photo: Erwin Olaf
TECH TIPS FOR STAYING IN “TOUCH”
Team members here, there, and everywhere? Keep communication afloat with these 5 must-have apps.
Braving the storm from home means stepping up our WFH life to maintain clear communication with team members, and of course, clients.
Fortunately, Editor's Edge has operated as a virtual office from the beginning. So we’d like to pass along our playbook of preferred apps and hacks we've discovered along the way to stay connected from afar.
Teamwork makes the dream work, so let’s do a virtual (social distancing) hands-in and keep things running smoothly (especially when the world around us feels bumpy).
THE TOP 5
“WHAT, HOW, HACKS”
FOR VIRTUAL COLLABORATION
1. SLACK
WHAT: Slack is essentially the virtual version of walking into the office. It’s the central hub of quick messaging, water-cooler talk, and anything else related to team and/or client communication. You can DM your team members in one-on-one chats or open up the discussion in dedicated group channels for certain projects, clients, etc.
HOW: We use the green light next to a member's name, as the indicator they have strolled in, are at their "desk" (on time), and ready to get to work.
HACK: Cut out the "did you see this?" by implementing the "thumbs-up rule." Have team members simply react with a “thumbs up” emoji to confirm the message was received. Take it a step further and drop an unexpected .gif or emoji to applaud a job well done or provide a little entertainment (which we could all use right now).
2. VOXER
WHAT: Think of Voxer as leaning back in your chair to clarify a message to an office mate. It's a virtual walkie-talkie app that lets you record and send voice messages back and forth to other users in a voice message thread.
HOW: We use Voxer for those confusing “Who’s on First?” moments when text messages in Slack are getting lost in translation. (Don’t know, “Who's on First?" Google it for some old school comedy and then give your Grandma a call for a chuckle.)
HACK: Changes are happening at a rapid pace right now. Post client call, use Voxer to quickly bring your assistant up to speed and easily communicate thought processes to a vendor partner before moving onto the next fire to put out.
3. LOOM
WHAT: Loom lets you record yourself, your computer screen, or both to capture short videos. It’s ideal for communication that requires specific visual details but doesn’t require the “what’s your availability?” back-and-forth.
HOW: We use Loom to provide creative direction, revision notes to contractors, or to send messages to clients who are reviewing creative content projects.
HACK: When responsibilities get overwhelming, it's time to delegate. Use Loom to record short how-to videos and save your sanity.
4. ZOOM
WHAT: Zoom is a virtual conference room, so naturally it’s having its 15-minutes of fame right now (the memes, fails, and creative ideas have us rolling). Download the Zoom desktop app to video chat with team members (Brady Bunch intro style), or share your screen with multiple people for easy presenting.
HOW: We double-down on the screen share feature to minimize the “let’s see what it would look like” revision requests when collaborating on creative projects.
HACK: Turn off your video or mic during meetings to cancel out any background distractions from your new "co-workers." Oh, and please remember doing business is no time to "do your business" (no one wants to end up like that poor woman and her trending Zoom bathroom fail 🤦🏻♀).
5. DROPBOX
WHAT: Similar to Google Drive, Dropbox is a virtual file-sharing app that lets you drag, drop, store, edit, and collaborate on files in the cloud in real-time.
HOW: We’ve developed a hierarchy of simply-named parent folders in Dropbox that mimic hardcopy office storage. For example, the "2020 Office" is the locked filing cabinet, "Working Drafts" is the portfolio binder of collaborative projects, and "Archive" is (you guessed it) cold storage.
HACK: Who remembers the “Black Book” from The Devil Wears Prada? Cut out hefty email attachments by creating a tidy, client-facing “Black Book” style Dropbox folder to share content with each of your clients. (Not because they’re as rigid as Miranda, but because you’re as on-top-of-it as Andy.)
Solid communication with team members and clients is a must-have for virtual collaboration, but it doesn’t have to be all business.
Share stories, swap ideas, or slip in a ridiculous meme to check-in, offer support, and encourage each other to keep on keepin’ on – cause we could all use it right now.
The real power in
communication (virtual or IRL)
is that it keeps our community connected.
PS – Communication is important, but so is your sanity. If you missed the last Letter From the Editor, it’s packed with additional tips to weather the storm.