10 Ways to Keep Your Employees Engaged During a Pandemic By Arienne Martinez, Director, Training & Development, HOMELINK
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ow more than ever, employees are looking to their leaders for help navigating the global pandemic. While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on workplaces around the world, each of your employees is affected differently. Working remotely brings new challenges as well as new opportunities. There is distraction. There is worry. There is a need for flexibility. But, there are still customers that need taken care of and work to be done. These are the realities of working remotely. Some parents are still wondering how they’ve managed all summer with needy little coworkers running around the house as well as what the future of the rest of the school year has in store. Others are in a constant battle between worrying about loved ones being safe and feeling depressed seeing the same four walls every day. There’s also a newly found appreciation for those who worked from home previously—how did they stay connected? Maybe they didn’t and this has opened your eyes to changes that need to be made throughout your organization. It seems as though we are all on the same playing field now when it comes to meeting with employees across the country because we all log in to a meeting with a link versus some of us heading into the conference room with a coffee while forgetting there are a few others, invisible, behind the phone.
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Without engaged employees, business as you know it is at risk.
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Without engaged employees, business as you know it is at risk. Here are 10 ways to keep your employees engaged during a pandemic to ensure your customers are being taken care of.
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Everyone hates a bogged down inbox and using multiple platforms— it’s best to pick one platform and stick to it.
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Get on board with the same technology
Technology can be our best friend—and worst enemy. Everyone hates a bogged down inbox and using multiple platforms—it’s best to pick one platform and stick to it. Find a communication tool, collaboration tool, and project management tool to start. Here at VGM, we are embracing the new features that Office 365 has to offer, and it has been eye-opening. Breakout sessions have been a lifesaver in making sure employees are actively engaged during meetings. Most meeting applications like Zoom, Skype, or GoToMeetings are now all equipped with the ability to create separate breakout rooms within a meeting to facilitate small group discussions to brainstorm or problem-solve and then come back together as a group. Employees tend to feel more comfortable in small group settings whereas they may not speak up in a large meeting with everyone staring back at them, virtually of course. There are so many companies making updates to their existing technical tools to make remote working more efficient and manageable. If you already work with Office 365, you’re in luck because new features are being released by Microsoft weekly to make virtual meetings, collaboration, and trainings more engaging. Microsoft has a great support site for all levels of training materials as well. A few best practices: •
Use instant messaging over email when available.
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Send a quick video chat instead of a phone call.
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Think of new creative ways to share information, such as a blog or even a short video. (Our employees look forward to the new format of the CEO updates each month, vlog style!)
VGM Playbook: Protecting Your Most Important Asset: Your People
10 Ways to Keep Your Employees Engaged... | 6
