The post 5 Ways To Nurture A Virtual Culture That Keeps Employees Connected appeared first on Darryn Van Hout.
]]>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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]]>The post Covid-19 Could Cause Permanent Shift Towards Working From Home appeared first on Darryn Van Hout.
]]>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
Aircall 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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