Perspectives / Working Better, Together
Our shared responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID 19 continues. Mass gatherings are not currently allowed, nor is going to the office. The need to continue to show gratitude and appreciation however remains key. In our previous article we shared insights as to how to create an online event in times of a pandemic, an event that creates a sense of belonging. Whilst this is a good first step, this should not be a one-off.
It is key to ensure that your staff don’t feel disconnected to the company or their team and that they continue to feel appreciated, especially in these challenging times, when there’s a real risk of ending up with a burnout.
Many senior leaders are now asking:
We have a few suggestions to help team members connect and help you as a leader understand the needs of your staff which as a result will create a sense of belonging to the team and organisation.
The new reality that we are faced with, interacting over Zoom, Teams or Skype, does not create that all-important working bond, however, seeing each other face to face really helps cement relationships.
A few points to consider:
Find out how you can help your team during this time. Identify their most pressing concerns. Ask what your employee needs in order to be able to do his or her job even better. The result is important, but the path for achieving the result is even more important as it influences the way and how quickly a positive result can be achieved.
Examples of questions to ask:
Register the feedback if it relates to the team, appoint action holders and evaluate regularly.
It is important to create a regular routine during the week. When team members can join different fora and share their thoughts on a variety of topics.
Examples could include:
Before you start with the regular agenda in which you reflect on the previous week and discuss coming week do a ‘check-in round’ to understand how people are doing. A sample agenda could be:
Check-in
A ‘check-in’ round, asking on a scale of 1 – 10 how everyone is doing. If they want to share, they can use the opportunity.
This will create an understanding amongst each other, and an opportunity for colleagues to offer help. It could be that someone isn’t feeling well because a close relative just passed away due to Covid-19.
Announcements
– Senior leader presents outputs/key insights from meetings
– Team members birthday’s, or other celebrations
– presenting new joiners
Issues/Concerns
– People share their issues/concern
– An opportunity for the team members to ask and offer help
Achievements/Successes
– Update on positives/wins and achievements
New items
– Chair to present new topics, and assign leads
Focus for the coming week
– People share where their focus will be in the coming week
Any other business / close the meeting – People have the opportunity to ask for help on specific topics
Thursday’s seem to work well. Perhaps add some music in the background. No agenda; use is this time to wind down, catch up and ask how everyone is doing.
This is a simple technique that encourages participants to come up with practical ideas for team improvement and actionable items to follow up on immediately.
Here we have provided a sample of a weekly rhythm that as a leader you could place on your teams’ SharePoint. Especially when working remotely, it’s helpful to be transparent to your team on your whereabouts and availability, managing their expectations, so that they know when to engage with you.
The overview reflects an example of a balanced and healthy work schedule. One that shows as a leader you also take care of yourself. It is important to lead by example.
It is important to lead by example. If you lead by example, you will show people that it is accepted in these challenging times for them to take care of themselves. By sharing this it will promote an open and frank discussion as to what really matters.
Last but not least; Especially now in these challenging times, it’s key to ensure that your team members feel heard and appreciated. Ask your team members to provide feedback on how things were in 2020, and use this input to create the teams’ ‘New Year’ resolutions’. You could use the output of your ‘lessons learnt meetings’ as input for an evaluation. Ask everyone to supplement it with additional topics (as applicable).
These resolutions should not only focus on what to do differently as a team, but should also include your team members’ personal New Years’ resolution. Ask them what you as a leader and your colleagues could do to help them meet their personal goals (e.g. staying healthy and happy during a pandemic.)
What if you make this a joint goal and try to meet these goals together? Set the resolutions, and discuss together what actions you could take on a regular basis. Discuss these at your social event (however, stay away from an agenda!), agree on a buddy; as you team members may have similar goals. Let 2021 not only be about work, but also about how you and your team can join forces to get through this challenging time together. Add all of this to your teams ‘SharePoint and review during the Lessons Learnt meeting.
These tips will help you to support and encourage your team. Our next article will be on the cause of burnouts in times of a pandemic. How to identify them, to prevent them, and resolve them in your role as a leader.