Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick (TRCB) has been trialling staff working from home for a number of weeks, as will most of our industry in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.
 
TRCB’s working from home trial began when the practice decided staff should self-quarantine after either returning from overseas or in the instances where their partner may have returned from overseas.
 
In the week of 9 March 2020, they also had a senior Revit documenter trial working from home to see if there were any software, hardware or speed issues when using large Revit models. As of 17 March, the practice has sent half the office (approximately 20 staff) home to increase the social distancing between staff both in and out of the office.
Based in West Perth in the CBD, TRCB is a practice of around 50 people, including architects, technicians, interior designers and administrative support personnel. 
 
Leigh Robinson, Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick says, “We held a staff meeting yesterday to discuss the working from home situation and protocols that we were putting in place.”
“We said that we were entering uncharted waters, but that we would work with all staff on a case-by-case basis and attempt to assist in any issues as they arise. Our aim to this point is to endeavour to keep the office functioning and productive for as long as possible.” 
 We have provided staff with a Working from Home Checklist as follows:
• Get up and dressed as if you were going to work and set a regular start time for your working day
• Ensure your workplace is conducive to working
• To be productive, you need an environment that allows you to comfortably work and stay focused
• Schedule your day
• A structured routine helps effectively manage your tasks and stay to target deadlines
• A short planning session in the morning to map out your day can be very effective
• Track your time
• Be aware how much time is spent not working
• What are you spending that time doing and how much does it detract from your working goals?
• Avoid checking personal email or visiting social networking sites during work hours
• Stay connected
• It’s easy to lose contact; check in with your immediate colleagues and team regularly throughout the day
• Don’t forget family and friends; set aside time or use your breaks to call or email close contacts and stay in the loop
• Take regular breaks and “exercise”
• Respite from your desk is important, especially when you’re confined to your home; it's best to schedule regular breaks
• Staying active can be a challenge, especially cardio – think stretching, yoga, dips, lunges, natural resistance exercise
Our Working from Home Guidelines circulated to all staff are as follows:
• You will continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis
• We are fortunate to have all the technology and systems to support working from home
• You will log on to Microsoft Teams each morning
• It is your responsibility to keep your team’s status up to date (for example, when you grab lunch, update your team’s status and update your status again when you return to working)
• You are to continue to have your team meetings; weekly huddles; 1 on 1 meetings as needed through Meet-Up, Zoom or teleconference
• Refer to the Working from Home Checklist (see above)
In case you’re working from home, or you’re an employer about to embark on the ‘working-from-home’ journey for half, or all of your staff, the above are some tips, tricks and general insight on how to best achieve that. 
 
If you have any further tips or ideas about how the industry might work more effectively from home throughout this period,  please email us: sarah.buckley@architectureanddesign.com.au