Tag: remote work

How to Handle Calls Like a Professional

How to Handle Calls Like a Professional

Calls would always be part of a virtual assistant’s routine, regardless of whether his or her tasks are centered on customer service or otherwise. A remote worker, given the long distance from his or her client, has to make calls to coordinate tasks, share ideas, ask questions, and make clarifications, whenever necessary.

Nonetheless, not all can make calls properly. There are some, who are still having a hard time making sure they sound professional when communicating via call. This could be a hindrance to maintaining seamless relations between the virtual assistant and his or her co-workers. It is not always efficient to settle with e-mails and personal messages.

If you are among those, who have to ring a person from time to time, it is imperative you are aware of how a call should be done professionally. There are simple ways to do so, such as the following:

Answer promptly. It is highly unprofessional if you let calls ring continuously without picking them up right away or sending them to voicemail. This actually takes much of the caller’s time.

If you are not available, a voicemail is a good hint. Moreover, if you can pick it up and inform you may have a conversation at a later time, it would be much more helpful.

Always start with a professional greeting. You should always keep in mind that the person at the end of the line may not always be the one you are expecting. This is regardless of having a caller ID system in place. 

It is always best to start with a polite greeting, such as “Good morning” or “Good day.” To make it sound more professional, you may also add your name as an introduction upon picking up the call.

Speak clearly and slowly. You need to avoid speaking at a faster pace to avoid misunderstanding and confusion. It is best to stay calm while talking to make sure you are conveying your thoughts properly. 

If you have a certain accent that may be difficult for some to comprehend, the more you should follow this.

Additionally, if you are used to adding fillers, like “uh,” “uhm,” and “like,” you should practice avoiding those words while making calls. The more straightforward your sentences are, the better the conversation would be.

Smile while on a call. If you want to provide warmth to the person you are talking to, it is best to smile while on a call. This would give your voice a friendly tone. Regardless of the purpose of the call, you will get off on the right foot.

Make sure to call back, if promised. Being professional means you stand by your word. If you have informed the person that you will call back, then you should do so. Should you have specified a fixed date and time, then you should not be earlier or later than the schedule.

If you cannot make it, it is best to leave a message and request for another convenient time to continue your call.

Avoid putting the call on speaker. Putting your call on speaker would give an impression that you are not making the conversation private. This may make the person you are talking to uncomfortable, especially if the topic being discussed is sensitive and critical.

Speaker may be set if you have notified beforehand and it could be effective if you are having a call with a group of people.

Follow the transfer protocol properly. A reason to transfer the call is necessary so that the person would be aware that his or her concern is best addressed by another member of the organization.

Moreover, if a transfer would be done, you should also be certain that the person to pick up the call is available. 

With the given tips above for better handling of calls at work, you would find it easier to coordinate with the members of the organization, partners, and even clients. Maintaining good communication is pivotal in remote work, and this covers making a call now and then. Some matters are best conferred about through calls instead of written messages. Hence, making sure this communication means is done advantageously is synonymous to attaining work efficiency.

How to Have a Proactive Mindset as a Remote Worker

How to Have a Proactive Mindset as a Remote Worker

Working effectively as a remote worker is not all about having the skills and experience. You also need to have that proactive mindset to maintain your good performance. There are virtual assistants, who have a lot of potential when it comes to delivering great work, but fail to do so given they are not driven enough. They are held back by their lack of a proactive mindset.

In order to avoid the aforementioned situation, you also have to consider conditioning yourself as a proactive remote worker. You cannot always rely on external factors to keep you motivated to do well at work, such as your team members, your organization, or your personal condition.

To help you have a proactive mindset, you may try carrying out the following:

Do not dwell on your past mistakes. If you made errors at work, do not dwell on them. Otherwise, you would not be able to better yourself. Consider the fact that all make mistakes, especially if new to the tasks. What is more important is to consider what lies ahead.

By accepting that you may err from time to time, your thinking would not be constrained and you can prevent feeling demotivated. You will be more willing to learn and take on challenges, which are characteristics that would make you a proactive remote worker.

Learn the power of prioritizing. Know that you cannot do every task provided to you. If you want to make the most out of having initiative, you should create a priority list. By making sure you are focusing on more important tasks, you would be able to avoid time wastage and missed deadlines.

Identifying the priority level of your activities will help you schedule your day-to-day work more effectively. You can assign a specific timeframe for each task and even your due date for it (which is different from the actual one). This would help ensure to set aside a time gap, which will allow you to review your work and edit it should there be problems.

Be prompt in communication. You would never look professional or proactive if you do not practice responding promptly when communicating. This is regardless of the platform you use (e-mail, message, or call).

For e-mail or message, regardless of having to check references before sending a reply, it is best to notify the person that you will be sending feedback by a certain time.

