covid 19 Archives - Darryn Van Hout

5 Ways To Nurture A Virtual Culture That Keeps Employees Connected

Darryn Van Hout — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 05:10:19 +0000

You may believe that a virtual culture already exists in your business, binding the team together with collaboration tools that are already relied on for the day to day processes that participate in your businesses success. Let’s not be naive though and start with a brief analysis on workplace culture.

Since time immemorial, organisational culture has always been a fundamental factor in employees’ decisions to work for a given company—and of course that’s also what influences their decision to stay there for longer.

More importantly, an organisation’s culture gives employees the feeling that they ‘fit’ in a certain workplace, something that has direct effect on their productivity, motivation and ultimately happiness.

Fast forward to 2020, Covid-19 has birthed unprecedented human, health and humanitarian issues. A myriad of forward-looking companies all over the world are rising to the occasion, moving in swiftly to protect their employees and migrate their operations to new ways of working that are beyond even the extreme business continuity plans.

Globally and prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the traditional wisdom was that offices were vital for culture, productivity, attracting and nurturing talent. It wasn’t a surprise to see companies fiercely compete for prime office space in notable urban centres as it’s clear that they share the focus on solutions aimed at promoting collaboration. Co-working, open-office designs and condensed were the craze. Not anymore.

Current Covid-19 Crisis

The current Covid-19 crisis has put company culture, teams, leadership and operations in many organisations to the test. A virtual workforce of remote workers is somewhat the new norm however this is not always the most practical solution. This being the case, it does not dismiss the need to pursue a virtual culture in the workplace. The engagement initiatives that worked before the pandemic aren’t translating to real and meaningful options in the new remote working culture. Consequently, teams are disengaging and managers forced to quickly adjust to improve employee experience and salvage the company culture.

Establishing a steady virtual culture is not a walk in the park and requires continuous nurturing through rapid and effective adoption of videoconferencing and other digital collaboration technology. Thankfully, for some companies, the results have been better than expected.

Closely involving employees in the transformation process makes them more engaged and dedicated to building a culture that would thrive. Managers should remain open-minded and receptive to feedback from employees.

And it’s expected, some of the new initiatives will work and others will no-doubtingly fail. This is definitely part of the process and should be considered when planning. Hence, it’s important for managers to keep their fingers on the pulse of the culture and ensure it works but adjust that which isn’t. The ultimate goal is to establish an effective virtual culture that SPELLS trust, collaboration, communication and engagement.

Here are five ways to create a virtual culture that keeps employees connected whilst they work from home through this global pandemic.

Virtual Team Building

There are various ways in which managers can leverage advanced technology to keep workers connected. For instance, managers can utilise Workplace groups, a tool integrated in Facebook’s Workplace platform designed to bolster relationships between teams and employees.

The platform is renowned for its ability to pair team members who don’t interact frequently and pushes them to connect. A quick scan through Workplace team walls confirms that employees are enjoying working with the tool as it enables them to meet and interact with individuals who would have otherwise never crossed their path.

Skill Share Development

Most companies are facing unexpected downtime that has brought about things social distancing and quarantine. But guess what, this can also be the best time for managers to up skill employees. Investing in workers’ development doesn’t really require a financial output. As a matter of fact, organisations can just leverage existing talent.

Skill-share workshops can be used to provide workers with the opportunity to speak on issues related to the company or share talents that are or not related to the business. These workshops can help impart soft-skills like leadership, negotiation, email etiquette, communication and much more.

Cross-training is also another way in which remote workers can acquire new skills that contribute to the company’s success. Employees can also broaden their skill set and then take up additional roles. This will keep them engaged as they continue to learn more about the company amidst the limited opportunities for advancement.

Finally, creating a content club is also an effective way to share knowledge and resources. Employees can share ebooks, articles, podcasts and video recommendations besides holding healthy discussions around them.

Wellness Initiatives

Self-discipline is one of the challenges that the practice of working virtually presents. Managers can encourage healthy habits by providing mobility breaks, virtual yoga, meditation sessions and mental wellness trainings. Such trainings can be on topics such as stress management, self-care and motivational talks. Managers can also encourage workers to stay connected by opting for face-time time instead of an email or phone call.

Team Huddles And Shout-Outs

During this time of crisis, many workers are feeling more isolated than ever. One of the biggest mistakes that managers keep repeating is failing to be hands-on as they usually are in the office. They should ensure communication is continuously fluid and praise given regularly. While most managers shy away from giving praise thinking that it’s not necessary to thank someone for doing their job, it’s worth mentioning that employees crave praise and recognition as this keeps them motivated. Praise should also come from peers.

