NEW YORK, (Mar. 26, 2020) – Shelley Tanner, SanovaWorks CEO/President
The pandemic caused by the spread of the COVID – 19 has changed the way we live, they way we socialize and the way we do business. When we feel helpless in the wake of a national tragedy or a natural disaster, not unlike the way many people are feeling right now, full of anxiety and worry; we can try to offer practical help. That’s what we are doing at SanovaWorks. While many companies are struggling to “get up to speed” on a remote workforce, SanovaWorks has been 100% remote for many years.
Follow our Diary of a Remote Company posts to get some insights from Team Sanova.
When I asked the Team what insights they can share to help other companies that are transitioning to a remote workforce in response to the pandemic, Karin spoke specifically to the need for patience when dealing with technology and varying skill levels and experience. I think her advice is worth sharing.
Karin Beehler, Executive Editor
Patience and understanding – Everyone has different levels of technology skills
Their area of work may be different and require different types of technologies and knowledge of programs different from the ones you use. Just because they do not understand the program you are using doesn’t mean they are incapable of learning it and getting up to speed. For instance, we encounter many doctors who are not experts at InDesign and Adobe PDF maker and editing tools or web conference software although obviously have other expertise! They may need some tips to get them on track so be willing to share your knowledge in a kind and professional manner. Be patient and understanding about other people’s learning curve and encourage their ability or interest to learn a new program.
Where there is a will, there is a way
We can do this! It might not be perfect, and it can be frustrating when “all the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” but determination, patience, understanding, tolerance, and persistence will pay off. Sometimes conference calls don’t work out because someone can’t log on, or there is a major update needed, or a virus, or a crash, black-screen, files lost, files not found. These are just the normal obstacles of the work from home environment, like trains not running or printer is jammed, like with an office workplace. We do what we can to avoid them, but they happen so just accept and move on, find a work-around.
As my mother says, “you may not know what you want, but you know what you don’t want.” If one tech solution doesn’t work, stick with it until you find another one that is better. There is no one-size-fits-all but there are usually work-arounds that suit most people. Don’t get frustrated and sabotage your goal, and don’t give up.
See our post on generational learning for more insights on differences in learning styles.