Adjusting to the new normal, working from home, and staying safe.
2020 caught all of us by surprise, our personal and professional lives ultimately changed, not because we wanted them to but because it was necessary. Companies that rely on employees to be in-office have slowly transitioned into working from home, although not all operations can afford to have 100% of their employees away from their workplace, the majority had to make the move for the health and safety of not only their employees but everyone they have to interact with personally – vendors, clients, etc. While businesses should go on, our lives and health took the utmost priority. Adjusting to the new normal wasn’t going to be easy but we knew we had to do the work!
The challenge of adjusting to the new normal
It was truly a challenging time, it seemed as if we had to make a total shift on how we normally do things. Everything and everyone has stopped to take a look and listen to what we can do to help. There was a need to reevaluate priorities without compromising our people and productivity.
As our employees are based in multiple locations across the globe, and the difference in the implementation of local restrictions and health guidelines, as well as the lockdowns taking place – our management, requested staff to efficiently move their work to their homes. With urgency, our teams strategized how we can smoothly transition our work fully remotely without disrupting core tasks. Necessary office equipment was sent to employees’ homes equipping everyone with the tools required for their tasks. While some require more time in setting up, we also have others who have designated home spaces ready for the remote work we’re set to do in the coming weeks, even months, and now for more than a year and a half.
We’ve done remote work to some extent, so adjusting to the new normal wasn’t too jarring for some, as we have team members who are stationed from different countries across the globe. For any business, it is a bold move to shift the entirety of operations to fully remote. It poses a lot of questions about how we can manage our teams better, how to measure their productivity and focus on what matters most.
How XSplit adapted
At first, there was uncertainty on how we could overcome this obstacle. It must’ve been a management nightmare, not knowing how to make sure that people are doing what they’re supposed to and keeping track of their productivity. One thing that XSplit can be proud of is how much trust the management has put in its employees, letting them manage their time while exhibiting the same productivity during these past months.
Setting up face-to-face meetings has turned into video conferences, emails, and digital calendars. It was during this process we came up with XSplit Presenter, something we discussed here. Meeting our colleagues at the pantry for some coffee and a little chat during a break, or some celebratory pizza and donuts from our coworkers, these have now gone remote as well. Our big end-of-month meetings see our team get food and drinks delivered to their homes!
Our priorities have changed too, more than anything – health and our people’s safety take the utmost importance. Our people are our greatest asset, and taking good care of them is the most important aspect at this time.
From shifting our workplace from our offices in our HQ to a small space in our homes, converting our unused spaces into home offices where we can work was a part of adjusting to the new normal. We were granted a small benefit to have our home spaces decked with the necessary equipment and tools for an efficient work environment. We had our desktops, laptops, and other office equipment shipped to our homes, making sure that nobody is ill-equipped to function as they did when we were still stationed in our office.
We can #workfromanywhere, we have teammates located from across the globe. What we are most proud of is the openness in communication among our peers. Yes, meetings are still inevitable and are much needed since we’re not able to speak to each other face to face, but a simple catch-up call in a week with the team can really help keep us all feeling like a team.
Kudos to our People and Culture team too! They are the go-to people when you need help with anything, they make sure that everyone is well taken care of and they also make sure to make our end-of-the-month meetings more special and engaging with mini-games and cute prizes, which has made adjusting to the new normal easier!
Our work from home set up
Like most companies, we have mostly fully transitioned our operations into our homes. We can safely say that the transition was abrupt but a necessary part of adjusting to the new normal. Could we say that we have fully adapted to our new operating environment? Maybe, maybe not. We can be sure to say that we are continuing to adapt as needed. The challenges and situations are temporary but the learnings and experiences we’ve received have made us stronger, more productive, and more optimistic for the future.