If you’re in the United States, you’ve probably been hearing about businesses bringing their operations back into the office. Many are choosing to remain remote after realizing how productive they could actually be from home within reach of their kids, pets and fridges.
Whether your business is moving back to in-person operations or is staying distanced, it’s important to acknowledge and review business etiquette, especially during such a transitional time. You’ve probably got some rules in place, but if you haven’t already, make sure they’re adapted to remote workers staying remote and the ones transitioning to the office. This is especially important for anyone who was hired remotely and hasn’t worked in-person with you yet. Not everything that flies with remote working will fly in the office.
If you’ve been working remotely, you’ve had to onboard employees from a wider range of backgrounds than before, since they don’t need to leave nearby. This is a great reason to call for an overview of your etiquette list, as you should be considerate and inclusive of their backgrounds to keep everyone getting along smoothly and even learning some new things.
Here’s some general etiquette you and your team can follow, tailored to remote work, a hybrid model, or transitioning back into the office:
Be on time or a bit early.
A lot of remote jobs don’t require some employees to start at a specific hour as long as you can make meetings, such as marketing or software engineering. While the flexibility may make it tempting for employees to snooze for another 30 minutes or walk a dog at 11 AM, it’s ideal to have staff be online during typical business hours for your industry and location. This makes it easier to help with last-minute projects, emergencies, join unplanned meetings, and just to be on call, because you never know when someone’s going to need help.
If you’re about to transition back into the office, this is more essential than ever.
Inclusivity matters.
The events of the past year have highlighted the need for better inclusivity of diverse identities, and the workplace is a particularly important place that thrives on inclusivity. Even if your staff is as colorful as a rainbow, that rainbow isn’t going to sparkle unless every identity feels respected, heard, seen and understood. Encourage your team to stand up for themselves if they feel disrespected and for them to listen if they’re the ones being called out.
Practicing inclusivity within the workplace can go a long way, especially if you’re returning to the office and connecting in-person. What you practice in the office can follow your business into your customer and vendor interactions, better gearing you up for stellar satisfaction across the board. After all, your customers are probably also diverse and wouldn’t want to feel left out or disrespected by your business.
Dress appropriately, even if it’s just for video calls.
While it’s fantastic from an employee’s perspective to work in their old T-shirt and sweats, it’s not the most professional thing to see on a work Zoom. Unless your workplace has always been extremely casually dressed, require employees to dress for calls as if you were in the office. This is especially important for calls with anyone you don’t know, such as new vendors, clients, or candidates interviewing for a position. If you’re moving back to the office, you can prepare yourself for the transition by dressing up at home if you aren’t already. If this will be a new expectation, be sure to provide your team members enough time to prepare for the new dress code as they return to the office.
Put your phone away.
Even if you’re at home and no one can see your phone sitting next to your laptop, you’re probably distracted by the buzzing notifications, especially if it’s your friends hitting you up for weekend plans or announcing the adoption of their latest pet. Most communication can wait until after your work is done! Even if you’re the business owner or the CEO, you should set an example for your employees.
Of course, only put your phone away if you’re unlikely to need it for work reasons. If your team members call and text each other often, have your phone out to be ready. If you’re going back into the office and back to those work phones, then you’re probably better off with your phone in your bag.
Keep your personal email professional if you’re going to use it professionally.
This one’s for those of you who are just starting to work freelance or are just starting your own business. If you’re a freelancer without a work email, you don’t want to use that old xxNinjaWarrior1337x email address you made in high school. Even if you’d like to hold on to that address for nostalgia, don’t send any professional emails with it. Any email used for professional correspondence typically just features whatever name you go by.
Say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to as many coworkers as you can.
We’ve all gotten accustomed to working independently without much in-person human interaction. Now that you’re back in the office, just a few words a day to your colleagues can spark instant rapport. If you’re not interrupting them, a quick ‘hi’ or ‘bye’ communicates that you’re acknowledging their presence. These little words could spark a short or long conversation about literally anything -- “Bye! Oh, by the way, I love your shoes! Where did you get them?” or a “Hey, what did you think of that meeting that really couldn’t have been an email?”
Be mindful of the impact of providing a quality customer experience.
Your company’s appeal doesn’t only lie in the quality of your products, prices, and how entertaining your marketing is. Much of your reputation depends on how well you treat your customers through the customer experience you provide. The stats reflect this ‒ 92% of survey respondents stated that they’d abandon a brand after a few negative experiences with it. Negative experiences often include poor customer service etiquette, such as responding to a customer question on Instagram with an overly aggressive, unhelpful tone.
Don’t make meetings that could have been an email.
“That meeting could have been an email” is a common gripe with many workers and it’s totally understandable why. Emails, unlike meetings, are read at one’s own pace.
Even though we did say it’s courteous for remote workers to be online at prime business hours, sometimes life gets in the way. You never know when a team member could be out running an important errand the moment you’re asking them to join a last-minute, unscheduled meeting.
What are some of your etiquette tips that are relevant to remote work or a hybrid workforce? We’d like to hear your thoughts!
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About Stingray Advisory Group LLC: Stingray Advisory Group LLC is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is a proud member of Local First and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. We help small businesses grow by providing guidance in financial planning, website development, marketing, and more.
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