The Forgotten Ones - Who's looking after the welfare of your employees?
In recent times, Covid-19 has disrupted the way companies carry out day-to-day operations, and prolonged work-from-home measures have resulted in burnout in the workforce. Group CEO of Verztec Consulting Pte Ltd, Nicholas Goh, offers a tip sheet on harnessing technology to motivate and empower employees, and to show empathetic leadership during these trying times
SINGAPORE, July 25, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In recent times, Covid-19 has disrupted the way companies carry out day-to-day operations, and prolonged work-from-home measures have resulted in burnout in the workforce.
Group CEO of Verztec Consulting Pte Ltd, Nicholas Goh, offers a tip sheet on harnessing technology to motivate and empower employees, and to show empathetic leadership during these trying times.
Since the outbreak of Covid 19, Working from home (WFH) has become the default practice of many companies in Singapore and around the world. With this paradigm shift in the working environment, leaders are increasingly mindful of the disconnect with team members during the pandemic.
A study by teamwork management platform Asana reveals that more than 8 in 10 Singaporeans suffered burnout in 2020, with 74% of Singaporeans suffering from imposter syndrome - a belief that one isn't as competent as one is perceived to be.
If left unchecked, these symptoms could lead to lower morale, miscommunication and more mistakes made. An unmotivated company suffers from lower productivity and higher turnover, amongst a variety of other problems.
Group CEO of Verztec Consulting Pte Ltd, Nicholas Goh, expects rather rough seas ahead if business owners and leaders do not pay heed to the mental and emotional well-being of their employees. "It is not too late to reach out to your staff with a little help of technology. Your team needs to know that the company's care and concern for the business is not at their expense."
As many countries all around the world begin to view the current situation as endemic, here are some ways companies can leverage today's technology to support and inspire their employees.
1. Putting the Office in Home Office
With Covid-19 being a once in a 100-year pandemic, many business employers and employees were caught by surprise and did not have the time to make a successful switch to a remote working environment.
Having the proper equipment and tools like a strong wireless network, consistent access to the company's cloud system and intranet, can help mimic an environment most similar to the office, which can help employees maintain their productivity and efficiency.
The use of new apps and platforms may also frustrate some employees who are not as tech savvy as their colleagues.
Leaders who show concern and help troubleshoot employees' connectivity issues or software hiccups can avoid team frustrations turning into contempt or personal issues.
2. Restructuring Employee Expectations
The pandemic situation in the world is constantly evolving, work expectations should evolve with it. Trust in your employees becomes essential but remote working teams still need to know what they need to achieve together and that could mean specifying daily duties.
This could mean weekly video conference meetings to foster interaction and with goals sent out via email to team members.
In an article entitled "Are you ready for the work-from-anywhere era", Ravi Gajendran of Florida International University shared the benefits of daily deliverables. "You are giving people something to focus on. You are not telling them when to do it and how to do it.
If you are breaking it down into bite-sized chunks, it establishes mutual trust. Small wins can cascade down to bigger wins."
3. Doing Life Together, Separately
Zoom, Telegram, Skype, Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp are widely adopted social media and messaging platforms that are highly useful for sharing information between co-workers, but many have begun functioning incognito behind the screens (BTS). Another zoom meeting? The sighs often go unheard BTS.
One company, however, seized the opportunity to do something different.
Sharon Roberts, a project manager at INSEAD, shared her experience during the lockdown. It was her birthday in April 2020 when Singapore went into "Circuit Breaker" mode with stay-at-home orders.
She was fully expecting her birthday to be "a lonely and a rather sad one". What she did not expect were two bouquets of flowers and an 'urgent meeting' that turned out to be a Zoom celebration from her team.
Sharon felt that many INSEAD online events kept her engaged and motivated despite the challenges and relative isolation. There were daily online fitness sessions, weekly mystery virtual coffee chats, regular group calls to 'check-in' about anything non-work related, and even surprise Starbucks deliveries after a big project.
4. Sustaining Energy in Open Communications
Fatigue during this crisis is a real issue, even for higher management. If Zoom meetings get stale or boring, it is time to energize the team.
Shared in a Harvard Business Review article in December 2020 on leadership when you team is exhausted, LEGO Group defined the goal to "Energize Everyone, Every Day" as a central leadership principle.
Some suggestions include sharing success stories and setting up mini competitions. Even shortening endless zoom meetings and allowing open communications where constructive conflicts and honest feedback is encouraged.
There is still a long way to go before the world recovers from the pandemic. With variants evolving on the horizon, WFH seems to be the default in the foreseeable future.
Hence, companies with a constant eye on opportunities to sustain and prosper the business will need to think creatively to help employees grow and succeed with new digital learning technologies and e-learning platforms, as well as coming up with new ways of inspiring and engaging people.
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About the AUTHOR
Nicholas Goh is the Founder and Group CEO of Verztec Consulting Pte Ltd, a leading Full-Service Globalization Company. Verztec assists companies around the world to design, develop, localize and publish their global communication messages and digital training into over 100 languages.
For more information, please visit http://www.verztec.com and http://www.verzteclearning.com
Media Contact
Press Media, Verztec Consulting Pte Ltd, +65 65774660, [email protected]
SOURCE Verztec Consulting Pte Ltd
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