Creating a team huddle at the beginning of each week is a great way to enhance productivity and accountability. Each employee should be allocated a minute or two to share their week’s work schedules, where they need support and what they hope to achieve. At the end of the week or start of the following week, the team should meet and review the progress made.

Happiness Boosts

Organisations can minimise anxiety levels amongst their employees by including fun into their day to day work schedules. Managers can encourage employees to share pictures of their children, pets, workstations, cooking skills, favourite memes etc. Even a simple #ThrowbackWednesday picture is an exciting way to keep workers engaged and connected. Various managers encourage their teams to participate in “two truths and one lie” situations so as to initiate a discussion around the things they know about their colleagues. This has proven to be an effective way to create connection and find a common ground among team members. Modern Spaces has leveraged TikTok to enable its marketing team to take on TikTok challenges and make funny, light-hearted videos to improve happiness among its employees.

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Why Are Remote Workers Outperforming Office Workers?

Darryn Van Hout — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 09:48:24 +0000

The trend of digital nomads working remotely is becoming more rewarding than you ever thought it could—and there are no indications of slowing down anytime soon especially in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In a remote work survey released last year, 16% of global companies were fully remote while 52% of the workforce around the world worked from home at least once a week.

On the flip side, the modern office of the 21st century—all adorned with gimmicky designs that spell freedom and avant-garde; from candy dispensers in board/conference rooms to indoor treehouses and Hammocks—all perfect distractions that mostly attract new talents.

Remarkably, tech companies seem to be the worst offenders at this, spoiling workers with the so called startup favourites—table tennis and beer taps.

Of course it feels good to pop a candy bar from its jar, but does all the investment in gimmicks add any value to the company or the workers productivity?

Even though setting up, hiring and organising a remote workforce comes with its own challenges, it is worthwhile to note that in the end it becomes one of the best decisions a business owner could ever make.

Ask the local business owner who has been using remote workers for nearly two years now and says with his remote workforce, he is a digital nomad happily working from anywhere.

“I’m yet to understand why company founders are increasingly becoming obsessed with availing in-office ‘perks’ for their workers. I hear the main goal is to create a fun environment and promote collaboration among the team(s). But I think this approach does more harm than good and recent studies indicate that the problem is worsening”, he said.

I for one know first hand how powerful a virtual workforce can be after proving the model over the past ten years with Australian Solar Quotes. In my professional opinion, the benefits of managing staff that work from home far outweigh the challenges that I faced through pioneering the model since 2010. I will talk more about this in a future post though.

Office Workers Unhappy

In one study, the number of employees who can’t concentrate at their office desks has shot by 16 per cent since 2008. Another shocking statistic is that the number of employees with no access to a serene work environment to perform more focused assignments has risen by 13 per cent.

Ideally, the place where workers perform their tasks from doesn’t matter—even if it’s at the beach or cafe, as long as they remain focused and work hard to deliver as expected each day.

This is one of the reasons why Aha! came into existence. The company was founded on the premise and promise of working remotely. Working remotely has and is working well for this company.

Currently, Aha! is one of the fastest growing software companies within the United States and has a 100 per cent virtually distributed team.

Many experts concur on this one thing, and various surveys and studies have proved it—remote working is more rewarding in the context of productivity as compared to working from the office.

Below are three points that confirm the ideology that remote workers outperform office workers:

1. Productivity

With the new Covid-19 pandemic that demands social distancing, remote working is becoming a flexible, safe and convenient way to keep your workforce at it, productively. In the absence of the many office distractions and enhanced autonomy, a remote workforce churns out good volumes consistently; an outcome that most managers desire. A remotely working team gets more done in less time, enabling workers to start new projects, spend extra time doing what they love and ultimately boosting your bottom line.

According to one survey carried nationwide, 65 per cent of workers noted that working remotely would enhance their productivity. Again, 86 per cent of the participants said that working remotely enabled them to achieve maximum productivity.

And it’s easy to understand why as the workers:

Don’t have to commute to work
Can complete their tasks on their own time and in the comfort of their home
Aren’t distracted by coworkers.
Can take breaks whenever they feel like
Plan their schedules or workday in a way that is flexible
Are enthusiastic and self-motivated.

2. Teamwork

Regardless of the distance, remote workers create the best team players. This is because the distance demands regular communication. In the absence of physical proximity, remote workers are forced to contact each other frequently and when there’s need. This strengthens collaboration and comradeship. And guess what? A staggering 92 per cent of the participants say the long-distance video chats and collaboration enhanced teamwork.

