The Virtual Engineer - What I Learned (by Necessity) In the Last 4 Weeks And How I’ve Become More Efficient

Plunging into the deep end of remote work has been an extreme paradigm shifting experience. Being an engineer supporting manufacturing operations, working from home in my circles has always been viewed as play-working and has been strongly discouraged as a lazy person’s way to get out of really putting in the effort to be productive.  Now in 2020, given no other choice these same organizations have suddenly fully embraced remote work as a lifeline to keep things running while the world gets itself back together.  As someone who has long sought an at least partial remote opportunity, this experience is not just that the glass is half full but it is overflowing.  This is a chance to challenge the creative skills to prove this works and, even to my surprise, after one month I have found that this has worked out even better than I anticipated.  In addition there are many new skills that I have learned and/or sharpened which can be very useful well into the future.  These include everything from learning new software to new ways to stay motivated and new ways to be organized.  All of these have actually improved my productivity as I have noticed as I am checking off completion of key project deliverables which I could never seem to get to while in the office.  Out of every challenge comes a valuable learning opportunity, and here are some of the most valuable I have learned:

Conferencing Software That I Can Now Use Proficiently:

• Microsoft Teams
• Skype
• Zoom
• WebEx
• GoTo Meeting
• GoTo Webinar
• Google Hangouts

No more “Hey I think you are on mute”, or “The lighting is bad”, or “I can’t see your screen”.

Cloud Based Systems That I Now Use Without Redoing Any Documents Or Asking for Help:

• Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Outlook (email and Calendar)

I can now also seamlessly work between different computers and phones without losing anything!

Really Useful Productivity Tools I Have Recently Discovered:

• Software and hardware that blocks out background noise during teleconferences. No more shushing the kids or trying to quickly talk then hit mute before the garbage truck backs up again.  My son’s gaming headset includes a sound cancelling technology and works pretty well.  There are also third party apps like Krisp that have made inroads into this.  Microsoft is also working on incorporating this functionality into Teams. 
• Document Scanning feature already built into Apple iPhone Notes app.  I never knew my old iPhone was a multipage PDF scanner, not until I needed to get a 25 page report approved and uploaded while working remotely.  Not as easy to do as running documents through the office scanner, but way easier than taking an individual photo of each page and rendering all of them to PDF, and less expensive than buying a scanner (which are in high demand these days.
• Power BI  - Powerful Data Analytics tool for quickly evaluating and presenting key metrics and performance indicators using readily available data sources within your organization.  Its like having your own virtual online consent to provide you information needed to confidently make important decisions based on real information.  I never knew I had this power.
• Using backgrounds for video conferences.  I’ve found some really cool background posters online that look like a library, like you see the political commentators have on TV.  I’ve also tried out the virtual backgrounds in Zoom and Teams, as well as the blurred background.  I am now ready to be interviewed on CNN or FOX, just like the politicians and reporters you see.

Soft Skills I Have Significantly Sharpened Recently:

• Improved written communications - how to be very clear and concise when conveying information and/or asking for information or assistance in written form (email or text).  Getting the meaning across with the fewest words and least confusion, judged by how many questions come back in response.  A perfect 100% score communication is one where the first response is “Thank you!”.
• More efficient meetings.
  • Meetings begin on time, get right to the point, reach a decision or agree on follow up actions, and then end on time (or earlier).  
  • Virtual meetings also have the advantage of being able to be run back to back.  You can end a meeting at 2:00, sign out, and then sign into the next meeting within 30 seconds.  No more lost time walking between conference rooms or buildings, not to mention being stopped in the hall and/or getting pulled into another conversation.
  • Access to technology during meetings. I come from several organizations where bringing laptops or phones to meetings was viewed negatively as it was seen that people would be getting distracted rather than paying attention to the topic being presented. It can also be inconvenient to drag along a computer and other files to different meetings in different locations.  By having access to your files and technology all the time, I am able to (almost) instantly look up and provide key information needed during meetings.  This prevents the need for additional follow ups.
• How To Really Value People’s Time and Use It Efficiently.  In the current situation, there are a few folks who must still report into the office and their help is sometimes called upon to provide copies of documents or photos of various events occurring on site.  I am now very mindful of the effort these people are putting in and I do my homework up front to make absolutely sure to only ask for just what is needed and ensure all requests are very clear and focused on one-time actions.  This means no guessing at what is needed and avoiding follow ups like “oh I forgot to ask…..” and “that’s actually not what I needed….”, or “Oh yeah I also need….”.  People’s time is valuable and people are putting in extra efforts these days, so treat this with the respect it deserves.
• Being more organized and staying motivated.  The most important component of staying on track with being motivated and productive is to keep to a routine that works for you.  This means:
  • Setting up a schedule of when you will start your work day, when you will break for coffee or lunch, and when you will end your work day.
  • Set up a work area where you focus on work.  This can be a spare room, a corner of a room or a folding table you set up in your room.  Just designate a dedicated work space.  Keep all your work stuff here.  When you're in this space, you work.
  • Stick to the routine you had when you worked in an office.  If you got up early to exercise or meditate or read the paper, continue to do this.
  • Make sure you still take care of your appearance. Continue to take showers, shave, comb your hair, wear presentable clothes, brush your teeth.  Whatever you did when you worked at the office.  You do not need a suit and tie, but not a great idea to roll out of bed in underwear and plop down in front of the computer, no matter how many ads you see for working in your PJs at the kitchen table.  This does not work for everyone and this is the vision those managers have who don’t think working remotely is real work.
  • Keep a do to list which you update at the beginning and end of each day.  This can be on paper or using an online calendar.  Also use the online calendar to set up reminders of key tasks, just like you did at the office.
  • Make appointments with people to speak online if you have questions.  If you cannot resolve the information you need within two emails or texts, then it's time to talk.  This also helps to make you feel more connected to your work organization.