Category: Communications

Two years ago I made the permanent transition from office-based to home-based. To be honest, it hasn’t always been easy, and despite the upsides, there is only so much office banter you can have with your dog (sorry Benji). 

Now, most of us are “work from homers”, so I thought I would share my top 10 tips for staying sane and productive in these times of isolation. It’s a good time to relook at your routine and see if we’ve fallen into bad habits…

1. Start and finish at the same times you would in the office. Ditto for lunch and breaks.
2. Put on your game face, get dressed in your normal work clothes and get out of your sweatpants (unless they used to be your work clothes).
3. Tidy your workspace – clutter will distract you, set yourself up to focus. It’s worth stopping for 15 minutes and having a reset – even if you’re very busy you’ll feel the benefit.
4. Make sure you have access to the tools you need to do your job. If you’ve been putting off upgrading your internet connection and getting a decent-sized computer screen, now’s the time. Even with the end of lockdown in sight we’re all going to be doing more flexible and remote working.
5. Use video meetings whenever possible. It’s so important to see your team. If you’ve been putting it off, make the change today.
6. Make sure everyone else in your team is on the same page and agree on how you are going to work together. It’s good to check in and see how everyone is finding the current set up.
7. Use a platform like Workplace to collaborate and access essential documents.
8. Schedule in a video team chat at least once per day. Find out how your colleagues are doing, check in to see if anyone is struggling, share some jokes, your Spotify playlist, etc.
9. Get out, have a break, take a walk, stretch out, go for a run, do some yoga. Join us at Alex Benasuli’s free online yoga classes.
10. Don’t be afraid to share your feelings. You may love being at home, but it still may also be the worst thing that could happen to you. Don’t keep those feelings to yourself, you will be surprised just how many people feel like you.

Connecting with all your employees can be tricky in any business but in the recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) industry it can be nigh on impossible. With staff at client sites, service centres and increasing numbers of desk-less & mobile workers, getting the simplest of messages to staff is so hard that it often remains a source of frustration for years.

That was certainly true of our experience at one of the world’s leading RPO providers. Until we came across Workplace by Facebook: a communications and collaboration tool built for the future of work.

Ok, so here’s my twelve reasons why you should put Workplace on your shortlist:

Reason 1 – it’s mobile-first

Every client site is locked down in a different way, so finding a platform that works at multiple, often geographically dispersed locations is impossible. Workplace’s mobile-first design and delivery means you needn’t be held back by client firewalls.

As long as staff have a smartphone they can access all communications, documents and even the org chart, bringing your onsite workers into company culture for the first time. Crucially, the mobile experience is seamless.

Reason 2 – staff don’t need an email address

In our experience, many RPO staff use their client’s email, so connecting them to any new tool is a hard slog. Workplace setup can be done without email as a unique identifier and is simple to deploy.

Workplace is typically adopted by 80%+ of users within 30 days and the launch experience is straightforward. So you need less of IT’s time.

Reason 3 – find all of your people all of the time

No more: “where’s Linda today” and no more detective work to search for Linda’s latest landline or email. You can simply see when she’s online and easily message, voice dial or even video her direct.

Workplace lets you keep pace with change, regardless of client desk moves or how many times you switch staff between sites. 

And the built-in organisation chart allows you to see what staff do, where they are in the hierarchy and who reports to who.

“Safety Check is a great feature that allows you to check that all your staff are safe in the event of an emergency, regardless of location.”

Reason 4 – create and build community

It’s easy to feel a little lonely and disconnected if you’re in a service centre in a remote location, far from headquarters. Workplace allows your staff to feel part of a much bigger, dynamic organisation. Staff can connect to a number of communities: the whole business, everyone at their client site or service centre and / or their team. Or slice and dice to aid the collaboration you need e.g. connect all service centres around the world.

“Reach all your staff, create community, build affinity with your brand, better serve clients.”

Reason 5 – collaborate, share, save time

With such a spread-out workforce, often geographically diverse, it’s all too easy for staff to reinvent the wheel. Workplace by Facebook provides a forum to ask for help, enabling everyone to share knowledge and best practice. Many answers to frequently asked questions and processes can be automated too e.g. HR policy questions or client onboarding.

Reason 6 – virtual leadership

Workplace enables senior leaders to create engaging communications; from simple posts to Live Video broadcast, extending visibility and reach to the whole business – making sure important messages are heard. For example, your CEO can update everyone on the way back from strategic client visits.

Reason 7 – share documents

Don’t be frustrated by staff who can’t access your intranet (if you’ve ever tried to give staff access to your intranet from a client site we sympathise!) use Workplace to easily give everyone access to the latest pitches and proposals.

Reason 8 – streamline staff onboarding

Manage staff on-boarding and connect people to your culture from offer to acceptance. Create forward-thinking HR strategies to support staff through their career, automating processes for better experiences. And with more of your clients using Workplace, you’ll need to be the expert in using Workplace for your clients’ recruitment processes.

Reason 9 – bring all of your apps together

Workplace gives countless possibilities for off the shelf and custom integrations, allowing you to bring all your apps and services together in one place – e.g. logging help desk calls, integrating leave request systems and CRM tools. Like Salesforce and Hubspot.

“With 30,000+ organisations already on Workplace, increasing numbers of your forward thinking clients are using the platform too.”

Reason 10 – improve client service levels and experience

By facilitating collaboration across the business you can better serve clients. Engaged employees who work together have the information they need to go the extra mile for clients.

And by creating a “multi-company group” between you and each of your clients you can streamline communication, aid collaboration and create a different dynamic to your client relationships. Your client doesn’t need to be on Workplace by Facebook to collaborate in this type of group.

Reason 11 – connect wherever you are in 46 languages

With voice, video and chat your staff can easily keep in touch whether they’re in the office or travelling. And auto-translate ensures communications reach everyone – that’s more languages than Microsoft Teams and Slack.

Reason 12 – build employee affinity with your brand – not just your clients’

Keeping your brand’s mission front and centre is hard when your on-site staff are immersed in your client’s culture. The ability to easily create engaging posts, articles and video brings your brand to life and really does foster a sense of belonging.

Find out more about my personal experience rolling out Workplace for recruitment process outsourcing companies and how Workplace can transform your business – contact me at caroline.watkin@the300.co or call me on 07946 524 304 for a chat.

“We won Best Workplace Launch in 2018 for our rollout of Workplace at the Robert Walters Group, of which Resource Solutions, one of the world’s leading RPOs, is a part.”