Leading companies across the globe are embracing flexible workplace arrangements out of a need to evolve with the times and also recruit and retain the best talent. An estimated 8.4 million days of time will be saved from reduced commuting hours due to the rise of flexible workplace according to a recent survey and not mention, the relief staggered working or work from home will provide to industry infrastructure and resources.
COVID-19 are making working from home or working remotely a way for us to continue to perform our job responsibilities and contribute to our organizations. With that in mind, Colliers would like to share some of the best practices that our Workplace Advisory team uses ourselves.
Best method’s to bring team together during covid-19:
- Set up daily meeting’s:
Teams need structure and guidance to support them in managing their workload virtually. While some employees may struggle to focus on their work, others may work too much. A short team call first thing every day strengthens direction and purpose, and keeps every single team member up to date. Make a few quick and easy tweaks to turn any meeting into an engaging, efficient and collaborative experience.
- Virtual Communication:
virtual communication as a mode of communication that includes the use of technology – audio and video to communicate with people who are not physically present in front of us. People can be in the next room, other floor, in neighborhood or even miles away. All though virtual communication started way back with the invention of telephone, the advent of webcams, video conferencing & instant communications which made virtual communication a big hit.
Long-term collaboration, or the integration and onboarding of new team members, exclusively through virtual means are new territory for all of us. It is therefore essential to agree on a common approach and to define new team rules. These can later be modified based on experience.
- Employee Motivation:
Motivate your employee by doing below things,
Staying in touch:
Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts are examples of how your remote employees can keep in contact with each other wherever they are located. Also, keep in mind that it pays to invest in internal communication tools that are reliable and secure at the same time.
Encouragement:
Send regular email messages to your workers and assure them that their role is essential, whatever that may be. Tell them how they are important for the company. Encourage them to be more productive and happy.
Counseling:
Offer psychological helplines, to aid workers suffering from anxiety or stress-related issues. Don’t let them feel alone during this lockdown and keep supporting them.
- Getting work done:
Understand that your employees might be balancing childcare responsibilities while working. Acknowledge this and help them work around it. This is the time when getting the work done needs to be more of the focus than the formality of how. Wherever possible let your employees figure out how and when work will happen. For roles that require client service with undivided attention, talk to your employees about the best way for this to happen. Staggering shifts in smaller chunks of time may allow multiple employees to balance childcare and customer service. There is almost always a solution for every situation if you talk it through.
Use Technology For Business:
Check with your work from home or IT policy to ensure you are connecting using the established and approved connections. Use custom software for business, use workflow management tools like SalesMI to stay in sync with your co-workers. Many of these tools have a presence indicator. Use it to let people know when you are available, busy or away from your desk. Also, record team calls for those who can’t make the meeting. Agree on a platform, train and make it a habit.
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