Working at home as a company: productive and safe
At LeanLaw, we have been using tools that allow us to connect and collaborate on the go, no matter where we are in the world. We sell law firm software as a service, so we’re used to not meeting our clients in person. That means that we employ various online tools to help us work remotely.
If working remotely is new to you, don’t despair. Within a few days, you can become fluent with these user-friendly tools as well. Here’s how we do remote work at LeanLaw:
GSuite
LeanLaw creates documents in Gsuite (Google Suite). All the documents live online and can be edited or commented on by members of the team. With documents living in the cloud, we don’t have to worry about new versions not being updated and we can even go back and see the version history, if there’s something we want to put back in. Documents are compatible with Word, Excel, Powerpoint and more.
There is also an online conferencing tool in GSuite: Google Meet. The benefit of Google Meet is that you can automatically embed the meeting URL in your calendar invite, if you’re already in Google Calendar. Google Meet is a Zoom alternative. More on that…
Slack
We use Slack every day. Slack is essentially an email replacement, though it operates more like group messaging — foregoing the formalities of composing emails. Additionally, private channels can be used to restrict conversations to pre-approved team members, while public channels are available for team members to join as desired.
Zoom
Zoom is an online conferencing tool that is super easy to use – it’s our conferencing tool of choice at LeanLaw. The video looks better than Google Meet and it seems to run more smoothly. You can also record meetings and host webinars from Zoom.
Loom
We’ve only just discovered Loom, but we like the spontaneity of it. With Loom, you can record your screen, voice, and face to create an instantly shareable video in less time than it would take to type an email. When you can’t work together, communication is key. No one likes to read, so why not make a video?
Monday.com
LeanLaw is using Monday.com as a task management platform, but it’s much more. Here’s how Monday.com puts it: “a team management platform to connect people to workplace processes and existing tools, for companies of all sizes, across any industry.” Again, it’s about organization and communication. If it’s easy to use, your people will love it.
Office 365
If you’re already working in Microsoft, this is the cloud version of office. The cloud is here to stay, especially in light of the need to continue working remotely. Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Yammer, and more – all the tools you already use in Microsoft, just available anytime and anywhere and synced in the cloud.
A few more things to keep in mind:
- Lawyers and Accounting Professionals have highly sensitive client data. Make sure that you are taking security seriously. Talk to us if you’re not sure how to go about this.
- Set a schedule and stick to it. Think about getting dressed in the morning, exercising and remembering to eat.
- Stop working: Sometimes, working at home means that you’re constantly working. Set intentional boundaries around your time so that this doesn’t happen to you.
- Give yourself breaks: Overall, studies show that people get more work done at home. But remember – you need a break – can’t work straight through the day. You will burn out quickly if you don’t.
You might just enjoy working remotely. This year, 2020, we will discover new ways of working at home, new software apps that support remote work and increased connection with our families. There are opportunities to create new workflows and be more intentional about how we want to work.
Be safe and feel free to reach out to us with any software questions.
