Working from home has become, for many of us, the norm. We understand how this change is inconvenient for a number of reasons, but the good news is a recent survey found that 91% of workers believe they get more work done when working remotely, compared to only 9% who feel they don't.
At Doximity, remote work is a big part of our culture, and we believe our employees fall into the 91%. Our team of Client Success Managers have worked remotely for years, so we decided to ask them for their best tips to share with you. Here’s what they said.
1. Set up a dedicated work space. If you have an office at home, you’re off to a great start! If you don’t have an office, find a space that you can dedicate as your “working spot” to create some boundaries from other areas in your home (bonus points if the working spot has a door you can close!)
2. Do all of your sourcing when you’re most alert. Or whatever tasks require the most thinking and concentration. Then, carve out 1-2 hours during that time as “Do Not Disturb” time in your schedule each week (or daily if needed) to source and send outreach messages, or whatever it is that takes the most concentration.
3. Hold office hours. By creating a specific time where colleagues or peers know they can ask you questions, it may prevent ad-hoc questions that could come up during your dedicated work time. Your colleagues may be more likely to wait to ask their questions during the time allotted for this.Not optimizing for mobile device reading.
4. Identify tools that foster connection and communication. Since you won’t be able to stop at your colleague’s desk or have a quick chat in the office kitchen, it’s important to find tools that allow your team to effectively communicate while working from home. Our team at Doximity uses Slack to communicate with each other as well as Google Docs and Sheets for project collaboration. For meetings, we use Google Hangouts, which allows screen sharing and video conferencing with multiple people.
5. Use scheduling apps to seamlessly schedule meetings with candidates. Our team uses Calendly: a tool which allows you to schedule meetings. It’s free, easy to use and prevents the back and forth that accompanies trying to schedule meetings over email. There are other similar tools out there including Appointlet and Acuity Scheduling. All of these can be convenient ways for your candidates to schedule time with you.
6. Schedule recurring virtual meetings with coworkers. In a traditional office setting, you might find time every so often to leave the office with a colleague and take a walk or grab a coffee someplace nearby. This helps to build relationships with your coworkers which can lead to more satisfied and therefore more productive employees. Remember that even when remote, these relationships are equally if not more important than ever before.
7. Put holds/reminders on your calendar to take 15-20 min personal breaks. In an office setting, people often take little breaks they don’t realize (stopping to talk to a colleague on the way to the bathroom, leaving for lunch, chatting with others in the kitchen/break room), but at home it can be easy to forget to do that, leaving you feeling exhausted and burnt out by late afternoon. By taking a couple of short breaks (ex. walk around the block, eat lunch AWAY from your computer, throw the ball for your dog in the backyard, etc.), you can increase productivity and reduce risk of burnout over the long term.
8. Find ways to unwind and transition after your workday. Anyone who works at an office faces some sort of commute home. Whether that is a 45 min drive, a bus ride or a short walk, it’s a set period of time you get to reflect on your work day, listen to a book on tape, or catch up with a loved one on the phone. When you work from home, it’s important to allow time in your schedule for your transition between work and your personal life. Some of our team members like to go to the gym immediately upon finishing work; others prefer moving to a different room at home and meditating for 10 mins. Whatever it may be, make a conscious effort to unwind and transition out of your work day.
9. Establish a consistent schedule. Humans are creatures of habit, and our team can all agree that establishing a daily work routine can help foster productivity. Additionally having a set schedule allows your co-workers to know when you are available or unavailable for meetings (or even when you’re available to respond to a quick question via chat). When starting out with remote work, it’s okay to try out a few different schedules and see what works the best. Ultimately, when you find that sweet spot, let your coworkers know and then do your best to stick to it.
10. Take advantage of the flexibility. This might seem contradictory to our point above, but part of working from home is being able to be flexible. Although you will most likely have a regular cadence of meetings while working from home, you also have increased flexibility to design your day how you like. Since we know that physicians often access Doximity in the early morning and late evening, you can design your schedule to send messages to physicians during these times for increased engagement. Do you need to pick up your kids from school in the afternoon? Or maybe you’d like to get that mid-morning doctor’s appointment out of the way. These are some of the lovely perks of working remotely. It’s important not to abuse it, but enjoy it when you can.
Although working from home can be an adjustment, it offers a number of benefits for you and your team. Thankfully, sourcing candidates and sending outreach messages can be done from a variety of places, and we have several resources to help you send messages that clinicians will want to respond to. Take a look at our recent blog, 10 Things Not To Do In Your Candidate Messaging, and then watch our webinar recording on Optimizing Your Recruitment Messaging: The Best Subject Lines to Use This Year.
