The COVID-19 engendered a global crisis and. Here is a roadmap to make the workday a meaningful and productive experience from home
When major global health emergencies arise, employers and collaborators must be in the creative ranks to boost their teams’ productivity and create environments that foster excellent communication and professional growth.
Establish virtual communication channels
There are things that you can circulate by email, but there are other forms of virtual communication that are also necessary that convey greater closeness and facilitate understanding between professionals.
Face-to-face communication
In times when contact with other people is so limited, it is essential to take advantage of the possibilities of digital tools to enrich the conversation. In this sense, although we are managing teams remotely or teleworking, we must prioritize communication “face to face” through mechanisms such as video calls, and conferences, with visual support such as presentations and graphics, among others. The more open channels we have, the better for the team to understand.
Transparency and visibility
One aspect that becomes crucial for remote teams is transparency. Working aligned towards a common purpose or mission is just as important as working for organizations located in the same work environment. In this sense, a brief synchronization and alignment first thing in the day will be essential so that team members can give visibility and transparency to both progress and impediments.
This environment of transparency and visibility will also lead to an improvement in the motivation and involvement of the team, allowing all members to know the status of the project at any time. In this way, they will be able to detect errors or problems that may arise beforehand to avoid future frustrations between them.
Share vision of the project
It is essential to use mechanisms for displaying the information of the team as a whole to be aware of progress, both individually and collectively. In this sense, having a popular site where the team’s information is easily visible and accessible is essential.
Also, teams managed under Agile methodology discard closed planning to work in iterations that can be varied to find a solution to any errors that may arise. This fact allows us to go back to previous stages of the work to find a way to improve it.
Respect schedules to achieve higher productivity
No less important is the synchronization of time zones, if necessary, and respect for the time slots destined for productive work, as well as the use of time management techniques.
Establishment of contingency measures for the pandemic
Have a Contingency Response Team that establishes the strategy and marks the objectives of the emergency plan.
- Implement policies regarding sickness compensation.
- Activate protocols to prevent the spread of the virus in the workplace.
- Enable procedures so that employees can work from home or have flexible hours.
Preparation for the impact of a pandemic on employees, customers, and suppliers
Prepare for the prolonged absence of employees due to personal or family illness, the application of containment measures, or the interruption of public transportation.
Maintain close communication channels with employees and collaborators, guaranteeing that they know first-hand the strategy, decisions, and aid that are made available to them.
Offer a mechanism for solving doubts
In the current situation, doubts arise that can generate more concern and stress. The company must assess whether it is necessary to enable any additional mechanism to respond to professionals who have doubts.
Bet on creativity
One of the most significant risks of remote work in the medium/long term is losing the shared moments that increase the links between professionals in the organization. Use creativity to create excuses that can lead employees to share “something else”. It can be excellent training, a joint session of good practices, a virtual coffee. It is about keeping in touch with moments of “enjoyment”.
Create a network of ambassadors
It is vital to show normality because it helps to reinforce the tranquillity of the team. Appoint ambassadors within the organization to share publicly (on social networks, groups …) and privately (among their colleagues) what their day-to-day work in these new circumstances is like.
Support middle managers
Currently, middle managers are usually under pressure. They do not always have first-hand information, and at the same time, they are the primary personal contact with the company of many people. Create a manual for them, give them advice on how to manage the team right now, and use communication tools.
Recognition
Value the work of those most affected. Some areas are making a special effort to adapt the company to new circumstances such as IT or HR. Take advantage to recognize your work before other employees. Also, the company must be flexible and close with those professionals who are especially suffering from this situation, offering versatile solutions or measures to facilitate the best possible performance of their functions. Maintaining regular breaks, at the beginning and end of each day helps improve mental agility and motivation and avoids anxiety due to lack of time.
Conclusion
Each company is suffering due to the crisis of COVID-19. Additionally, they have let their employees work from. Sometimes, working from home is much more hectic, so this blog will enlighten you to maintain productivity and remain effective during this crisis.
We are living in challenging times, and that is why every organization must know how to adapt. In this context, the use of team management methodologies such as Agile becomes an implacable necessity, a commercial imperative for survival.