3. Presence

Offices are synonymous with absenteeism as some workers get sick or sneak out early to run their own errands or attend an event on time. Other workers like sales and marketing teams are forced from time to time to go out to the field. However, remote workers don’t have to sneak around or give excuses as they are not bound to an office and hence can create their workday to ensure they meet the other demands in their personal lives.

If they fall ill with a cold, they can still work from home without spreading germs to colleagues. And if they have to run an errand, they can rearrange their work schedule and handle it quickly and still deliver on the day’s target. This eventually makes remote workers more available for their teams and assigned tasks.

These are just a few reasons that compel me to conclude that remote workers are the most effective compared to those who work from the office. Remote workers can cut through the noise and fix their attention on what really matters—meaningful work and feeling fulfilled while doing it.

At the end of the day, results are what matters and remotely, they can be delivered without hammocks or beer taps.

Final Thoughts

Remote workers can be just as efficient and effective—if not more effective than your traditional, in-house team. Even though this approach requires some level of coordination, it allows every team player to be more flexible, helping the team to maintain a healthy and balanced work-life. Undoubtedly, the general benefits to your workers and business are evident.

So, what’s your take? Who do you think is more effective, remote workers or office workers? Share your thoughts below.

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Coronavirus: Insurance questions answered

Darryn Van Hout — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 22:13:38 +0000

The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic in Australia is part of the rapidly spreading global epidemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as it is officially known, a novel infectious illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

As at 26 March, Australia had reported 8 deaths and 2,367 confirmed cases of the disease. Globally, more than 22,000 people have succumbed to COVID-19 while over 500,000 cases of infection have been confirmed in about 170 nations and territories. So far, 117,000 people have recovered from this pandemic.

In recent times, it hasn’t been uncommon to hear declarations of insurance catastrophes in Sunshine Coast and Australia but the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is unlike anything we’ve heard or seen before.

While most of us have already gone ahead to define the outbreak of COVID-19 as a catastrophe, the insurance declaration isn’t really based on a surge in claims—no, at the moment, no one has the slightest idea how many claims will be filed by the time the virus dies away—however, it’s important that “consistent messages” be delivered.

Insurance questions answered

There’s so much confusion in most countries including Australia, so to get the insurance questions answered, I spoke to various experts and came up with the following guide which summarises how various types of insurance covers are affected and their response to the COVID-19 disease.

Event cancellation

Various events including music festivals, sports events and industry conferences have been impacted by the virus though most event cancellation policies include communicable disease exclusion.

While an extension can be issued, unfortunately now that the coronavirus outbreak is a “known event” it’s impossible to get cover for it.

According to reports from Sportscover a specialist underwriting agency, most of their clients did not have a fore sight or thought to make arrangement for such an extension.

Even if those insured made prior arrangement to cover communicable diseases before the outbreak, insurers would unlikely pay for the claims if the cancellation of the event was based on a decision made by organisers and not a directive from the authorities.

The Friday declaration by the Federal Government limiting gatherings to just 500 people could therefore carry some implications on this policy.

Business interruption

The collapsing global markets are indicative that it’s not business as usual. The world of business has been significantly affected—from lock downs to shut downs, it’s all bad news for business.

And even the various stimulus set up by governments is not helping— the markets continue to fall as recession looms. This is sure to have far-reaching impact on the insurance sector.

While most business interruption policies vary significantly, 99% could exclude coronavirus related claims.

According to Leon Briggs of Sedgwick, it’s easy to understand why insurance firms wouldn’t want claims for an occurrence that affects nearly every business in the country.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) notes that “some specific policies may differ” but most of them are likely to feature exclusions related to losses arising as a result of diseases listed under the Biosecurity Act or the Quarantine Act.

Home insurance

Information posted online suggests that the home and contents sector is considered an essential service. This means that people and businesses with open insurance claims and more importantly, those who have approved building contracts are still working with loss of momentum.

How is construction considered an essential service?

According to Master Builders Victoria, confirmation has been received from the Victorian State Government that the stage one restrictions announced by Scott Morrison do not apply to construction sites.

The statement from the Victorian premier says:

“The businesses that will close due to the Stage 1 shutdown include pubs, clubs, nightclubs, Crown Casino, and licensed venues in hotels and pubs. It also includes gyms, indoor sporting venues, places of worship, cinemas and entertainment venues. Restaurants and cafes will only be allowed to provide home delivery or takeaway services.

This decision and other containment measures are meaningless if Victorians don’t take them seriously or don’t think they will be caught if they flout the rules.”

Travel insurance

This insurance cover is probably the most worrying and confusing for customers given that different insurance companies will handle it in varied ways to both trip cancellations and medical expenses incurred overseas.

