Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, employers have been increasingly dependent on their employees working from home. Additionally, the concept of hiring remote workers has also been increasingly adopted. Companies are beginning to realize that working from home actually benefits them in many ways.
However, one concern that many employers and employees have is visibility. In an office setting, visibility may not be a big concern. When working remotely, employees will have to make some special effort to maintain their visibility among colleagues and superiors.
Visibility has always been a key concern for both employees and employers. It’s the main reason why many are often hesitant about adopting this culture. The lack of physical contact can sometimes mean decreased communication, as the popular belief goes. There are ways to remedy this, so let’s hear what some experts think.
1. Participate Actively in Group Discussions and Meetings
Remote employees are often called for team meetings or department-wide meetings on platforms like Zoom. If you’re working remotely, chances are that you’ll be attending plenty of meetings too.
You may experience the temptation to turn off your video feed and just listen in. However, in order to make yourself more visible, you’d have to fight off that temptation. Be an active participant in these meetings by asking questions and giving suggestions if possible. Turn on your video feed so that the rest of your teammates know you’re there.
Additionally, you can also volunteer to host the meeting, moderate the meeting or present a proposal of an idea that you have. This will work wonders, and allow your teammates and department to know that you’re actively contributing.
2. Schedule One on One Meetings with Colleagues
Previously, it was common for colleagues to have lunch meetings to get to know one another. However, with remote work and working from home becoming the new norm, virtual ‘lunches’ should be the way to go.
If you’re new to the team, it helps to introduce yourself on a more personal level. Having one on one zoom meetings might sound like overkill, but it really does do wonders to improve relationships. Not only do you get an in-depth way to know your colleagues, you let them know you’re accessible in a non-judgmental way.
This will encourage them to be open and honest with you in the long term, which means your job just got a whole lot easier.
3. Take Part in Projects and Roles outside Your Normal Tasks
With your superior’s permission, you can start volunteering for projects that are being carried out in the company. These projects might be as simple as contributing an article to the company’s website, using your graphic editing skills to improve the company picture gallery or organizing someone’s surprise birthday event.
When you go out of your usual comfort zone, you can be sure that someone will surely recognize you. In fact, they won’t just recognize you, they’ll remember you too.
4. Visit the Office When You Can
There’s really nothing that can make an impression like a face-to-face meeting. If you have a chance to visit the office, you should take it. This will give you a chance to meet the rest of your colleagues that are not working remotely.
Take the chance to introduce yourself and have meetings with people you have been working with virtually. These crucial face to face meetings re-affirm your existence in the minds of your superiors and colleagues, and remind them that you’re a person, and not just a virtual entity.
5. Use the Office Communication Platform Often
Working teams that have remote members usually have some type of messaging system. It could be a simple chat app like WhatsApp, or a professional app like Skype, Slack or Google Teams.
Don’t allow questions to go unanswered for long. When the app goes quiet, you could try and start productive conversations.
Not all conversations have to be work-based. Sometimes, this space can be used for some personal sharing, or just for posting funny cat videos to make your colleagues smile. If need be, start a separate informal channel where everyone can just be themselves.
Whatever your role is in the team, you’ll have your own personal experience that’s unique from everyone else’s. This is an asset that you can share with your team, and even the rest of the company.
These insights that you have on your role can include both happy achievements and shortcomings too. If your company has a platform where you can blog about your experiences working on a project, you can seize the chance.
Your unique insight will help benefit your colleagues and they will be thankful to you for it.
Conclusion
Many employees have been successful at the business of remote working for several key reasons. The most important of these are communication and approachability.
In order to maintain visibility as a remote worker, you have to constantly keep your lines of communication open and not leave people hanging. It’s easy to fall off the grid, so try and make your voice and presence heard in a consistent manner.
