Blog

1.Introduction

This document is aimed at providing managers with WFH The Yoma Way Guidelines to help them effectively manage staff who are working remotely. 

2. How to Manage staff working from home.

2.1 Set Clear Expectations

Remote working leaves employees with more control of their work-day structure. Therefore, it is necessary for managers to make clear your expectations of your WFH team.

The best managers – always – set clear expectations!

Ideally, you need to be answering the following questions so that your staff know what is required of them:

• Urgent tasks to be accomplished and take priority over the next week.
• General objectives going forward
• Whom to contact if issues arise
• How many hours of work are expected?
• How much work per day/week they should be completing?
• Your level of availability and how you can be reached

The best way to check if your expectations are clear is to ask questions relating to what you have discussed in order to make sure you are working towards the same goal.

2.2 Monitor Progress Regularly

The CCC has developed a progress tracking tool for managers and employees to help track and  monitor progress. This tool will also help to track attendance of staff. Managers can modify this tool to suit their department. However, it is recommended that all managers have a tool for tracking goals and KPI’s.

//52.220.87.101/knowledge-base/wfh-performance-tracker/

2.3 Conduct Regular VC Team Meetings

Conduct regular VC team meetings via Microsoft Teams. Meeting should have a clear agenda and you should give each person on the call an opportunity to talk. Keep the meeting relevant to all the team and use this as an opportunity to check in on work progress. 

All managers should have a minimum of one VC meeting per week to check in on their team.

Click here for quick reference guide for setting up a ‘Microsoft Teams’ Video Conferencing

• Video Conferencing Tips for Managers
• Send an invitation for VC.
• Include the link to the VC in the invitation for quick reference by participants.
• Have a clear agenda and state the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.
• Be prepared.
• Let staff know ahead of time if they are required to present so that they can be prepared.
• When addressing staff on the call, use their name to address them.
• Give the quieter staff an opportunity to present, as they are less likely to chime in with responses.
• Pause at the end of your point to allow others to voice their opinions.
• Avoid other distractions like checking your phone or answering emails.
• Communicate your expectations for VC etiquette to your staff.

2.4 Communicate Regularly with Employees

• Call staff instead of emailing to keep up your connection with them.
• Keep the communication channels open at all time.
• After the call, follow up with emails setting clear expectations.

2.5 Stay Informed

As a manager, you should be seeking out management information that you can disseminate to your staff.  Ensure that you are up to date on current policies, guidelines and activities that are happening at a corporate level so that you can share this information with your staff.

The ‘Yoma Connect Employee portal’ has been determined as the most effective communication channel where all Yoma employees can access corporate communications and COVID-19 related policies and guidelines. The Yoma Connect Employee Portal can be accessed via the Yoma Connect App or by clicking this link: //52.220.87.101/

2.6 Trust your Staff and Be Understanding

• Understand the unique challenges that each of your staff are facing while working from home.
• Trust your employees to work independently.
• Use tracking tools to track progress.
• Create an open line of communication where staff feel comfortable expressing their challenges.
• Provide feedback to staff if they are not meeting your expectations.

2.7 Ask for Feedback

Ask your staff for feedback on how effectively you are managing. Staff may feel they require more communication, more meetings, or more guidance. Use this feedback to modify your approached.

3. Monitor your staff’s Health and Wellness

The current situation has led to managers having to operate in a unique situation. Managers have an obligation to their employees to monitor their mental and physical health. Group HR has developed a WFH Wellness Center for employees and managers to access. 

Some staff may not be coping with the current situation and may be experiencing increased stress and anxiety. If you believe that one of your staff is struggling mentally, you should send a message to askhr@yoma.com.mm and a member of the senior HR team will reach out to the employee. We may be able to refer the employee to external counselling services or discuss alternate arrangements to support the employee in their WFH set up.

Microsoft Teams Meeting 101[1]

• Join a Meeting: Click the Calendar button on the App bar, click a meeting, then click the Join button
• Schedule a Meeting: Click the Calendar button on the App bar, then click the New meeting button. Enter a meeting’s name, date, and time, then choose a location or team channel. Click Schedule (or) Alt + Shift + N

• Turn on or off Camera: While in a meeting, click the Camera button on the control toolbar (or) Ctrl + Shift + O

• Turn on or off Microphone: While in a meeting, click the Microphone button on the control toolbar Ctrl + Shift + M
• Blur the Camera Background: While in a meeting or call, click the More Actions ••• button on the controls toolbar and select Blur My Background (or) Ctrl + Shift + P

• Show Meeting Participants: While in a meeting, click the Show Participants  button on the controls toolbar to display the People pane.
• Mute a Meeting Participant: While the meeting’s People pane is displayed, click a participant’s More Options ••• button and select Mute Participant

• Share Your Screen: While in a meeting or call, click the Share Screen  button on the control toolbar. Select your whole screen, a specific window, or a PowerPoint presentation from the screen sharing pane. Click the Stop Sharing  button when you’re done
• Record a Meeting: While in a meeting, click the More Actions ••• button on the controls toolbar and select Start Recording. Click the More Actions ••• button again and select Stop Recording when you’re finished
• View a Meeting Recording: View the team channel that a meeting took place in, locate the meeting in the Content pane, then click the recording

Link for Group Technology team – Microsoft Team : How to

Guidelines

Managing and Maintaining High Performance Remotely

In current times of uncertainties, remote working or Working From Home (WFH) is quickly becoming a new normal. But the new normalcy needs not to be restrictive when it comes to the way we perform individually or managing teams. Therefore, WFH Performance Tracker template is developed to help both people managers and individual contributors to navigate and manage performance objectively in this new and current normalcy.

Who needs to use WFH Performance Tracker?

Every employee who are remotely working from home, either fully or partially, needs to use the WFH performance tracker.  

Responsibility of Managers: People Managers are responsible to set the activities and deliverables for their team members and monitor the progress status on a weekly basis.

Responsibility of Individual Contributors: Individual contributors are responsible to update the progress of their work to their direct managers and catch up on a weekly basis.

How to use the WFH performance Tracker?

Individual Contributor: If you do not have people who are reporting to you, use the template for individual contributors. Individual contributors need to update the attendance, write down monthly objectives, deliverables and propose realistic targeted dates to complete. The deliverables and targeted dates need to be discussed and agreed with your manager. If you are not clear about the tasks and deliverables, it is your responsibility to clarify with your manager.

People Managers: If you have people who are reporting to you, use the template for people managers. People Managers need to set deliverables and ask the employees to submit their individual performance tracker. The deliverables and targeted dates need to be discussed and agreed with your team members.

Performance progress need to be monitored on weekly basis. Weekly check-in can be scheduled individually or as a team via email, conference call and on the phone.

What to discuss during the weekly check-in?

Both people managers and employees should focus on two areas:

What went well during the week: the positive progress of the activities that went well during the week. It will allow the employee and managers to update and recognize the weekly achievement.

Key bottlenecks areas: the challenges or drawbacks that have moderate or high impact on the progress and deliverables. It is the opportunity for the individuals to keep their manager informed and present the difficulties or obstacles that will have impact against the agreed targeted deliverables and ask for support from their direct managers.

Weekly Satisfaction Scale: As Chairman puts it, “We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat.” Although we may not share the same office at the moment, we are still in the same team thus it is vital to check in on one another as we learn to adapt to the new normal. Please ask the simple yet effective question below to each team member and encourage them to elaborate on the why.

“On a 1 to 5 scale, how do you feel this week in general?” (1 – very unhappy/concerned to 5 – very happy with no major concerns)