The easiest way is to “check your policy” but then different insurers have wide variations in their policies. Some insurance firms go beyond their policy wordings, which would be useful for their clients but again could add to existing state of confusion.

Numerous insurance policies incorporate a general exclusion that bars claims of actual or possible pandemic or epidemic or a threat of a pandemic or epidemic.

Obviously, this is bad news to those who depend on insurance cover, but again, it’s quite understandable.

However, not all travel policies have the pandemic excluded. No doubt, nearly all will exclude insurance claims for a “known event” though insurance companies currently don’t seem to agree on when the coronavirus achieved this status. Possible dates are between January 20 and January 31.

If the Australian government decides to enact a “do not travel” warning for various locations but an Aussie goes ahead to travel, your claim would possibly be excluded.

On the other side of cancellation, consumers who choose not to travel in the nonexistence of a government directive will most likely not be allowed to lodge claims.

At this juncture, there are concerns that for travelers, a travel insurance policy is becoming more of a gamble.

Today, we know about Covid-19 and hence it’s too late to qualify to claim. And in case a person made arrangement prior to the outbreak of the disease, would they have truly had the time to comb through a range of products and their disclosure statements just to compare exclusions related to various pandemics? Your guess is as good as mine.

Life insurance

According to the latest statement issued by the Financial Services Council (FSC) on behalf of the life insurance industry, the various pandemic exclusions present in general insurance are excluded in life policies.

“There are no exclusions in existing life insurance policies that would prevent the policy paying out for a claim related to coronavirus if you follow government travel advice,” the FSC says.

“No-one should be concerned about their existing life insurance policies.”

Workers’ compensation

There are various concerns that the coronavirus outbreak could result in a rush of workers’ compensation claims and related premium increases.

If a worker can prove that their job significantly exposed them and caused them to be infected by the virus, then a claim can be lodged successfully.

The State Insurance Regulatory Authority of New South Wales noted that each claim shall be considered on the basis of individual merits.

According to the authority, consideration will be given to various work-related activities such as travel to a region prone to a known viral outbreak or being in contact with people who have already been infected with the virus.

Covid-19 Alert

Are you still confused about the Coronavirus? Well, keep it here for more updates. But remember, COVID-19 is an entirely new strain and there is no existing immunity. But various measures can go a long way in helping stem the spread—washing hands regularly, self-isolating if you feel sick or recently returned from overseas, and last but not least, exercising social distancing.

All in all, do stay safe!

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Covid-19 Could Cause Permanent Shift Towards Working From Home

Maddison Cook — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 07:02:58 +0000

Tech companies are set to make a kill as others face a myriad of challenges especially where employees refuse to report back to the office and lean more towards working from home.

Coronavirus, also known as the COVID-19, is quickly redefining workplace patterns with a working from home policy as companies are compelled by the risks of the disease’s outbreak to have their employees work remotely but chances are rife that employees may fail to return to their workstations once the current restrictions are lifted.

The abrupt idea of working from home is presenting opportunities and problems alike. On the one hand, startups like Zoom and Slack and successful giant tech companies like Google and Microsoft are availing their tech tools for free, with the hope that new users during this time of crisis could choose to continue using these tools even after things go back to normalcy.

Moreover, some systems are on the verge of creaking as more and more corporate networks, previously unaccustomed to relying on virtual private networks (VPNs), are now experiencing unprecedented quirks as internet service providers are compelled to lift their bandwidth caps so as to enable employees working remotely not to get cut off from their employers before completing their assignments.

But as it is now, the situation may never go back to how it used to be—as most employees for companies that asked staff to work from home question why they had to work from their offices anyway.

Some of the biggest companies across the globe were the first to make the leap to remote working for all staff, utilising pre-existing infrastructure like chat groups, remote access to critical tools and the advantage that most knowledge-based work can be done remotely.

First Companies To Work From Home

In Seattle, the epicentre of the first confirmed cases of the COVID-19, companies like Amazon, Microsoft, LinkedIn and Google asked their employees to stop coming to the offices immediately after the outbreak in late February. Earlier this month, Twitter “strongly advised” its employees globally to follow suit, and come Wednesday, it made it mandatory.

“We understand this is an unprecedented step, but these are unprecedented times,” Jennifer Christie, Twitter’s head of HR stated in a message to staff.

Christie added that the company would reimburse their workers including those working on an hourly basis, for all expenses incurred in setting up home offices including purchasing necessary equipment like desks, computer hardware and ergonomic chairs.