If you fail to respond to messages, being proactive means you also have to be willing to apologize. This may happen, particularly if you are caught up with lots of appointments.

Alongside being prompt, you will be proactive if you also consider the way you compose your response. Double check if you have addressed all concerns and if an attachment is necessary, make sure it is already included.

In terms of calls, it is always best to pick up to give an indication that you are always ready to offer any help to your bosses, team members, or customers. Be straightforward whenever speaking via call. If you need to call back, inform them about it right away and provide a specific time when you will ring them again. If you still need to verify some things before giving them concise responses, you also have to provide this information.

Be open to feedback. Having a proactive mindset also means you are willing to find out what your co-workers think about your performance at work. If they provide you reviews, make sure to welcome them. On the other hand, should they specify matters for improvement given your declining productivity and efficiency, you should take note of it. Be reminded that their insights are your means of targeting your weak points.

Know that the feedback given to you should not be taken personally. You also have to keep in mind that your performance is not about you solely since it can affect the entire organization.

Maintain a positive attitude. Being proactive also means that you are always willing to work harmoniously with everyone. You should always be approachable in times of need. Moreover, regardless of being in a situation full of tension, you should always try hard to keep your cool and be thoughtful of others.

The way you work with others can actually weigh down your skills. No matter how adept are, if you fail to get along with the people around you, collaboration would fail miserably. 

You will win more if you become proactive. This is not only in terms of becoming a better remote worker, but being someone that your co-workers can rely on. It is not a swift process, but as long as you practice it, you will definitely achieve your goal.

Simple Ways to Make Your Mondays Better

Simple Ways to Make Your Mondays Better

Monday would always be a day that most people dread. After the weekend of respite, you would feel the need to extend your rest but cannot do so for the first work day is coming. Monday is not at fault. It is simply the way things are. This is regardless of working in the office or at home.

However, starting your week right can be done in a better way. If you do not want your start of the week to pass poorly without even making your day at work more efficient, there are simple things for you to do:

Start with a plan. Monday is a good day to plan out the entire week. By planning, you would be able to prioritize the activities that need more attention due to urgency and importance. Furthermore, it is not always effective to just work as the tasks come. This could result in you concentrating on menial work. 

You could set a timeframe for each activity you will work on. For instance, for your current social media management project, market research may be done on Monday and Tuesday. Afterward, Wednesday could be a day to create graphics for postings, and so on.

Schedule meetings or appointments ahead. If you will be meeting with people, such as clients, suppliers, or contractors, Monday would be the right time to ensure that you would not be missing a slot on their calendars. The earlier you can coordinate with them, the better.

By doing so, you may also fill in your calendar accordingly. You may avoid conflicting schedules with your other commitments. By seeing your schedule ahead, you could manage your time more effectively throughout the week.

Focus on improvement. By treating Monday as an improvement check day, you could better yourself every week. Simply review how the last week had been and you would be able to do this.

You can check the lapses you had made previously, such as managing your time poorly, delaying a task frequently, or coordinating a concern ineffectively. Identifying these problems could keep you in check throughout the week. 

Touch base with co-workers. If you are working in teams, a touchbase meeting every Monday is a good way to start the week better. At the very least, you would have social time instead of focusing on work the whole day.

You can have a small talk about how the weekend has been. Furthermore, you may even share ideas on how you could spend the coming days more productively. 

Having a personal connection at the start of the week could be a boost to anyone, especially to those, who tend to feel less driven when working alone.

Wear positivity. If you want to feel better every Monday, then you should wear positivity. Think that if you would start your week right, you should begin with yourself. Smile as the day starts and think of affirmative thoughts. For instance, instead of fearing a big project to work on, think of how you would improve your skills by accomplishing it. 

The small ways mentioned above are your means of transforming your Monday into a friendly day. Think of it as your jumpstart to a productive week ahead and a more reliable you.

Preparing Against Power Outage, Remote Workers' Greatest Foe

Preparing Against Power Outage, Remote Workers’ Greatest Foe

Working remotely is highly convenient not only for the remote workers, but for the employers at the same time. Instead of setting up big office spaces, you no longer have to worry about delaying your operations as long as your virtual assistants are set. You simply have to ensure your company’s files and applications are accessible in any unit regardless of location. 

However, the aforementioned convenience can be disrupted by many problems, such as power outages. When blackout hits, it is common that virtual assistants tend to leave work early or miss their entire shift. 

Fortunately, there are ways for remote workers to prepare against power outages. All it takes is following these simple tips:

Keep yourself updated to the power maintenance schedule. At present, electricity providers use various platforms to keep their customers notified when power maintenance will be done. You should take advantage of this, such as by following their social media pages. You may also request for updates via e-mail or SMS.

