How to Stand Out When Working Remotely

If you’re still working remotely? You’ve probably already experienced the special challenges of managing your time wisely and maintaining your productivity from your remote workplace. But there’s another challenge faced by remote workers that can also affect your career well-being, and that’s the challenge of maintaining visibility.

When you’re not working in a physical office, it can be difficult to stay on the radar screen of your boss, colleagues, and clients. If “out of sight, out of mind” still rings true, how do you avoid being just another face behind a screen, or worse, just a name on an email list or a distant employee relegated to marginal status?

Whether you’re working at home for the first time or a veteran remote worker, here are valuable ideas to consider for maintaining your visibility and standing out at work.

Communicate Like Never Before

Stand out by becoming a champion communicator with everyone you interact with. Make every effort to be available and responsive to all communication that comes to you. Use all the tools at your command to stay connected: email, ZOOM, Teams, Slack, project management and collaboration software (Clickup Asana, Teamwork), Linkedin, and, of course, the good old-fashioned telephone.

Your boss or clients will want to have easy access to you so they can send you assignments, check your progress, and have their questions answered. Therefore, make yourself readily available to respond to their inquires ASAP. Let them know you’re “out there” and ready to help but do set boundaries unless you’re willing to be on call 24/7, which we don’t recommend.

Build Trust by Hitting Deadlines and Attending Virtual Meetings

Trustworthy employees stand out because companies know they can depend on them to consistently do the right thing and hit critical deadlines, regardless of their location.

Trust is especially important in a remote environment where your boss can’t walk over to your desk to check your progress. Abiding by deadlines and project milestones, returning calls and email promptly, and consistently attending virtual meetings on time with your camera on are sound strategies to practice as a remote worker. And, as always, sticking by your word and following through as expected will go a long way towards establishing you as a stand out employee who deserves trust.

Also, establish a regular rhythm of providing project updates to people who need to know. On the way to hitting deadlines and milestones, it never hurts to overcommunicate when working remotely. That way, no one ever has to check up on you or wonder if you’re going to hit the deadline. Following up on things is a pain. Remove that pain from anyone who works with you.

If you really want to stand out, create a visual dashboard that graphically indicates where you are on all of your projects and what the status is (red – problematic, yellow – making progress, green – on track). This will really wow the people on your teams and save them time since visuals communicate much faster than long text-heavy emails or dense spreadsheets.

Organize and Structure Your Work Day

To stand out as a remote worker, you need to structure and organize your work day for maximum productivity and quality. High-quality work merits attention, particularly when you work remotely. Additionally, you’ll garner attention by getting more done in less time.

Structuring your day and your environment means you’re adhering to a strong routine that works for you. It means you have a dedicated workspace, prioritized time blocked out to get projects done, and clear boundaries around work and leisure.

Be Adaptable and Proactive

Being adaptable and proactive are excellent attributes for the remote worker. Adaptability means you can adjust quickly to change. As a remote worker, you may need to step in to help with projects you’re not accustomed to helping with. In addition, your team might go through any number of tools or processes before arriving at the right choices. Show that you know how to go with the flow.

Adaptability also means you’re willing to continue learning new skills. Staying on top of ongoing professional growth can make a strong impression on your manager and lead to great contributions to the organization over time, enabling upward mobility.

Proactivity helps you stand out because you’re able to anticipate and act on your team’s needs Try to step up to fulfill those needs long before you’re asked.

Be Accountable

Everyone loves to receive praise for a job well done, but when things don’t go so well, it’s important to own up to your shortcomings and admit your mistakes. Accountability plays along with being trustworthy, and those qualities can make a positive impact on how you’re perceived by management as a remote worker. It’s certainly a challenge to keep all the plates spinning while working from home during the pandemic. Thus, you will definitely get some forgiveness due to this but it looks good to take full responsibility even in spite of the difficulties this environment presents.

Know Expectations and Seek Clarity

Some elements of your work life are constant whether you’re in an office or working remotely. If management’s expectations about your working remotely are not shared with you, ask. The current setup creates a strong possibility for misunderstandings and, as we mentioned before, that might be within a range of acceptability. However, you’re looking to stand out and that means you want to be 100% clear about what’s expected of you and be driven to over-deliver. You’ll stand out for two reasons: you’re seeking clarity on expectations, then going beyond them.

Request Timely Meetings with Key People in Your Company or Organization

Request occasional meetings with key people in your organization to stay up to date with what they’re working on and share about what you’re working on. If you were in the office and wanted to stand out, you would manage your network of connections throughout the firm. Many people working from home have neglected this strategy, often to their detriment. They become invisible to their extended network. Don’t let that happen to you!

Make a list of 10 important people you haven’t been seeing much virtually and reach out to them, a few a week, to join you in a catch-up meetings. Chances are they’ll appreciate the gesture and you’ll stay visible to those who matter outside of your daily network.

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Helping you to stand-out and meet your ambitious career goals is what we do via executive coaching at Bay Area Executive Coach. We can work with you regardless of your current workplace location. Contact us today for more information on how we can help you go to the next level.

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