This online event was tailored for people who are not accustomed to working from home or having their employees work from home as part of regular business operations. We discussed the practicalities, the challenges and the opportunities by getting familiar with the tools and practices, and how to make working remotely successful for everyone.

NOTES: Tech Thursday Kilkenny, Effective Remote Work, 19/3/20.

Online Events and Opportunities

Panel Talk 1: Catherine Madden UXDX & James Snell Nearform | Host: John Cleere 

• Going Online - The Value of a Conference UXDX
• Work from Home Conf 2 day online event, speakers required
• Catherine: Team used Zoom for the conference main stage and break out rooms
• Catherine: Face to face in break out rooms was important but trying to make them more structured
• James: Important to complete an online event, not to be perfect but learn from it
• Catherine: It is draining to be on cam all the time so create lots of physical breaks. There are still toilet breaks 🙂
• James: Breaks are important, don’t do back-to-back online meeting
• James: Using Twitch and Skype for the event and a production company for the hosting and bridge
• John: Crowdcast is good for a presentation to an audience
• James: Tools used the most in remote work is Slack and Zoom 
• Catherine: Look at your workday process, get out for a walk before work, make that your commute. Chat online with colleagues, for example, a no-work lunch break chat online

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Remote Working Life

Panel Talk 2: Margaret Ahearne, Hubspot & Eric Rainsberry, Saatchi & Saatchi | Host: John Cleere 

• HubSpot Marketing, sales and service software that helps your business grow 
• Saatchi & Saatchi Global communications and advertising agency
• Eric: Maintain good 1-to-1 check-ins with your team members, keep the personal touch
• Mags: Every day everyone keeps all informed on what they are doing
• Mags: Once a week team status reports to cut down meeting online
• Mags: Primary school teacher is providing Zoom classes for the children
• Eric: It can be a difficult environment to work but it's currently the same for everyone, including your boss
• Mags: Tools use are Slack,  Zoom, Google Hangouts, Trello (Project Management)
• Eric: Find tools you feel comfortable with, don’t let the tool get in the way of productivity
• Eric: Get some air in the morning
• Mags: Both parents at home working remote, do split shifts with the kids
• Mags: Be strict with the time that you work, using Headspace for better sleep
• Eric: Your calendar is very important as a remote worker 
• John: BrainFM Focus, relax, Sleep and guided meditations
• John: Muse EEG Real-time feedback on your meditation
• John: Netflix Party Chrome extension to watch Netflix with your friends online
• John: The Yoga Shala Yoga videos with Laragh and Dave Cunningham
• John: Trello Boards, Project Management: lists, and cards enable you to organize and prioritize
• John: Discord All-in-one voice and text chat, free, secure, works on desktop and phone
• John: 24 hr news, scrolling on social feeds, avoid them!

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Products to be Productive

Panel Talk 3: Joseph Walsh, LogMeIn & John Cleere

• LogMeIn Enabling you to work without boundaries
• Joe: Free products for all frontline services, education, not for profit, healthcare, contact Joe through LinkedIn profile (free for 90 days)
• Joe: Start an online event not on the hour, as most happen on the hour and it slows down your stream
• Joe: In Ireland underuse video conferencing
• Joe: Bandwidth is a challenge at home as we are not using the work internet
• Joe: Get up in the morning, have a shower, make yourself presentable, treat it like a normal day's work
• Joe: Trust your staff to work, the output is the measurement now
• Joe: Have a 3 pm virtual coffee with co-workers and make the most of it
• Lastpass: Centralised and shared passwords
• Bitwarden Centralised and shared passwords. Free for 2 people, small cost for teams
• Google Suite Sharing docs
• Joe: Reach out to staff every day

Sign up for info on the next #TechThursdayKK:
https://www.redlemonade.ie/techthursdaykk/