Using Technology to Run Your Business Virtually

RCS Influencer Michelle Boykin says that now is the time to use technology to your advantage.

The most important thing that we were able to do at Rackley Roofing is to try to keep everything as normal as we can for everyone. We are fortunate to be in an area where we have not been shut down yet. Our company has always used a lot of technology, so really the only thing that has changed for our employees is their office location since they are working from home.

Our message to our team is that your office location may have changed, but things are going to operate as normally as possible. If you normally start at 6 am, start at 6 am. If you normally start at 8 am, keep starting at 8 am. The same should apply for your kids. If they are used to getting up at a certain time every day, keep doing it. We are living in a time when you don’t know what is going to happen next so it is really important to just keep everything as normal as you can.

Not everyone has the necessary technology in place to function remotely, but some tools are easy to start using. Nobody wants to spend money on software right now, but a lot of solutions are free. We use Slack for communications and Zoom for video conferences – solutions that also offer a free version.  We bought the Zoom Pro version for just a few employees that we knew would need it for more regular meetings. Don’t forget about looking at what you already may have and making that work, for instance, if your employees have iPhones, you could FaceTime.

We’ve found that our communications have gotten better because we are being so intentional about it. Everyone is in a meeting via Zoom every morning for a quick check in do see how everyone is doing and see if anyone needs anything. It’s important to keep that face-to-face interaction. It gives employees a reason to get up and get ready each morning.  

Michelle Boykin is the COO and Integrator of Rackley Roofing Company, Inc. See her full bio here.