Ensuring Employee Productivity During a Global Pandemic

We are certainly living in the most bizarre of times.

I was chatting with a friend last week about the situation.

She said to me, “you know Nick I just had my 10 year wedding anniversary?” after sharing congratulations…my friend further commented by saying, “if you would have told me 10 years ago on my wedding day that in 10 years’ time, the world would be overrun with a virus (because someone ate a bat!) which forced everyone to work from home and not be able to see each other, grandchildren isolated from their grandparents, hug each other or even walk next to each other, you would have had that person mentally assessed”.  I responded by saying that I thought that was an accurate and interesting insight and perspective. Honestly, who would have ever thought it possible 10 years ago (or even 6 months ago)?

So, in this month’s blog post I thought it might be interesting to share an article by Victor Snyder with you that I recently read, about how we can keep our employees productive during this period…  given many of us are now in a working remote situation.

The article can be located here:

https://www.business2community.com/crisis-management/how-to-keep-employees-productive-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak-02292676

Some of the key points to consider from the article are:

  • Ensuring that business keep communication effective and efficient.

Snyder suggests that what this means is with team members in various locations we must be clear on scheduling online meetings, ensure clarity on project deadlines and ensuring our team are kept in the loop on the projects.

Think about any online training that can be instituted at this time.

  • Being conscious that team members aren’t burning out because they now are working more flexibly and different hours.

The article refers to a study undertaken that 22% of workers struggle to ‘unplug’ from their work. In other words, stay close to your team members to ensure they are able to get some downtime.

  • Ensure job clarity

It’s important during this time of remote working and flexibility that team members are working towards clear objectives and goals and understand the expectations of them.

Has your business got the right policies and structures in place to ensure job clarity and work structure?

The article concludes by suggesting that one of the most critical things to ensure at this time is that team members feel valued and that their well-being matters.

As a good leader it’s important to check in with your team probably more than usual to let them appreciate that your support is still present.

Keep safe and healthy.

Nick Hedges

P.S. I’d love your feedback on the article

Nick Hedges is the founder of Resolve HR, a Sydney-based HR consultancy specialising in providing workplace advice to managers and business owners. He recently published his first book, “Is Your Team Failing or Kicking Goals? Take Control of Your People & Their Performance”. It is a practical response to your most pressing HR challenges, which can be found at https://resolvehr.com.au/.

Disclaimer: The contents contained do not constitute legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.

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