking meeting via phone.A morning ritual to start the day, like coffee, yoga, or going for a jog.Some practices that have enhanced our remote work include: ![]() Our team has found it incredibly important to develop a daily routine for working from home, while recognizing that the new routine may be different from what it was. Lesson 1: Create a working environment at home Six months later, we are well-settled into a routine of remote work and have learned a few lessons along the way. ![]() Our abrupt transition to remote work in March was jarring, but we worked hard to keep everything running as smoothly as possible.
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