Organizations have been reviewing post-pandemic working methods and the physical return to work as countries throughout the world gradually reopen. Many companies, particularly those with a significant number of knowledge employees, were driven to adopt a remote model as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the enthusiasm for reintroducing some form of in-person engagement in the workplace, only about 70% of companies have a well-established goal or plan in place. Let’s take a look at the hybrid model we are all embracing today and what we need to do to make it easy for employees to adjust.
Invest in your employees
Investing in your employees today guarantees a better future for your business tomorrow. You’ll achieve success if your employees are enthusiastic about your company and determined to do their best since they will share that enthusiasm with your clients and increase job performance.
On the other hand, you’ll suffer if your team members aren’t interested and enthusiastic about your company as they won’t perform as well as they could and will be looking for new options.
So, invest in employee development. Help them adjust to the new normal and your whole organization will benefit. Employee development is a collaborative effort between the person and the employer to help the employee enhance their technical abilities and knowledge.
This could involve instructing the team on how to use new technology or tactics, providing training to develop internal leadership, or delivering skill-based training modules to increase employee performance.
For instance, if your team members are not proficient enough in Microsoft Excel but you need to use that program every day, you should consult a Microsoft Excel expert. Investing in Excel training will help your business in many aspects like finance, administration, and more.
Create trust
Trust is a crucial aspect of every business’s performance, but it’s even more so when dealing with staff who are far away from each other, like remote workers. Since we’re unlikely to completely return to an in-office, 9-to-5 work setting any time soon, it’s even more crucial to figure out how to create trust in a remote context that will persist.
Trust is built on two key assumptions:
- Employees will produce high-quality work
- They will act with integrity and good intentions
Transparency among your team members is essential for establishing a high degree of trust in your company.
Allow them to communicate on a frequent basis through video meetings and phone calls so that they can get to know each other and see the measures that everyone is taking to get their work done on a daily basis. The more conversations your team members can have with each other, the more trust they will develop.
Send gifts to your employees
Did you think about sending gifts to your employees? Sure, corporate gifts for clients are always appreciated, and Hoppier has some great ideas to help you come up with some, but corporate gifts benefit more than just your clients. Your workforce is your most valuable asset.
With a generous and heartfelt attitude to corporate gifting, you should take good care of them. Your employees want to work in an environment where they are valued and comfortable.
Come up with a corporate gifting plan to send gifts to employees on special occasions like birthdays and corporate anniversaries, as well as when they’ve completed a particularly amazing project.
Let them know what you expect from them
Common expectations and goals help to build trust and productivity. If everyone on your team is on the same page when it comes to projects, next actions, hurdles, and deadlines, they can work together to accomplish anything.
Every person working on a project should have a single, common perspective of the tasks at hand, and it should be accessible anytime they need it. When project managers and their clients are separated by time zones, this is very critical.
Use a platform that allows for regular updates with your team members. Find a process that works and keep to it, whether it’s through a platform that gives automated notifications that can be sent out at the touch of a button or a manual process in which everyone delivers an update to the team each morning.
Create a solution that will keep everyone on the same page.
Communicate and do it well
In a nontraditional work environment, communication is another issue that can arise. Meetings that take place in person or over the video are more challenging to plan.
Client communication may suffer as a result of the fact that you and your customers may be working from different locations at different times, and emails or messages may get lost in the shuffle.
To prevent misunderstandings and support speedy turnaround times, you need clear projects, tasks, and deadlines to drive better communication.
You should also use communication tools such as collaboration software, which includes videoconferencing, instant messaging, and automated notifications so that you and your team can communicate at any time.
Conclusion
Adjust, be transparent, and try hard. Find the right methods and get everyone on board. When you succeed in doing that, your whole team will work like a well-oiled machine.
And in case you get overwhelmed just remember that when the going gets tough, the tough get going!