1. Maintaining frequent, transparent, and consistent communication
Nearly half of the participants of the survey reported feeling disconnected from their teams and reported that effective communication is critical in working from home arrangements. Effective communication must be frequent, transparent, containing an open dialogue, easy to navigate, and consistent.
Frequent. 1 in 10 respondents reported that frequent communication was one of the most useful ways their company supported the transition to working from home. Daily or weekly updates that are accessible to all employees in real time are an effective way to ensure connection. Webinars or video updates are preferable to emails, as they are more engaging and promote personal connection.
Transparent. Employees appreciated leaders who clarified the rationale behind their decisions in order to promote a culture of openness.
Open. Employees appreciated open channels of communication that allowed them to provide feedback or ask questions in real time. Methods of communication can include dedicated Covid-19 response teams that are available to address the concerns or questions of their employees, weekly surveys that allowed employees to share feedback anonymously, or virtual town halls that allowed employees to express their concerns in an open forum.
Easy to Navigate Respondents listed centralized information hubs as immensely helpful in navigating covid-19. Regularly updated FAQs, archived video messages from leaders, virtual training resources, and clear guidelines on Covid-19 policies such as sick days, expected work hours and time off are all resources that can be located on an easily accessible information hub.
Consistent. All teams across the company must have clear and unified messages. All levels of the company must confirm their communication is consistent across the board to ensure that employees are not receiving conflicting information.
2. Providing Support for mental and Physical Health.
Working from home arrangements increase feelings of social isolation amongst workers. Regular check ins by managers to ascertain the wellbeing of employees (both professionally and personally) was listed as an effective method for battling isolation. Initiatives designed to help employees manage stress and maintain wellbeing were beneficial. These could include sharing mental health resources, starting an online discussion board, and offering upskilling for managers in recognising and promoting mental wellbeing.
3. Helping remote employees stay productive and engaged
It was found that remote working can actually boost productivity when undertaking stand alone tasks that don’t require the engagement of other employees. However, tasks that require a collaborative effort may suffer from the effects of working from home. Acknowledgement of this dip in productivity as being normal was found to be beneficial to employees, as it validated their experiences and challenges. Recognition of increased productivity during remote working is also incredibly important in ensuring workers feel valued and recognised.
Frequent, short meetings enable employees working remotely to feel engaged and focused. Regular sharing of tips and best practices to achieve effective remote working were also popular.
4. Managing Work Life Balance
While working from home has benefits for employee’s wellbeing, such as cutting down on commute time and allowing workers to spend more time with family, it also makes it harder for workers to separate their home from their work life. Remote workers tend to log more hours than those that work in the office. Allowing workers to make reasonable adjustments to their schedules is an effective way of mitigating the challenges of balancing work and home. Providing the flexibility for workers to work throughout the day as it suits them, rather than completing all their duties within a standard 8-5 working day, in order to accommodate the needs of other family members or children was listed as an effective way of improving wellbeing.
5. Maintaining Strategic Priorities
Remote working is here to stay. It’s important for business not to lose sight of the strategic priorities and future goals that were set pre pandemic. While it’s understandable that a once in a lifetime pandemic has distracted businesses from these goals momentarily, it is important to regain sight of them. Remote learning provides opportunities in forward momentum, and recognising this is an important aspect in ensuring that companies and workers are able to remain focused and retain a sense of normality during uncertain times.