“Overall, working from home doesn’t change your day-to-day work, it just means you’ll be doing it from a different environment,” Christie added.

Another close business owner that I have known most of my life operates out of Seattle and he two has begun to adopt new technology to help drive his service based business through these difficult times.

It’s not impossible to adapt. Our network of clients have come to PTA Performance Physical Therapy Spokane for years now thanks to the level of professionalism and service that our team provides.
Louis Hurd – Managing Director of Spokane Sports Physical Therapy

These kinds of financial commitments have made many to wonder if companies that are turning to remote working during critical times could choose to continue with the status quo once normality is restored.

It can be tricky saying no to an employee who requests to work remotely especially if the HR already provided them with the required tools and it would make sense if this arrangement can become a long-term investment that would pay off in years to come.

Software That Helps With Working Remotely

That’s just what the industry that provides the remote work platform is hoping for. “We are fully prepared for this situation,” noted a spokesperson for Slack, a company which provides notable business chat software.

Just like Slack, Microsoft has enabled its cloud “productivity suite” to be freely available to small enterprises for the next six months. Google joined the club but chose to create its own business subscription, while its video conferencing service Zoom has removed limitations on its free tier, enabling users to chat for more than 40 minutes.

But not every company has experienced a smooth transition to remote working. Others like Facebook employees were restricted from accessing their corporate network for suspicious behavior by their takeaway service DoorDash.

Others experienced even more serious problems. In the UK, there were fears that home broadband networks would be overwhelmed by the weight of usage quashed by the UK service providers governed by the trade body ISPA, which noted that evenings were experiencing peak activity as most people settled down to stream Netflix and or play online video games, making this demand 10 times more than the normal daytime demand.

More worse is the fact that internet usage is generally increasing. Cloudflare, a company that provides online infrastructure which supports a vast swathe of the internet, confirmed it had been tracking this increase.

According to the company’s chief executive, Matthew Prince, “as more people work from home, peak traffic in impacted regions has increased, on average, approximately 10%. In Italy, which has imposed a nationwide quarantine, peak internet traffic is up 30%. Traffic patterns have also shifted so peak traffic is occurring earlier in the day in impacted regions.”

In Italy, internet usage via the national network has risen by more than two-thirds, not really because of employees working from home but as a result of housebound schoolchildren after following closure of schools in the country and have to log on to games like Fortnite, according to reports by Bloomberg News.

Surges in internet usage are likely to affect users who use bandwidth caps to pay for their internet, especially in the US and other countries that depend on mobile broadband. Various American ISPs like AT&T have started moving away from the practice in order to avoid any liability arising as a result of preventing people from working, though not many companies have done so.

Again, working from home isn’t for everyone. “I’ve worked 100% remote before,” said one tech industry worker who has been sent home, “and there comes a point where even an introvert would like to see another human.”

The Best Tools For Working From Home.

Slack

Slack, is a uber workplace management tool and a free-to-play business model that does not require users to sign up. Suitable for individual teams, desks and offices, users can start with the free tier and expand when they deem necessary. It’s therefore ideal for home workers who can easily recreate in-person chats just like in the office environment.

Zoom

This is an impressive video conferencing tool embraced by many thanks to its ability to iron out the strains in the often frustrating process. In response to the coronavirus crisis, the app removed the limit on free accounts and can now support up to 1,000 participants in one meeting.

Trello

Trello acts more like your boss moving around “just to check on how you’re doing”. The software which is designed for project management enables teams to schedule and assign tasks, track progress of projects and develop workflows for repetitive jobs.

Aircall

Air c all is an online telecommunication platform built off the back of modern voip (voice over internet protocol) technology. The platform integrates with most CRM systems and the online vendor portal is user friendly for technophobe’s. I personally like the API and have developed game changing plug and play tools that businesses can easily adopt for a seamless transition into cost effective communications.

Asana

Asana is one simple and cheap project management app that enables users to automate business process, whilst being task driven. To help you work well from home; the app allows you to create tasks lists, kanban boards and track time efficiently. The production line approach allows you to and your team to collaborate and communicate effectively.

Workplace

Workplace chat is a collaboration and communication platform where your employees can connect with each other via a social networking app. Companies use workplace to set up a private business like version of Facebook for their employees to manage different groups and companies, allowing them to create a network that is tailored to their specific needs such as goals and values. Businesses work better when everyone is on the same page.

Gravatar

Gravatar is the perfect platform to put a face to a name, a voice or a thought and is essential when implementing social distancing. Your Gravatar is a picture that follows you from website to website showing up alongside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog page. Your Gravatar helps recognise your posts on websites, blogs and web forums or discussions.

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