Make sure your devices are charged after use. You should make it a habit to charge your devices after use. For instance, following your daily shift, ensure that you charge your laptop and mobile phone. At the very least, you can be certain that the next day you utilize these devices, they are fully functional despite the possibility of power outage affecting your area.

It became a practice for most remote workers to only charge their equipment whenever the battery is low. This should be avoided, regardless of whether your location is prone to blackouts or the contrary.

Prepare a backup internet always. Besides charging your devices, you should also have an alternative internet connection. Power outage implies your wired internet will no longer work. 

Apart from saving credit for mobile data, if you are using a wireless internet device, you should also make certain that this is fully charged always.

It is also helpful if you are near an area, such as a restaurant or café, which offers free internet connection. This could be an option if you ran out of solutions for the backup internet.

Nonetheless, this tip goes hand in hand with the second one. Even if you have a way out from your internet issue, but your PC or laptop has no power backup, you still would not be able to work.

Maintain your generator properly. If you have a portable generator at home, it is imperative you follow the procedures in maintaining it. Aside from keeping a stock of fuel, you should also see to it that it undergoes periodic inspection for issues. Moreover, you should consider oil change, battery power check, and battery cleaning among others. By doing so, you would not have any issue using it in times of blackouts.

Set a go-to place as an alternative home office. There is a possibility that power outages may last for days, particularly if the damage is due to natural disasters. In this instance, it is advisable to find a place that you could set as your home office temporarily. For instance, an available co-working space you could rent for a short period or a friend’s house that you would be welcome to stay in for a while.

With the given tips above, you would be able to report as normally as you could despite power outages. Simply keep in mind that missing work due to blackout could mean a lot of things, such as missed deadline, attendance issue, delayed team members’ work due to your late input, and overall poor performance record. These could be prevented by being proactive in dealing with power outages.

Five Best Practices Before Starting Your Remote Work

Five Best Practices Before Starting Your Remote Work

Working from home is not entirely different from reporting to an office far from your place. You perform the same tasks and coordinate with the similar group of people in your company. This also implies that even your productivity should not have any disparity despite the change in your location. You are still expected to deliver results and ensure efficiency daily.

Did you know what you do prior to starting your shift could affect your overall performance in your job? This is why it is fairly imperative that you develop a routine that will make sure to help you get the best out of your skills during your work.

To help you with the aforementioned matter, provided below are some best practices before starting your remote work:

Get enough sleep. Sleep would always be a crucial part of anyone’s lives, even in terms of work. Without getting enough rest, you would not have the energy to accomplish your tasks well. It may also impair your health, making you incapable of working at all.

According to The Cost of Poor Sleep: Workplace Productivity Loss and Associated Costs, a study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, an employee’s productivity is reduced due to sleep deprivation.

Also, without proper sleep, your reaction time may likely be affected, making a simple task of responding quickly in a conversation difficult for you.

Exercise. If you are a person who got used to sitting for hours during work, exercise is definitely what you need. Being stagnant will never give you either work or health benefits.

Moreover, in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, a study by researcher Tim Puetz and Patrick O’Connor showed that exercising could boost your energy levels and decrease fatigue, which is highly helpful before working. Instead of having energy drinks or coffee, you might as well resort to exercise, which is not only beneficial to your body, but also to your mind.

Listen to music. To relax your mind before starting your shift, maybe some music would keep you in check. It could boost your mood and make you feel better before reporting. This could make you feel more motivated to carry out your tasks.

Music and work have long been associated in different studies. One study in 1995 showed that the employees’ work performance of a large retail organization improved significantly when they were allowed to listen to personal stereos for four weeks. This is in comparison to those who were not permitted to do so.

According to most researchers, music makes employees feel calm and focused. This is also probably the reason why some employers allow their workers to listen to music during work. This privilege has long been associated with better productivity.

Eating a healthy meal. It is always best to make sure your body is nourished with nutrients prior to working. Though many were used to simply having a cup of coffee to start their day at work, this may not be helpful to you.

A study in the British Journal of Health Psychology stated that people who eat more fruits and vegetables would benefit their mind. You will be more creative and more engaged at work. Moreover, your mood will be lifted, which is a great perk to anyone.

Preparing in advance. This practice should always be a part of a remote worker’s routine since it could affect how your day would start. If you prepare your workspace at the last minute before your shift, you would likely waste much of your time instead of getting on your priorities right away.

Making sure your resources are set properly is one way of avoiding delays. One good example is the possible update of your PC or laptop. If you would open it early on, you would not be delayed for a few minutes or hours before working. Virtual assistants, who get caught up by automatic updates, suffer late accomplishment of work and missed meetings.

With the provided practices, you would definitely have a better day at work. Remember, it is all about how you design your routine. Do not let any poor habit keep you from performing your job effectively. Plus, the given tips above are mostly beneficial to your health. Hence, you will win remarkably in many ways just by following them.