Reality Check: Remote Work Can Be Lonely

When software engineer Doug Safreno began working remotely he encountered two challenges that had nothing to do with the technical aspects of the work:

1.   He was lonely working from home.

2.   He realized communication suffered on multiple levels that impacted his ability to get his job done, which in turn impacted his enjoyment of his job. 

Many people now face these same issues as they are compelled to work from home during a national health crisis.  

 Doug’s response to these challenges?   As is the way with many entrepreneurs, he took a problem he was having and figured out other people may have the same problem.  Doug and his business partner, Vivek Nair took a deep dive to really understand the challenges of working from home and to come up with a solution.  In their survey they found that many remote software workers on average spoke with only one colleague per week.  The engineers wanted more interaction, but it was difficult for a variety of reasons. 

 Their solution is  Pragli, a virtual office for remote teams. 

 What started out as an application for software engineers has turned into a tool useful for any team that needs effective and immediate communication. Design agencies, marketing and sales teams, support staff are finding the tool as valuable as the developers for whom it was originally created. Since Doug and Vivek started out as software engineers themselves, there is a developer vibe geared towards facilitating getting answers and creating space for deep focus. 

 There are four main features to the app.

1.    Virtual office hours

This is the equivalent of working in your office and someone pops their head in to ask a question.  The user sets their availability, so if they want to have a quiet uninterrupted work time, they can do so, but for the most part, the goal is to facilitate real time conversation so that problems can be solved, and obstacles immediately removed.

2.    A trivia channel

Doug and his team understand the importance of a team that knows each other, not just for the work that they do, but that understands the personalities, humor, knowledge etc. of the people they work with.  You can create a channel just for trivia, as well as host meetings to answer these questions for virtual teams. 

3.    Slack Integration 

Slack is a virtual file drawer of all communications, with notifications.  Rather than sending an email to individuals, information is categorized by topic, or channels. Because it is accessible to the designated team, you can find essential communication without having to dig through your e-mail inbox.  Pragli integrates with Slack so that you can have real time audio and visual communications regarding the content.

4.    Schedule your meetings using Calendly.  Another big timesaver, the user assigns their availability so that people can schedule meetings directly rather than the back and forth required when you don’t have access to another person’s calendar.  

 All of this is done through personal avatars that allow each person to convey their individual personality, quirks and all, from the moment of introduction.

In addition to facilitating effective and timely communication, Pragli is educating teams on how to effectively work together through the website blog.  Doug and Vivek are informing the work-at -home ecosystem, knowledge that is seriously needed in the new frontier.  With articles such as

The Six Categories of Remote Teams and

Asynchronous communication is also distracting,

the user/reader becomes more informed on the various factors and considerations for working remotely, and therefore will appreciate why Pragli can help solve a multitude of those remote working challenges.

Doug and Vivek understand the need to feel connected, and the need to get answers, and they address both issues within Pragli. The founders are intent on changing the behavior of how teams communicate.  The feedback from Pragli users are that Pragli helps them communicate more quickly and more often using the audio and video and that Pragli gives them the space to create a team identify instead of just a group of individuals. 

Through the extensive research, Doug and Vivek conducted to inform this solution, they identified a costly truism: if people don’t feel connected to the people they work with, they will leave the job. Improving the culture around communication and the methods in which to do so has a significant impact on retention.  Turnover is costly (You can calculate the cost with this simple excel spreadsheet) and the money is better spent investing in your current employees and culture. 

Doug and Vivek have created a tool to help people communicate and collaborate faster than they would in person.  The founders are committed to responding to the feedback of their users. We wish them well as they support the success of remote working.

Internal communication is important, not only for people to stay on track, but for people to feel connected. With COVID 19, the majority of people now working from home had little to no experience with it.  Companies that had not yet incorporated flex practices into their environments may have resisted for practical and cultural reasons.  Without planning and thoughtfulness, it can be a very frustrating experience.  

To recap some important lessons learned for remote workers:

• Remote workers may not be physically present, but they need to feel emotionally connected.

• Working remote takes an effective and open culture to work.

• Communication from and to managers and colleagues must be a top priority.  

Concurrence Consulting works with individuals and teams to improve individual performance, team dynamics and operational practices. When these three concentrations are working well, flex practices such as working from home have a higher rate of success. Questions or comments?  Contact Kathy@ConcurrenceConsulting.com