Working during crisis periods
The new normal: During this period of crisis (global pandemic), and the greater reliance of virtual work, what are some top strategies leaders are employing for keeping employees engaged, mitigating panic, and staying focused on goals?
Anonymous
03/30/20 at 1:08PM UTC
Thanks for sharing these insights - It sounds like the acknowledgement of the issues we are facing along with some kind of regular check-ins during the virtual transition seem like some best practices we could all employ.
Jac G
MPH, Project Manager, and Radio DJ
66
03/24/20 at 1:57PM UTC
My manager has been flexible about how we would like to communicate our daily productivity/tasks completed. This has been helpful since we are a diverse team and all have different preferences. Mainly, she has communicated that she trusts me to get my work done without her needing to check-in constantly, which has made the transition to working remotely a lot easier.
Jackie GhedineCoach Gen X Women|Host Modern GenX Woman podcast
6.03k
03/24/20 at 11:19AM UTC
Uncertainty is one of the scariest things we as humans face, our brains react with going into fight or flight mode. The best thing leaders can do for teams is to find ways to provide certainty in uncertain times.
Declaring corporate stability.
Personally providing accolades to individuals who are fearful.
Alison HarrisGlobal Digital Marketing Leader
331
03/23/20 at 3:46PM UTC
Over-communication is #1, for sure.
Focus on being human and family-centric is a close second.
Something I've done with my team that seems to be helping is staying strict on "work hours". I'm intentionally not communicating with them during "family time" unless it's something truly urgent. I'm also being very careful about which channels I use to communicate. Example: what'sapp is 100% about family, cats, dogs, kids, meme's; email is for work; slack is funny work.
It can be easy to mix the channels and get off topic.
Something I set up ages ago that continues to be really successful is daily standups with the team. 15 minutes to set the priorities for the day at the beginning of the day and 15 minutes to wrap up, discuss any roadblocks, and set expectations for the evening.
Anonymous
03/23/20 at 2:45PM UTC
My works is also doing the same as BossBrandy mentioned. They're highlighting on the fact that we're human and undergoing a pandemic vs. freaking us out with resetting new goals and being the best we can be during this time -- knowing that it's physically impossible to strive to be perfect or go above and beyond at this time. I think that in itself is a smart move to reduce even more anxiety than we're all feeling right now. Looking forward to hearing what other companies are doing at this time as well.
Anonymous
03/23/20 at 2:44PM UTC
This is a great question. I think the best things I've seen upper management do is taking this time to see how everyone is doing. They're making sure that we know that health is first and navigating this new way of life is the first focus -- goals are 2nd focus.
