The transition to remote work has been far more disruptive than some employers realize. And I know that using Tom Hanks and the movie Cast Away as a metaphor for our collective shift to remote work is a bit strange considering that Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were among the first to contract the COVID-19 virus, but what's happening right now is similar to that movie...
If you have sent your employees to their homes where they will suddenly be alone like in the movie "Cast Away", I have a few suggestions for you to keep your employees connected to their work until this pandemic, which is said to be experiencing the 2nd or even 3rd wave, slows down;1. Resume Normal:
As the global pandemic continues to ravage the world, some of our clients are hesitant about whether to postpone meetings and trainings and ask us for advice. I think it is useful to maintain a sense of normality in remote work. If the meetings on the calendar are not impossible to realize in a virtual format, let them stay on the calendar.
When our world is turned upside down, we sometimes instinctively stop doing what we normally do. For example, if we were practicing sports, we stop, if we were watching what we eat, we give up and turn to doughy foods. It's the same at work. We may stop following our previous work schedule. If you, as a manager, actively resist these tendencies, your employees will more easily adapt to the new situation. They will recognize key institutional behaviors that create the feeling of "same old, same old" (in a positive sense!).
Virtual Lunch and Learn Program Brochure
Whether you're in the middle of an employee engagement survey, waiting for responses to 360 assessments, or have scheduled one-on-one performance conversations with your team for the coming weeks, keep your focus on these critical people initiatives. Taking your focus off employee development in the midst of a crisis would be like blindfolding a pilot trying to land a plane in the middle of a storm. Remind your people that they are valued! From time to time, many of us fall into the grip of fear and doubt. The last thing we need is for our leaders to lose sight of the landing strip at the most critical moment.
2. Build Deeper, Not Superficial, Connections with Your Employees:
In Cast Away, Chuck (Tom Hanks) befriends a volleyball he calls "Wilson". He spends most of his time on the island, commiserating with Wilson and taking advice from him. He is devastated when this friend is washed out to sea in a violent storm. Chuck's desire to talk to someone represents the strong need to interact with people that most of us have.
I worked remotely even before the pandemic. I remember how excited I was when I started working from home when I founded my first startup. It seemed like there was nothing better in the world. I was no longer spending hours in traffic, all I had to do was get out of bed and go to the room I was using as an office. Over time, however, I began to dislike it. I felt so isolated from other people that sometimes I thought I was going out of my mind. Even occasional walks or afternoon hours on the balcony could not create the balance I wanted in my life.
The Missing Piece in Remote Working:
In those years, I also had a remote assistant and 3 consultants working with me. At first, I didn't interact much with my team except for weekly meetings and occasional instant messaging.I wouldn't say that I really knew anyone beyond the professional conversations we had during meetings. Something was missing. The reality was that I wasn't enjoying my team because I didn't know my team, I didn't feel like I belonged there, I didn't have a feeling for the team because I was working remotely. I didn't feel comfortable in that culture, I was completely disconnected from the characteristics of the culture. If you sense that something is missing in your team, you can identify it with 3 sentences from the employee engagement survey: "I enjoy working with the people on my team," "I feel that I belong here," and "I feel comfortable in the culture of this organization."
Depending on how long our current remote working model lasts, you may need to hire new employees to join the company as direct remote workers. This means that these employees will form their first impression of the organization based on their virtual interactions with you and their team.Set up "get acquainted" calls/chats/zoom meetings, especially with new employees joining your company, and make plans to involve all team members to build new and strengthen existing ties between employees.
I was recently chatting with a senior executive of an international corporate client about the realities of office closures and telecommuting when he said to me, "To tell you the truth, telecommuting is more of a pain than a joy." The fact that this manager understood the realities of working from home and was willing to adapt his way of working to compensate for the big changes we were all experiencing was a good example of leadership for me.
If your existing team members have no previous experience of remote working, don't assume that they will transition smoothly to the new way of working. Keep meeting with each of your employees one-on-one until you have a full picture of their ability to cope with the new organization.
When employees switch to remote working, the paradox of "out of sight, out of mind" comes into play. It is difficult, but not impossible, to find a substitute in the virtual world for the healthy conversations that keep people engaged during normal working hours.
Ask employees what they are thinking, what ideas they have or what is keeping them up at night in this chaotic new reality. This allows you to prioritize your efforts and your employee to feel listened to.
We have guided many clients to listen to their employees through pulse surveys . For example, you can ask your employees something like: "What are your concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic?" Ask that and just listen. After you hear what your employees have to say, show them that you have listened and tell them how the organization will respond. That's when your employees really feel heard.
5. Implement Virtual Lunch N' Learns
Due to restrictions in restaurants, mealtimes are a continuation of isolation. But it doesn't have to be this way. One of the biggest complaints workers have about working from home is the lack of socialization. Can no longer eat with each other
but they can still use technology to eat "together", talk about something that concerns everyone and the business, and get to know each other better. Implement Lunch and Learn programs so that your employees can socialize while learning and acquiring the tools they need, especially during the remote working period.
No one knows exactly when this virus will slow down. In this new normal, we are stronger together, even if we are only virtually together. If you proactively look for ways to build and strengthen meaningful bonds within your teams, you can emerge from this devastation stronger than before and with forward momentum.
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