Remote Work – 8 Essential Tips from Rimon

Our firm was designed for our team to work from home. Here is what we learned.

Rimon was founded 12 years ago as a distributed, cloud-based law firm, so the majority of our team has always worked from home. With over 200 people on the Rimon team, across 31 cities, nine countries, and four continents, working closely as a team regardless of location, we have become experts at working from home while increasing collaboration. During this difficult time, we want to share our long experience of how to effectively work from your home environment as both a supervisor and an employee:

For leaders, we would suggest three key ways to make the dislocation work as smoothly as possible:

• Create a Virtual Watercooler: The biggest disadvantage of working from home is the lack of contact with your fellow employees. These regular check-ins frequently lead to innovation and the potential spark that can lead to business development. Firm leaders should develop a “watercooler” and encourage regular contact between employees. We suggest Microsoft Teams as a starting point.
• Keep in contact: On the same front, it is easy to get lost in working at home. Regular check-ins by firm and practice group leaders will help ensure that any issues employees are facing can be handled early. Zoom has become very popular lately, but even a regular phone call is a good idea.
• Don’t Micromanage: You regularly trust your co-workers with the most important parts of your business. The fact that they are not in sight doesn’t mean that anything should change. You need to show employees that they can be trusted to handle their own workflow.

For Employees, there are other methods to keep yourself in working shape during the adjustment:

• Be clear about your working hours. It can be easy to fall out of a schedule while working from home. Treat each day as if you are going to the office. Keep yourself on the same schedule you had before, if your situation allows it. Of course, under current circumstances, we do not have full control over everything we need to do during the day, but try your best to keep your schedule consistent.
• Create an enjoyable home office experience, but don’t overdo it. If you are working from your bed, you might not get work done. Create an office experience that you wish your office would have had. Mini-fridge next to your desk with your favorite beverages, comfortable chair, and even more important, create an aesthetically pleasing environment that you enjoy spending time in.
• Designate a special place in your home for work and make that your exclusive office and try to use it for nothing else. Even if it is just a small space in a room or hallway. Making it your workspace and not also your dining table creates a work environment conducive to productivity, but also separates it from the rest of your home so you don’t take your work with you.
• Use video conferencing as much as possible to keep yourself from social isolation. Zoom is currently offering free access and is easy to use.
• Dress for work every day, even if you aren’t leaving the house. It sets the right mood and gets you in the zone. It also allows you to unwind when you are done working and get out of your work clothes.

We know these are extraordinary times and that many of us did not have an opportunity to prepare the ideal work-from-home environment before we were forced to do so. We can only do our best. However, once this crisis is over, you may find that there are aspects of working from home you really enjoyed. If you have any questions about working from home as an attorney in particular, please feel free to reach out to us for more suggestions.

Attorney Advertising. This document is not intended to be and is not considered to be legal advice. Transmission of this document is not intended to create, and receipt does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.