With the Corona Virus still on the rampage, We need to continue to take charge as business leaders as it seems, we are still a long way from normal.
I will share with us, 4 key things (which I learnt the hard way) we must continue to do, to get the most from our team members.
Share the rules by developing clear guidelines:
While it is true that some employees will cheat during work hours (attending to other matters when they should be focused on their work task), it is also a glaring reality that the experiences of working remotely varies from one person to the other. While some do not yet have any family responsibilities, others have to supervise their children for e-learning and in between may have to babysit the younger children amongst several other things begging for attention.
So whether you like it or not, you must empower them by providing flexibility to help them balance all they need to do.
What I later learnt as against getting upset was to set Core Work Hours when team members must be available to work together to achieve the day’s tasks. Outside of this Core work hours, we give liberty for them to finish their other assignments at their own time while adhering to the deadline for such tasks.
Protecting their psychological well being translates to a healthier organization:
We are social beings and the innate need to associate physically can never be eradicated. Understanding this as business owners is a step in the right direction. You will become emphatic to the fact that working remotely can lead to moments of isolations which could further lead to depression and other cases detrimental to one’s mental health.
Encourage your team to take time out to talk with family, friends and loved ones. As a company, you must not fail to uphold your emotional wellness culture. If you have none, please it ain’t too late to get it inculcated into your company wide culture.And this is the main reason you must create virtual communities.
Create ‘social face time’ virtually:
The common saying, Work hard and Play hard is very apt right now as we all need to maintain frequent interactions and foster personal connections to keep going…
In as much as work meetings are great, social interactions are great as well and this must be a part of the daily and weekly work routines. Set up book clubs, movie time out, virtual coffee breaks, friday cultural days, Team’s happy hour, Jokes corner, Riddles, Puzzles , etc. This can be done through team messaging, collaboration apps like Team viewer, conferencing tools or you can even set up social media closed groups among several others. We must all find new ways to interact and add a little excitement to this stressful periods in history.
Communication is now even more important:
You must remain calm, confident, optimistic, positive and reassuring. Do not forget that they are all looking up to you to be that voice of calm and reason in a very turbulent storm. Your organization mission and values must be communicated and reinforced every step of the way. Make use of live videos to speak to them on a constant basis, preferably daily as things have generally become so dynamic.
Speak with them about their health, their families and of course business continuity. As leaders, now is the time to show emphaty
If you require your teams to continue to remain efficient to ensure business continuity, then these 4 key things are non-negotiatble.
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