Responsiveness at work is one of the most crucial factors when reporting from home. Since communication is the foundation that both client and employee rely on when coordinating online, without responsiveness, there would definitely be nothing to be accomplished.

If one does not reply promptly regardless of the platform, such as e-mail, SMS, or call, one would not be able to collaborate with a co-worker properly. Questions would not be answered, ideas would not be shared, and even issues would not be resolved.

Should you want to sustain seamless cooperation with both your client and team members even while working from home, responsiveness is a major matter you should concentrate on. There are basic ways you could practice starting today, such as the following:

Logging in your accounts on multiple devices. If you want to ensure that you would not miss any e-mail, message, or call, it is best to log in your accounts not only on your PC or laptop, but also on your phone. 

Be reminded that you may overlook notifications on your PC or laptop due to being focused on other tasks. Hence, another device that would advise you of important messages would be a great help.

Set your notification sounds. It would be useless if you keep your devices silent when working, if it is supposed to alert you of messages or calls.

You may simply set the notification sounds during your shift and ascertain that these are at the right volume. This is to guarantee that even when you leave your workspace for a while, you will still hear urgent notices.

Utilize various communication platforms. Working with e-mail alone would never be effective. It is always best to use messaging platforms to ensure that you would be reachable, whenever necessary.

If you are working in a team, setting a group chat for all the team members would be most beneficial. 

There are times that one does not open their e-mails on their phones, but logs in his or her messaging apps instead. If emergencies arise, one could opt for a messaging platform for a quick response.

Set auto-reply if you are unavailable. It is always best to leave an auto-generated e-mail or message, whenever you can, especially if you would be on leave or absent for a certain period. In such a way, your co-workers would not guess where you are. At the very least, they would think of an alternative immediately if they were not able to obtain an important input from you.

This goes the same with a call. If you can direct your contacts to a voicemail, that would be most advantageous, such as when you are currently in a meeting. This will give people the idea to call you back at a later time or leave the message they want to convey instead.

Do not categorize messages as important and less important. No matter how significant a message or not, it is always professional to respond on time. Simply put yourself in the shoes of the one sending you the missive. Who would want to obtain a response way too late, especially concerning work? There may be exceptions, such as when you are totally occupied or become offline due to emergencies, but still, whenever you can, respond to messages right away.

You would never know if your reply is of great importance to your co-worker and may delay his or her tasks. 

By starting to apply the aforementioned practices during work, you would have much easier time working with your client and co-workers. Being responsive is not about being professional alone, but also about showing care to your team members. It implies active cooperation for the achievement of the organization’s goals.