Each Monday my staff and I gather for our Monday morning meeting. Prior to Covid-19 we met in person, but now we meet virtually. We have a long checklist of tasks that we review to prepare for the week and to review the month ahead. 

This week while working remotely, we got a good laugh when Keri, the Director of Operations, shared that her husband Ed keeps “checking on her” around 11am each day. Prior to the pandemic Keri spent one day a week working in the Concordia offices and the other days she worked from home. Simultaneously, Keri’s husband worked out of an office in D.C. Keri wasn’t sure what this check-in was all about, so she asked Ed.

Ed reported that he regularly schedules time in his day to walk through his department in order to have an opportunity to casually check in with his staff. Now that he is working virtually, he continues the walkabout, but has shifted his attention to his wife and kids. His family is taking some time to get used to this new interaction!

For anyone who has attended my leadership programs or received coaching from me, I am a big fan of management by walking around. It’s great to pop in and see how your employees are doing, to chat informally, and to hear about their projects and their lives in real time. So, now that many of us are working remotely, how can you do this?

• Schedule team check-ins at the start or end of each day.

• Use a group chat feature to send a short message each morning or evening.

• Arrange one-on-ones with your direct reports frequently — at least once a week.

• Send funny anecdotes throughout the week.

What methods have you and your team found to stay connected while working remotely?