COVID -19 has laid a challenging situation for business fraternity. And while this lockdown is a welcome move, our businesses still have to pass through this tough time. As a community, it is paramount to follow all the health guidelines and stay indoors while doing what we can do - work from home and concentrate on our tasks.

Here are some frequently asked questions about managing "Work from Home":

1) What can we do when the market is down? My customers are not responding.

You do not want to visit your customers during this time. But do give them a call - a short call - to know about their health, family and market situations. This builds trust among your customer base and they will know that you are sticking around in these troubling situations.

There is a lot more you can do in these days:

• Analyse the year that has gone by. Check the data, identify the market gaps and key inefficiencies. Once you have a complete picture, you will be able to plan FY 2020-2021 better.
• Think about a special project you would have ever thought of but could never do much due to time constraints. Now you have ample time to plan and strategize for those special projects.
• Learn a new skill that might help you do the job better. Whether it is learning advanced excel or learning financial management or any other leadership/team management courses. Online websites like Coursera, Lynda and Udemy are at your disposal.

2) Going to the office was a routine. Working from home will never be the same. Or will it be?

You are used to going to the office for work while you are not accustomed to working from home. This is just a mental block. Therefore, it is important to fool your brain. Just get up as you were getting up for the office, have breakfast at the same time and keep a dedicated clean deck at home to work. While doing this you will feel like you are in the office.

3) What tools can I leverage to manage communication and team projects?

Here is a list of free online tools that you can use to manage your productivity while making sure your team has strong communication among each other:

1) Google Hangout: This tool can be used for video calls and sharing screens to collaborate with your team. This can be a perfect e-meeting tool, which only requires a Gmail Id.

2) Slack: You can create team channels for every department, and send direct messages. Slack lets you drag-and-drop files, bookmark messages, and pin documents for quick reference. This app cuts down on internal emails since it’s quicker, more efficient, and more user-friendly.

3) Asana: You can manage projects, assign tasks and collaborate with teammates on dependencies using Asana. This tool will help you stick to the timelines while keeping the team communicated about the project.

How Foot soldiers of FMCG Can Work from Home during Covid-19 lockdown

Indian FMCG Industry has been a laggard in encouraging work from home due to multiple reasons, but the current crisis demands them to stay home and be efficient.

Foot soldiers of FMCG are making sure the supply of essential items. More than 30,000 foot soldiers are currently using FieldAssist platform to work from home and taking orders from retailers using telephonic order feature.

To enable them, we have created tutorial videos in multiple regional languages.