This WfH Pilot Has Taken Off

A short guide to help you fasten your seatbelts by Prashant Gopalakrishnan, EVP & National Business Head

Until the lockdown started, I was under the illusion that WfH is what I do every weekend, or during after-work hours. A phone call after office hours, or an excited Creative Director (Yes you P.G.) calling from Cannes at 03:48 a.m. about an idea that involves balloons and a museum, or a work WhatsApp conversation over the weekend. Six weeks into it, I can say I was wrong. I now understand why advertising agencies have always avoided giving WfH official recognition. It lacks the personal touch, the chemistry of being together as a unit, the brainstorming sessions, office outings, etc. But looking at how things are, I feel we need to accept WfH as the new norm. Although I am no subject matter expert on this topic, here are a few things that have helped me during this “WfH Pilot”.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And that’s exactly the problem a lot of us face. Be the active Jack, not the dull one. Have conversations that go beyond work. Exchange pleasantries. Ask people how their weekend was. Do what you used to do in the office. And do a little more when it comes to work. Reinvent your style of working. For the good. Keep an open mind. Here are a few tips you could use:

1. Follow the green dot: Logging in to teams is similar to entering Alyssa’s lift — you are about to start your super-hectic day. But, don’t you miss bumping into GD Prasad — who reaches office exactly at the same time as you do — or a P.G.? Chances are high that if they reached office at the same time, they are online at the same time. So go ahead and look for who is online and make that 10-second call (can be longer of course). I ensure my first call of the day is not work-related. It’s usually the first person I have seen online. Follow the green dot.
2. The Mr/Ms.Random call: We all have back-to-back calls and it’s tiring, to say the least. But it is not impossible to block 30 minutes for ourselves. I miss sitting on my seat in the office. But what I miss, even more, is chatting with people on the way there. So if at 4 pm I decide to take a break in office, I will invariably cross Pooja Manek’s desk and ask her ‘how are things?’. Soon after, Binny will join, the Shabri will give his input, and before you know it, it’s a group of people having fun. One way to replicate this, during WfH, is through “The Random Call Chain”. You call one person at random, and they call another. And so on and so forth. The last call I made had 29 participants. Participants have the liberty to drop off anytime, but you’ll be surprised to see that people don’t drop off. They enjoy hanging in there. It’s that 10 minutes where they are not expected to deliver. Try it. It works wonderfully. And it’s a great de-stress. It’s also a great way to introduce the newbies to Webchutney.
3. Gotta goss, boss: Now, don’t we miss the chai, the coffee, the smoke-breaks, the water-cooler, khobcha next to the smaller khobcha (telephone room) next to Gautam’s room conversations. Are we talking enough about things that we like? things we don’t like? who screwed up? who saved the day? who deserves? and who does not? Don’t get me wrong, I am not the one to entice office politics, but office conversations are always a relief. It gives you a feeling that you belong here. You know something that others don’t. I miss the water-cooler. So why not make that water-cooler call? Take a few minutes, it’s ok to goss. As long as it’s harmless and not ill-intended. It is water-cooler 2.0 time.
4. Switch on the damn video: VC is Video Conferencing for a reason. For audio calls, you have the phone. You don’t need Teams/Slack/Skype/Hangouts. I agree that I am guilty of making people come out of their groggy sleepy mornings by simply asking them to switch on their video. But that’s my equivalent of a morning meeting. A conversation. Imagine covering your face with a mask while someone talks to you. Kinda rude right! That’s exactly what switching off video is. So next time, surprise me. Switch on the video. I wouldn’t be talking to you if I didn’t like you. Show your face. It adds a personal touch (which we all miss), and to the seriousness of the meeting.
5. Live-editing of calls: Now this is an art that needs to be perfected whether during the lock-down or after. But people on calls have a tendency to go on and on. I have learned that when repetition starts, the best way to counter it is to summarize what has been discussed so far. It shows that both parties have understood what was discussed and ensures that there are no more conversations on the same statement. This needs a bit of finesse. And it comes with experience. It also comes with the danger of really putting someone off, but at the same time, with the carat of saving you a couple of hours a week, to say the least. Plus, some peace of mind!
6. Talk to the right people: One learning has clearly been that multi-office teams can make it work. Geography is history. Literally. Never has there been a better time to ask, “Hey, can I work on that cool account that the Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore team has?” So next time you hear that Mumbai has won a jewelry brand, don’t just stop with sharing ideas subliminally on your “compliance genius,” “We make things happen,” “Chutney Art” WhatsApp groups. Talk to the person who runs the account. Talk to the servicing lead, the creative lead. Make sure they know how excited you feel about the brand, and see how one pro-active call brings in a whole lot of opportunities.

Now, you may ask if all this is more theoretical than practical? You probably need to test a few of these to really find the answer. But I really don’t see any harm any of this can do to you. On the brighter side, it can bring a smile to your face, give you some killer work satisfaction, and if handled well, give you some time on your hands. Isn’t that what we are all working for?