For the past few months, many people around the world have been practicing social distancing and sheltering-in-place to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19. While some locations are slowly beginning to re-open, the process will be gradual so as not to lose the progress made by the distancing measures.
The good news is that, at this point, many companies can continue functioning in the online space. Either their employees can login remotely and work from home, or the business has pivoted its model to fit and thrive in the online world. Whatever the case may be, just because your team isn’t in the same physical space together doesn’t mean your upcoming retail IT deployment has to be put on pause right now.
In fact, you and your team can take advantage of this time. Do as much work ahead of time as possible to ensure the deployment is successful when you are eventually allowed to move forward with the project. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can continue to be productive while working remotely.
How to Prep for a Retail IT Deployment Remotely
1. Clearly Define the Scope
Here at Kinettix, we suggest you take the time to define the scope of your deployment at the beginning of any retail tech project. However, we know it can be easy to gloss over this step, especially if you’re in a bit of a time crunch. Right now, though, the one thing many businesses have is an abundance of time. Use this opportunity to create a detailed scope that ensures your team can be efficient and effective when you reach the actual deployment phase.
Doing so allows you to have a concrete budget and plan to guide you through the project. You’ll want to outline the key people involved in the deployment, what specific equipment will be installed or decommissioned, where specifically the project will take place, and how the deployment will be implemented. You’ll also want to include when the project will occur, but that might not be a solidified date yet with the current climate.
2. Conduct a Virtual Deployment Design Workshop
The retail IT deployment design workshop is a crucial step in any successful deployment. This workshop will help you and your team know every aspect of the deployment is designed and planned appropriately.
Yes, it’s best if you can have this workshop in person. There are many benefits to conducting key meetings face-to-face, but sometimes circumstances dictate that this is impossible. Make every effort to hold it in person, but don’t let the inability to physically meet stop you from holding a workshop.
If your team is working remotely, try holding the workshop via video conference — that way, you can see each other. Invite as many key decision-makers as possible so you know all input will be heard. The goal of the workshop is to discuss every detail related to the project to ensure nothing is missed.
3. Find and Vet Local Technicians
Another great way to maximize your time at home is by expanding your technician pool. As the COVID-19 situation has shown, sometimes having local personnel is important, as opposed to always needing to fly your technicians to new places. It’s very likely that people will be returning to work before travel restrictions are lifted, so by having technicians you trust close to your projects, you’ll be back in motion sooner. Grow your talent pool right now by sourcing, vetting, interviewing, and even onboarding these local techs, so they’re ready to go when it’s time to deploy. If you don’t have the resources to grow your tech pool right now, remember that Kinettix is here to support your global staffing needs.
While these tips and suggestions are particularly relevant right now due to the COVID-19 situation, it’s important to remember that your team could be working from home for various reasons. Holding a virtual deployment design workshop, for example, can be a great option if your team is spread throughout the country or the world, and bringing everyone together isn’t a feasible option. Whenever you can’t be together physically, always remember you can continue making progress on your retail IT deployment in these ways.
