NEWS

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of a remote workforce causing major disruption and change forcing employees to adapt under pressure. How do you ensure your company culture is alive and well when people are no longer face-to-face regularly. Homeground Consulting has outlined some useful tips to prepare you and your workforce for the changes that are taking place.

Set Employees Up for Success

The transition from a physical office to a remote/home office will cause some level of adjustment for everyone. Your employees must have the necessary equipment set up in their home/remote office to connect via online platforms. Setting up online platforms such as Zoom, Skype and Meetup for them to communicate is key and may require some learning and patience.

Cultivate Connection

Now that you’ve got tools to connect with your colleagues, it’s important to use them regularly to support ongoing communication and connection. A sense of loneliness and isolation can be real issues for remote employees, so you want to make sure that you are routinely reaching out to help alleviate any challenges they may be facing whether personally and professionally. This could include daily check-ins with individual employees and/or increasing the frequency of team meetings and company-wide emails.

Create time and space for people to connect on a personal basis. At BVC, we have designated Slack channels for people to share things about their lives outside of work, a funny meme or video, and about their pets. You might also create open meetings for people to come together without a specific agenda or objective other than being together.

During meetings and 1-to-1s, turn on your webcams. Seeing your colleagues fosters greater connection and understanding through eye contact and the ability to read facial expressions and body language.

Promote Balance

An office does not make people more, in fact, studies find that remote workers take fewer breaks and work more hours each month. This said, employees working at home tend to put in long hours with work being so accessible, it is essential to help them establish balance.

Dedicating a space specifically to work in can encourage people to step away from work for breaks and at the end of the day.

Leaders should understand the need to set the tone and become mindful of their work habits, such as sending emails during off-hours that may inadvertently send a message that long hours are expected.

Keep Your Culture Alive

Lean on company core values as you establish new policies and procedures for remote working, sick leave, navigating how potential disruptors like coronavirus might impact your strategy and objectives, and find ways to communicate and connect with both employees and customers.

Maintaining your culture during times of change is not an added initiative, but rather the ‘how’ all your initiatives and business are carried out. Communicating your core values will enable your organisation to be adaptable and move through the transition of change. They empower your people, regardless of where they are in your organisation when making decisions or taking action. Your values are the glue that holds everyone together and what move the collective forward, positioning your organisation for success.

Source: Barrett Values Centre