It’s becoming increasingly common for software developers and other IT professionals to work remotely. While the amount of remote work required may vary among different companies and across the field, I think it’s likely that the trend will continue. As enabling technologies improve, web-based video calling and shared-desktop applications will be ubiquitous, and both employers and remote workers will see increasing value and share positive experiences with remote work arrangements.
Technology alone, however, cannot take the place of our social skills – you know – those abilities we’re supposed to develop that help us get along with others. In this post, I’m going to focus on video conferencing technology, or rather, on how we use it. I’ll focus on some simple things you, as a remote worker, can do to improve how your audience views you. This can be critical, since your audience is often comprised of your coworkers, managers, or most importantly, your customers.
In my work group, software developers regularly communicate with customers using video conferencing software. We all know how to use the technology, but after just a few months of meeting with developers and customers on these conference calls, it’s clear that there are individual differences in how we use the technology. I felt that someone needed to broach the topic of being aware of your on-camera self. Yes, self-awareness is a thing, Google it.
If you’re the consultant, or a remote worker trying to impress a manager skeptical of the benefits of remote work arrangements, you need to know how extremely easy it is to set the wrong expectation or make a bad impression. Below are some things to think about – preferably before you get on one of those really long video conference calls.