Practical guide to moving your team to remote work fast

Executive overview

Most companies had no remote work infrastructure before the 2020 crisis forced the shift overnight. The gap between "we need to go remote" and "we can actually function remotely" is a systems problem, not a motivation problem.

The fix is a structured checklist covering communication, accountability, equipment, and leadership cadence. Get the basics in place first; everything else follows.

Leaders who communicate more — not less — during disruption retain team cohesion and come out with more market share.

Who to consider and what they need

• Map your audience: employees, customers, vendors — each group has distinct concerns
• Communicate proactively to all three: "We're here for you, tell us what you need"
• Economic, public health, and operational impacts require separate consideration
• Start planning before the crisis fully hits; waiting costs three weeks of runway

Building your remote communication stack

• Pick one primary hub that handles chat, video, phone, and task assignment (e.g. RingCentral, Zoom + Slack)
• Most teams use a combination — standardise on whatever the team will actually use
• Forward office phone lines to remote numbers; consider a VoIP phone at the physical address for deliveries
• Default to video for any meaningful conversation — comprehension is ~50% face-to-face vs ~37% voice-only vs ~14% text
• Reserve tough conversations for video, not phone

Daily accountability without physical presence

• Start-of-day report: each person lists 5–7 priorities for the day
• End-of-day report: mark what was completed, flag what carries forward
• Use explicit away signals ("bio break", "lunch, back at 1pm") — etiquette that's invisible in an office
• Leaders should check in with direct reports at start, midday, and end of day
• Management by walking around becomes management by scheduled touchpoints

Equipment and environment

• Survey employees before a crisis: test internet speed, hardware, and quiet workspace availability
• Prioritise laptops over desktops; Chromebooks and ThinkPads are low-cost stopgaps
• Employees on video calls need a clean visual background — pop-up branded banners work
• Light faces from the front; avoid bright windows behind the speaker
• Keep a normal work routine: same start time, same morning habits, dressed for work

Staying productive and keeping culture alive

• Video conferences all day — remote work is isolating for extroverts; over-communicate presence
• Maintain the same start time and daily structure as the office
• Leaders must adopt a CEO mindset: empathetic, value-adding, emotionally attuned
• Companies that increase communication and marketing during downturns gain market share when recovery comes
• Pivot fast where possible: restaurants using own staff for delivery keep more people employed than outsourcing to third-party services

What the FAST Guide to Remote Work covers

1. Define your stakeholder considerations (employees, customers, vendors)
2. Choose your communication hub (chat + video + phone)
3. Set up phone forwarding and VoIP for the physical office
4. Implement task management and assignment tools
5. Establish start-of-day and end-of-day reporting
6. Create remote work etiquette norms (away signals, video defaults)
7. Audit employee equipment and internet readiness
8. Set up appropriate home workspace (lighting, background, quiet)
9. Increase leader check-in cadence across all levels
10. Ramp up external communications — clients, prospects, vendors