As the world shifts to a hybrid job market, organizations are shifting towards hiring more remote employees. While there are certainly benefits of working from home, there are also unique challenges that must be navigated.
One of the most important of these is the need to impress your boss while working form home. If you’re looking for ways to stand out while working remotely, here are seven strategies to consider.
How to impress your boss while working from home?
Let’s learn tips to impress your boss and get a promotion while working out of office and from home.
Be Responsive and Available
One of the biggest challenges of working from home is making sure that your boss knows you’re working. Responding to emails, Slack messages promptly and other forms of async communication can go a long way in showing your boss that you’re on top of things.
Since you’re not in a physical office, it can be easy to lose track of time and not be available when your boss or colleagues need you. Therefore, it’s crucial to establish clear boundaries and communicate your availability to your team while working remotely. This can involve setting specific work hours or times when you’re offline and communicating these to your boss and team.
Furthermore, it’s also essential to be available for virtual meetings, particularly when scheduled in advance. Ensure you have the necessary technology and tools to attend these meetings, and always be on time. Additionally, if you cannot participate in a meeting, communicate this to your team in advance and offer alternative times to reschedule.
Be Proactive
Don’t wait for your boss to tell you what to do, when working remotely. Instead, take the initiative and look for ways to add value to your team or company. This could be anything from suggesting new projects to identifying areas where you can streamline processes.
In a remote job, being proactive can set you apart from your colleagues. This means taking the initiative and identifying areas where you can add value to your organization.
For instance, if you notice a gap in your team’s workflow, you could suggest ways to streamline or automate specific tasks. Alternatively, if you have a new idea or strategy that could benefit your organization, share it with your boss and colleagues.
Being proactive also means being prepared to tackle challenges and obstacles you face while working from home. You may encounter technical difficulties or other issues you need to solve independently in a virtual office. Therefore, it’s essential to have a problem-solving mindset and be willing to take on challenges head-on.
Set Clear Goals and Expectations
Make sure you’re clear about what your boss expects from you, and set realistic goals for yourself. This will help you stay focused and motivated, and will also show your boss that you’re committed to achieving results. Without a clear understanding of what is expected of you, it’s easy to get off track, miss deadlines, and underperform.
Discuss your job responsibilities with your boss to set clear goals and expectations. This conversation should cover your main tasks, projects, deadlines, and performance expectations. Ask for clarification on any unclear areas, and ensure you understand what your boss is looking for regarding quality and quantity of work.
Once you clearly understand your job responsibilities, you can set specific goals for yourself. These goals should align with your boss’s expectations and be challenging but achievable. Ensure your goals are measurable, so you can track your progress and demonstrate your accomplishments.
To effectively set goals and expectations, consider the following tips:
- Break down goals: If you have a large project, break it down into smaller, manageable tasks with deadlines. This helps you stay organized and reduces the risk of feeling overwhelmed and getting burned out.
- Use SMART criteria: SMART criteria is a popular framework for setting goals. This acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Using these criteria helps ensure your goals are well-defined and achievable.
- Communicate your goals: Once you have set them, communicate them to your boss and colleagues, even if it is working on a promotion. This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and can provide support and feedback.
- Review and adjust goals: Goals should be reviewed regularly and adjusted as needed. This helps you stay on track and adapt to changing circumstances or priorities.
By setting clear goals and expectations, you can demonstrate your commitment to your job, stay motivated and focused, and succeed.
Communicate Effectively
When you’re working remotely, communication is key. Make sure you’re keeping your boss updated on your progress, and don’t be afraid to ask questions if you need clarification.
Effective communication and collaboration is critical in any work environment, but it becomes even more important when working from home in a flexible job. When you’re not in the same physical location as your boss and colleagues, you must rely on virtual communication tools such as email, instant messaging, video conferencing, and phone calls to stay connected.
To communicate effectively while working from anywhere, you must ensure that your messages are clear, concise, and professional. Here are some tips for effective communication:
- Be clear and concise: When sending an email or instant message, ensure you are clear about your message’s purpose and keep your language simple and straightforward. Avoid using overly technical jargon or acronyms that may not be familiar to everyone.
- Use the right tone and tools: Tone is important in written communication. Make sure your messages come across as professional and respectful. Avoid using sarcasm or humor that could be misinterpreted and use the right remote communication and collaboration tools.
- Be prompt: Respond to messages and requests from your boss and colleagues as quickly as possible. This demonstrates your commitment to your work and your responsiveness as a team member.
- Communicate openly: Effective communication is one of the top skills required of a remote worker. If facing a challenge or issue, be open and transparent with your boss and colleagues. This helps build trust and fosters a culture of honesty and accountability, while working from home.
- Use async communication effectively: In hybrid jobs, you may not be online at the same time as your colleagues or boss. Therefore, it’s essential to use async communication tools like email or zoom meetings to keep everyone in the loop.
- Listen actively: When participating in virtual meetings or phone calls, make sure you are actively listening to your boss and colleagues. Paraphrase what they say to ensure that you understand their message.
Communicating effectively helps build strong relationships with your boss and colleagues, demonstrate professionalism and reliability, and ensure everyone is on the same page.
Take Ownership
Taking ownership is another way to impress your boss while working from home. This means being accountable for your work and outcomes and taking the initiative to solve problems or address challenges. For example, if you notice an error in a project you’re working on, take ownership of the mistake and work to correct it.
If you make a mistake, own up to it and take steps to fix it. Don’t try to pass the blame or make excuses. Your boss will respect your honesty and your willingness to take responsibility.
Taking ownership can also involve proactively seeking feedback and guidance from your boss and colleagues. By demonstrating that you’re willing to learn and grow, you can position yourself as a valuable asset to your organization.
Be Reliable and Consistent
Reliability and consistency are essential in a hybrid job, where your boss and colleagues may not see you in person daily. This means meeting deadlines, delivering high-quality work products, and consistently performing at a high level.
Consistency is important when you’re working from home. Make sure you’re meeting deadlines and delivering high-quality work, and your boss will appreciate your reliability.
You must manage your time effectively and prioritize your tasks to be reliable and consistent while taking care of your mental health while working from home.
This can involve using a task management tool or calendar to keep track of your deadlines and commitments. Additionally, ensure you have a system for organizing and storing your work files and documents.
Connect With the Team
Finally, to impress your boss while working from home, connecting with your team is essential. This means building relationships with colleagues, staying engaged in team discussions, and participating in virtual team building activites.
As major companies are shifting to permanent remote work model, connecting and communicating with your team becomes all so necessary to share expertise and knowledge with your colleagues.
For example, if you have a unique skill or area of expertise, offer to teach or mentor others on your team. By building strong relationships with your colleagues, you can create a sense of camaraderie and teamwork that can help you achieve your goals and impress your boss.
Conclusion
Working from home in a remote job requires different skills and strategies than working in a physical office. To impress your boss, you must be responsive, available, proactive, set clear goals and expectations, communicate effectively, take ownership, be reliable and consistent, and connect with your team.
By focusing on these critical areas, you can position yourself as a valuable asset to your organization and achieve success in your role, even receive a raise or a promotion all while working from home.
Learn how to ask your boss to work from home, if you are not already. Looking for a remote job and need help finding where to look? We are a remote job board with the latest jobs in various categories to help you. Finally, join like-minded people in our LinkedIn community.