Making the most of a quarantine. Source’s Top Tips for Managing RemoteTeams in commercial construction:
Written By: JoAnne Tobias
For many industries, working remotely is already a somewhat common practice. When COVID-19 sent everyone but the essential workers home, this new reality became the new normal for all companies. Source is somewhat unique in that as a commercial construction company, a lot of our employees are general contractors and more used to working in the field than in front of a computer.
But we were committed to keeping our core people employed and engaged during this period, and most importantly for our commercial real estate clients- keeping the Source cohesive culture fully intact.
How Source keeps its culture intact with remote work in commercial construction::
Using Downtime to Level Up. We want to be building and doing tenant improvement in commercial office spaces, but it’s good to have the time to tinker on new software and fully explore all the nuances. This is also the time to do online training and brush up on OSHA certifications. Use this extra time to get your teams to do a deep dive on mastering the finer technical aspects; future you will thank you.
Turn on Your Video. Unless you’re overloading the bandwidth, encourage your coworkers to show their faces. You’ll feel more connected with your team and your meetings will be more productive. Scheduling weekly virtual happy hours is another way employees can connect and have some fun, while also giving them something to look forward to after a long week.
Slow Down and Deepen Connections. You may already find that your calls with your crew have change. Instead of doing tenant improvement in commercial office spaces, you’re talking about tenant improvement in commercial office spaces. Aslo, whereas before you’d call for a specific reason and hop off, now you find people craving more contact. General contractors at Source are social- they need to talk, so build a bit of time in at the beginning of the chat to discuss how they’re dealing with challenges. Enjoy it when the dog or the kids walk into the background.
Over-communicate. When you’re working remotely, make it your default to be proactive. Sharing information, timelines, and expectations will keep the momentum and keep everyone aligned.
Reinforce Accountability. A big part of Source culture is doing the right thing. This is how we handle all tenant improvement in commercial office space. We know that the best way to build trust is to do what you say you’ll do. You can inspire responsibility during remote work by keeping the work visible. When people know who is in charge of what task, people are motivated to meet their obligation to the group.
Need help with an upcoming project? Support with a budget or timeline analysis? Let us know how we can help. Contact us.