The ability to work from home is a huge advantage for modern project managers. If this suits your lifestyle then there are some terrific benefits to be had from working in this way.
Yet, you may worry that working on a project remotely makes you appear less professional in the eyes of others. This is certainly a risk but you can make it less of an issue but sticking to PRINCE2 methods and being sensible about how you run the project.
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Stay in Touch with Everyone
Perhaps the biggest risk when working from home is that you lose contact with the other people you should be dealing with regularly. It is important to remain accessible to stakeholders, project team members and senior management no matter where you are.
This means letting everyone know where you are and how to get in touch with you. It is also important to work during sensible times of day when people in the office can be expected to get in touch with you.
Of course, things can get more complicated if other team members work from home as well. What if you are split over different time zones? Communication is a big part of PRINCE2 and you need to put some thought into how you will do this well.
Manage Your Team Effectively
Is managing your team professionally going to be tougher when you work from home? It might seem that it will be but there is really no need for this to be the case. You can still be an effective team leader even when you are far from everyone else.
For a start, you need to know what everyone in the team is up to. There is no reason to abandon your leadership of a project just because you aren’t in the office every day.
You can still provide updates, give feedback and help the team members with their personal development plans. For example, do you have someone in the team who now needs to sort out their PRINCE2 Courses London in order to progress further?
Don’t Miss Chances to Meet Up
Will you work from home every day or will you be in the office a few days a week? Either way, it is important that you make the most of any opportunities to meet up with the team as well as with your stakeholders.
The good news is that PRINCE2 puts a lot of emphasis on meetings. You won’t be expected to work alone without having the chance to see the other people who are involved on a face to face basis.
The more chances to meet up and discuss the work the better it will be. Whether it is an informal chat over lunch or an organised meeting with an agenda, these are opportunities to really get to know people as well as let them see what you are up to.
Be Transparent in Everything That You Do
Are you worried that others might think that you are slacking off when you are out of the office? Perhaps you worry that they think you work shorter hours or sit around enjoying life rather than focussing on the project?
This is a potential problem for home-based PRINCE2 project managers. What is the best way to avoid it becoming a real issue, though? What can be done to ensure that everyone respects the work that you do?
The key is in being transparent in everything that you do. Your project plans and reports are a big part of this methodology, so make sure that they clearly show exactly what you have been doing all day.
