Many of us are settling in and accepting that the right thing to do is to observe social distancing and to stay in place. After getting over the shock and feelings of fear, most of us are trying to get back to business as “normal”. But what is the new “normal”?
At Adam Bryce we have been speaking to many of our clients, all of whom are business leaders and checking on their health and safety. Inevitably we are finding that our conversations are turning to discussions around doing business in the new environment that we all find ourselves in.
Many have said that looking back, their incident response and business continuity plans were helpful, but not enough. Sure, there is the issue of equipping the workforce to be mobile. Having the appropriate bandwidth, the right applications and hardware to work remotely. But what about the emotional and personal side of the equation?
As a leader, the most important thing you do is support your team. At this time it is critical that as leaders we understand our team member’s circumstances and be supportive of their situations. They may be experiencing stressors that you don’t see or understand. For some, they are no longer just an employee, or working parent, they are now the full-time chef and dog walker. They may be concerned about an elderly parent who they can’t interact with face to face or a family member whose health is compromised. So how do you keep them focused? How do you lessen their feeling of isolation? How do you teach them to communicate remotely, with their peers, with their customers, with you?
These are issues that we would like to help you find creative answers to. Let’s make this a collaborative effort. Share your thoughts and let us hear some of the things that you are implementing or thinking about to make this time less stressful, easier and still productive for all.
