Making Remote Work More Productive Using human-centred Design
Remote work is any kind of job done from the chosen space of the worker. It can be from the comfort of their homes, in a shared workspace or other locations. There are the contract types of remote work which does not cover other benefits asides from the agreed upon salary. Whereas the full-time remote worker has the privileges- Insurance, HMO, paid vacation etc like the employee going to the office daily. Other models have remote workers reporting on site several days a week. Whatever the model that is chosen, meeting up with set deliverables daily assures the retainers or otherwise of the worker.
Being disciplined is paramount when considering working remotely especially when there are distractions around. Make sure you are strict with yourself to ensure you get work done at all cost. Ensure the chosen work environment is lively, use bright colours, add live plants: this would teach you about taking responsibility. Ultimately as a remote worker find out what works best for you and stick to it.
Things companies should look out for when starting the remote culture for staffs:
- Start with a small team which makes it easy to manage.
- Inform all workers about the expectations and deliverables
- Engage in daily standups which can be reported, calls.
- Document Challenges from late delivery time, to other issues, then profer solutions.
- Have an intentional face to face meetings or video calls
Tools to invest in for remote work:
- Tools for Communications- Skype, zoom, whereby, slack, telegram, WhatsApp
- Project management software- Asana, Trello, sortable, basecamp,
- A documentation/archiving software Evernote’s, notion, helps with the onboarding process for new people.
- A storage service Dropbox, Google Drive,
- For automating processes, you can use Zapier, IFTTT
Design the culture you need else these tools won’t work, have inclusive discussions on the groups created to lighten the mood and encourage oneness.
Data For Governance: The Power of Data In Improving Government Services
Dr Zakari Lawal Director of the ministry of finance, budgeting, and planning which is in charge of ensuring the government delivers effective services to the populace. In delivering services several mechanisms including the effectiveness of projects are monitored, tracked, and accountable. This data is continuously gathered to help know what is working and not for strategising.
Mr Adedigba Moses Monitoring and Evaluation specialist, Ibadan Urban Flood Management which came about in 2011 after the major flood situation which claimed lives and properties in Ibadan. Initiatives like city master plan, drainage master plan brought about data for watercourses and drainage. This initiative has helped the government stay abreast of flooding situations so when it begins they can create an evacuation plan for residents of these areas to a shelter camp. Once the rainy season is done, there would be a rebuilding plan for those affected.
Mr Parminder Brar, Lead Governance specialist for World Bank in Nigeria. He is in charge of a governance project in Borno state and the state employment and expenditures for states in Niger Delta. He commended the Grid3 database in Nigeria which makes data available across government projects. Since it’s impossible to manage the thousands of projects individually, this data has been put on the Grid3 platform with a cloud sourcing application on the backend for communities to participate in its use to enable them to know if their projects are working or not. This feedback can be done via photos, text to help them know what is working and how they can improve on the services provided. States like Kaduna, Lagos and now Borno have adopted this platform to better manage their data.
It was agreed that to move any governance forward, data is paramount to make informed decisions at all times.
Launched In Africa Pitch Fest
#LaunchedInAfrica is a platform for African led early-stage startups to showcase products and services. The pitch session started with an introduction of all the contestants. Then each representative took the stage to talk about the products and services they render, the plan for delivery and operation. After the pitch, judges met together to deliberate on their various scores of each business which was based on delivery, the relevance of product or service, the plan. After this the winners were announced with Mumspring coming first place, followed by Oncopadi and AdNaira as the 2nd runners up.
In all #SMWLagos was a huge success. Do follow this link to read other days, event recap.