March 25, 2020

Remote Work in the Digital Age

In the time of Corona Virus #covid_19 , the calls for #stay_at_home are critical and extremely important. But then how people would work and how economy could go further or at least would not have deep recession. So here at Vision Nomads, we are trying to provide you with some thoughts and tools that show how Digitalization can support further:

Cloud Tools for remote work:

Communication

1. Slack
Slack is a communication tool to replace emails. The chat room not only offers the possibility to sort conversations but also the integration into a variety of services that companies are probably already using – from Dropbox and Google Drive to Salesforce and Zoom.
Prices: free version for small teams, Standard 6,25€, Plus 11,75€ per month

2. Teamviewer
Teamviewer has been designed for remote work. It allows you to share the screen or even allow access to it. In particular, the problems that you cannot solve yourself make your work from home much easier. It also enables online meetings, web conferencing and file transfer between computers.
Prices: single user 27,90€, multi user 57,90€, teams 124,90€ per month

3. Zoom
Zoom enables video conferencing with multiple participants. Participants can attend the meeting in person, via webcam or video conference camera or by phone. The possibility to synchronize zoom with Slack is very practical.
Prices: free version with 40 minutes call, pro 13,99€, business 18,99€ per month

4. EXPERTE.de Online Meeting
Experte.de’s online meeting tool is based on well-known open source software and is hosted in Germany. As a result, neither registration or download isn’t necessary. The big advantage here is that no personal data has to be stored. The free use is therefore completely anonymous.
Prices: free

5. Cloud / On-Premises Chat Server / Jitsi
We can support you to develop or install a Chat Server for use in your own infrastructure. We can help you to Implement and deploy Video Conferencing Collaboration tools using jitsi Open source software.

Management

6. Trello
Trello is a tool to manage tasks. With the help of boards, lists and maps, you can organize and prioritize your projects flexibly and in a user-friendly manner. The checklists and deadlines that provide an overview are particularly practical.
Prices: free version with 10 Boards, Business 9,99€, Enterprise 20,83€ per month

7. Asana
Asana is a great tool for project work. Managers can set up Asana pretty much how they want and use it as a task assignment tool, e.g. B. as a project assignment or as an ongoing log of company activities. You can also connect to a variety of online services, such as: B. Create Adobe Creative Cloud, Slack, Microsoft Office 365, Gmail.
Prices: free version for small teams, premium 10,99€, business 24,99€ per month

8. Jira
Jira is a problem tracking platform used by development and technical support teams to get more work done faster. It enables users to plan the software, track and prioritize the build process, publish, and get reports on all steps of the project.
prices: free version for 10 user, standard 7€, premium 14€ per month

9. Open Project
We can setup Open Project for your company as a software solution to manage tasks between various members On-Premises or in your own server. The free version has many useful features and good for small and medium enterprises. Extra features you can buy directly from Open Project if needed.

Storage

10. Google Drive
Google Drive is for storing and editing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more. You can easily log in with your google account. Folder structures can also be created very well here and assigned to projects. All content from google drive can easily be forwarded to the responsible person as a release link. They can also edit and use documents directly.
Prices: free

11. Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage service and is suitable for the provision of larger amounts of data within a company. You have access to the files from anywhere and only need your access. There is also deep integration with tools like Slack and Zoom.
prices: 30 days free, standard 10€, advanced 15€ per month

12. Box
Box is a cloud-based way to secure data. It has high security standards that also protect sensitive data. It has a particularly simple user interface. The daily activity report via email is a very practical function. This way you always stay up to date.
Prices: starter 4,50€, business 13,50€, business plus 22,50€ per month

13. Cloud / On-Premises Files server
We setup a File Server that can support sharing and collaboration between team members with GDPR security standards with one time fee.

Guidance and recommendation to stay productive:

Setup Workspace
Before you start with remote work, ensure that your posture is healthy. If you are unable to sit on an ergonomic chair, help yourself with pillows or get up regularly to move.Create pleasant light. Light controls our biorhythm, so try to get enough sunlight in your workplace or buy new light bulbs that help imitate natural daylight. Make sure that your workplace is clean. At home, in particular, it quickly happens that a lot of things are left behind and their workplace becomes chaotic. Create the conditions that you would have in the office. Clean up as if your boss could come by at any moment.Create a quiet place for yourself. Let roommates or family members know that they are unresponsive within a certain time or get good headphones or Oropax.
Safety in the workplace
Inquire with your employer about the safety principles that you must comply with. Secure your work computer with a good password. A password manager and password generator are recommended. Separate personal and professional on the computer. If possible, do not use the computer at work for private purposes. Look for communication options that are encrypted like Telegramm. Watch out for phishing mails and ask your mail provider what security measures are available. If you don’t have a secure and scalable VPN infrastructure yet, find out more about.

Introduce routine
Start the day with a to do list. What to do, where do I get my information from and who is working with me on this task. Make a list of tools like Trello that you can use to schedule and assign tasks. Coordinate with colleagues and make appointments for meetings to discuss tasks. You can share documents via drive and share them with everyone involved, so it is possible that feedback can be given quickly via the comment function.
Avoid loneliness
Strengthen your ties to your colleagues through private interests. Don’t just only talk about work, look for common ground. Interact, for example, via social media, schedule fixed times for meetings and spend a coffee break with your colleagues, just as you would in the office.

Our way of working

09:00-10:00
Start working
We adopt flexible work time approach. But the work day should start by 10:00AM at the latest. Starting the Day with checking tasks in Trello and plan the day. In the morning we hold a short 15-minute meeting to discuss the upcoming tasks of the day to give updates of what was done the day before; what we are doing today and if there is something pending.

11:00-16:00
Everyone works on their own tasks. We exchange ideas via comments on Trello or online documents. If some clarification needed we jump into a quick conference call through Zoom or our group chat in Telegram. We are always available to answer questions quickly.

17:00-19:00
Finalising tasks and prepare for tomorrow tasks. This means that each individual can see directly how productive he was today and decide how he will start the next day. It often happens that a new routine does not work immediately. That is why we apply continuous improvement cycle with transparency and trust.