You Need

1. Get everyone on the same page as to ‘its work as usual’ just in a different space
Encourage your staff to keep their regular work hours and to take breaks at lunchtime. Sharing cloud-based calendars like Google Calendar is one way to see the availability of all colleagues when scheduling remote team meetings. A risk with remote work is that people spend too much time online without natural breaks throughout the day, working unhealthily long hours.

2. Ongoing excellent quality communication is vital
Encourage the use of regular face to face interactions with the likes of Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype and WhatsApp video chats. Face-to-face communication via secure video chats will ease the feeling of isolation that some people may experience working alone, particularly extroverts. Sharing face-to-face experiences with colleagues who are in a similar remote working position will keep up company morale. Remind staff to it the ‘mute’ button if it’s a meeting with more than one person. If you have meetings with people in the room and others remote, always stop to let the remote attendees speak first.

3. Track project progress and milestones simultaneously on cloud-based apps
Whether you use the free or premium versions, applications like Asana and Trello are very useful in monitoring the progress of tasks and responsibilities for projects requiring multiple team members. Visible to everyone with different levels of access, these tools enable managers and team leaders to manage remote teams promptly.

4. Help staff that are less technologically capable
Having to embrace new technologies suddenly can be daunting for some employees. Get inside or outside help to assist these staff members to feel comfortable with the chosen tools. It is an adjustment for some to work remotely, having to come to terms with new technology can be a leap too far if left unsupported. There are no stupid questions and back up should be available.

5. Ensure you have load-shedding connectivity plans in place
Conduct an internet connectivity audit to ascertain what support your staff might need to remain connected to the internet during periods of load-shedding at home. Consider purchasing 850v or above UPSes or cellular connectivity modems and bundles as back-up options.

If this is not possible, get staff to block out load shedding time on the shared calendar to indicate downtime.

6. Remind your staff to find a quiet space to work at home, with minimum interruptions
It is always best for remote working staff to find a quiet space at home in which to work by setting up an office in a room that not used. If this is not possible, then train your staff to explain to any callers that they are working from home and may hear the sounds of children and other family members in the background. Most people will be understanding. If these noises bother you look to purchase your employees’ headsets that reduce outside noise.

7. Consider VOIP connectivity for telephones which work well for virtually based companies
VOIP telephones and applications are internet-based and when the hardware connects to a modem allows your staff to make voice calls. Call costs are billed to you, the employer, making it a convenient way to monitor call costs. It’s a handy way of making calls, and once it’s set up, it’s a lot cheaper than using regular phone lines or cellular call costs.

8. Focus on productivity and outputs, rather than presence and inputs
Trust your staff to deliver the results your business requires. Measure outputs and deliverables rather than worrying about hours at a desk. Use point number three to allocate, measure and manage output delivery.

9. Get regular feedback from your staff as to their well-being and work progress
Have an open line with all your staff. Let the team know that you are available to talk about anything, not just work, while this transition is taking place. Show your support and excitement for the process. Praise staff that transition well and assist those that struggle. If motivation seems to be dropping organise a daily team ‘jelly’ where everyone checks in on a video chat and hangs out together. With more junior staff, you may want to have two hangouts with managers to check in with them and see how they are progressing and if they need support or just a chat.

10. Be encouraged that technology has helped millions of people to work remotely
It is estimated that 70% of people globally, work remotely one day a week. It’s a growing trend. RecruitMyMom, a South African online recruitment agency for companies that embrace flexible ways of working to attract top skills, is an almost entirely virtual organisation. They find more and more employers are using technology successfully for remote working. If you have the right tools, attitude, trust and aptitude for remote working, it is just like business as usual.

There are many positives to remote working, increased productivity and flexibility being just some. Let’s not forget the positive environmental impact of having fewer people on the roads during peak-hour traffic. For companies where the in-office culture is an integral part of who you are, having to consider remote working can be daunting, but it can be done, even if just for short periods, without negatively impacting the business.

Having said that, property tends to be a far more resilient investment type than most. In recent days we’ve seen equities being significantly affected, while property has remained fairly stable.

Earlier this month CNBC reported that residential real estate in the US appeared to offer investors the calm they were looking for in the coronavirus storm. Traditionally, property is far less volatile than the stock market and has a high tangible asset value. Irrespective of the impact the virus has on society, people will still need accommodation, which offers a measure of security in terms of a property investment holding ground in times of turmoil. What’s more, property is an asset class with supreme resilience and a unique ability to “bounce back” as market conditions improve.

Buyer’s market

The prevailing market conditions too – the so-called buyer’s market – are further reasons to not shy away from property investments in the time of Covid-19. A buyer’s market – a situation where the supply of property exceeds the demand for property – bodes well for those looking to purchase property since prices are generally lower in this type of market. Add to that the fact that banks are open to offering 100% home loans to qualifying individuals; that the threshold on transfer duty was raised to R1m recently, meaning that transfer duty costs are lower for buyers; and that interest rates were dropped last week, it is a good time for investors to remain at least slightly positive about the immediate future of property.

Our advice is to ensure that you buy at the right price, that your affordability is in order and that you don’t extend yourself too much when acquiring a new property. Putting down a deposit is always a good idea and might mean that you can get a better interest rate on your bond.

At this stage we must caution against panic, and while we need to take the necessary measures in order to protect ourselves and our families, we also need to think as rationally as possible about property, and about investments in general.

This follows Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s response to GroundUp’s question at a press conference in Midrand on 17 March, where he said if a property owner decided to have people evicted for any reason “we expect the normal course of litigation to be followed and for any presiding officer handling that matter to apply the normal principles”.

He said it will be business as usual at most courts across South Africa and most cases, like the issuing and execution of eviction orders, are expected to run their course.

Mogoeng’s statement came a few days after an eviction that was carried out by the City of Cape Town in Zweledinga informal settlement in Khayelitsha where about 40 shacks were demolished. The city said it was acting on a court order.

Considering the communicable nature of Covid-19

“The current business as usual response, that is, issuing eviction orders, implementing their execution or removing people from their homes (even without an eviction order by means of an interdict, municipal by laws or otherwise), does not consider the communicable nature of Covid-19 and how evictions and displacement will place a greater number of vulnerable people at risk,” read a letter addressed to the president’s office and various ministers.

In the letter, the organisations said the moratorium should be declared under the regulations that followed the declaration of a national state of disaster.

Section 10 (8)(c) of the regulations says that the state may “take any other steps that may be necessary to address, prevent an escalation of the national state of disaster, or to alleviate, contain and minimise the effects of the national state of disaster”.

The organisations said that the moratorium would be a crucial step in minimising the effects of the coronavirus on vulnerable communities.

It was concerning that the judiciary’s plan to deal with the virus focused on the number of people in courtrooms and did not mention the effect of continuing with cases, like evictions, will have on vulnerable communities, said the organisations.

Social distancing made more difficult

“One cannot practice physical distancing should you find yourself and your belongings on the side of the road or in an open space and exposed to the public with no means of protection. One cannot practice a heightened level of hygiene by washing hands in the recommended manner where the only access to water is a communal standpipe and shared ablution facilities in an informal settlement or in a transitional relocation area,” read the letter.

Housing is more important now than ever and the state must take measures to prioritise protecting the most vulnerable by preventing evictions that lead to homelessness, said the organisations.

“It cannot be business as usual when the country is facing a potential public health crisis which only stands to be exacerbated when scores of families are displaced or rendered homeless. Evictions that result in displacement or homelessness can significantly increase the spread of infectious diseases like Covid-19,” read the letter.

Article originally published on GroundUp.