Lack of coordination and demotivated employees sound familiar to you? There are ways businesses can improve this situation. Read on to know how.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our everyday lives. The 9-to-5 work culture has come to a complete halt and employees across the globe are working remotely. With such a drastic change brought about almost overnight, everyone’s professional lives have been impacted, some more severely than others.
One major challenge that organisations now face is dealing with the demotivation that employees are experiencing while working from home. Not being able to meet colleagues, collaborate in person, and socialise together has affected employee morale. Working from the comfort of their homes has also meant that work-life balance has gone for a toss.
Owing to these issues, managers and HRs have had to look for ways that keep employee morale and engagement high even during the social distancing era. It helped that organisations also realised that to thrive in the new normal, the remote working environment would have to be optimised,
Below are some measures that have helped organisations during the work from home era.
Uncertainty has been known to trigger stress and anxiety. Physical offices have been shut for a year now, nations have been under lockdown and economies have been suffering. It is natural then that employees are anxious about job security, leading to feelings of being lost and depressed. Given the stress, employees have not been able to deliver results.
All of this can be taken care of with mental health sessions which organisations can schedule for their staff members. These may include Emotional Quotient (EQ), anxiety and stress-relieving techniques, and even online meditation sessions that will help relieve depression.
With a relaxed mind and stable thoughts, employees put more effort into their work, driving better results.
With only black screens present in front of us, communication has become trickier. Remote work has caused communication gaps, both internal and external. It has disrupted coordination between various stakeholders and hampered overall productivity.
The better approach in this scenario will be to team up, communicate frequently with instant messaging, audio or video calls, and hold regular but short meetings for better clarity. This will keep everyone in the loop, ensuring work efficiency.
To bridge this gap there are various solutions available online that enable secure, encrypted communication via text, audio and video conferencing. These solutions not only ease work processes but also offer easy communication internally as well externally without burning a hole in your pocket.
According to data collected by the Economic Times, 649,000 people lost their jobs between March 2020 to June 2020 due to the pandemic. People were worried not only for the safety of their loved ones but also for their jobs.
The situation hasn’t quite changed since then; many companies have shut down or filed for bankruptcy. In such a daunting scenario, hearing directly from the ones running the company will put staff at ease and boost engagement among the workforce.
These sessions can be conducted fortnightly or monthly to keep spirits high. Since social interactions are still restricted, organising virtual town halls will help the situation and enhance employees’ trust in the organisation.
These meetings will also promote transparency in communication during these uncertain times, and give those in the lower ranks a chance to gain clarity and consequently, a sense of belonging.
Financial security has become a real concern for several people. With businesses losing money, a large part of the workforce has undergone pay cuts and monetary benefit loss, and some have even lost their jobs. Add to that the medical expense that this pandemic brings with it.
Thus, it’s important for businesses to make sure that their employees get through these financial difficulties. Companies can provide monetary aid to their staff during the pandemic as a way of showing care to their employees. However, if an organisation cannot provide direct monetary benefits, there are other ways to help employees as well.
These include urgent paid medical leaves for employees who have been diagnosed with CoVID-19 or provide 100% monetary coverage for covid testing and treatment. They can also offer reimbursements along with paid caregiver leaves to employees that are taking care of a sick family member.
There are different ways depending upon how much a company can offer in this scenario but a little help goes a long way.
Employees spend almost one-third of their day at work. With depleting mental health, if they can’t discuss their concerns with the person they connect with the most, it can worsen the situation.
A good leader is someone who can understand their subordinate and provide motivation when needed, making sure work doesn’t get hampered. So, it’s important that managers level up their game!
Offering empathy is one way to go about this. Motivating employees when they’re down and appreciating them for their achievements are a few things that help keep colleagues buoyant. Sure, it will be difficult for managers as well. This is where cloud communication solutions come into play.
Cloud solutions help businesses highlight employees for their good work. With virtual get-togethers and gamification, it is easy With features that automate mundane tasks, it helps managers increase employee satisfaction, streamline business processes, and enhance collaboration.
Wrapping up
CoVID-19 has been very daunting to deal with for every business. Since it’s the workforce that helps an organisation touch the sky, it’s necessary to take care of this important resource. Boosting employee engagement and morale, and helping your staff navigate through these tough times will help solve the problem. It will build the workforce’s trust in the company and enhance company values overall.
