{"id":3309,"date":"2020-04-13T11:08:57","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T01:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adelaideprivatewealth.com.au\/how-to-keep-your-team-productive-during-a-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2020-04-13T11:08:57","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T01:38:57","slug":"how-to-keep-your-team-productive-during-a-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adelaideprivatewealth.com.au\/how-to-keep-your-team-productive-during-a-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"How to keep your team productive during a pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
Shifting work conditions can have an adverse impact on any team, let alone when a global pandemic is the cause. Here\u2019s how to keep your team operating as effectively as possible.<\/p>\n
If your business is lucky enough to be continuing as normal \u2014 or close to normal \u2014 during the COVID-19 pandemic, then you\u2019re still facing a number of challenges.<\/p>\n
One of those is making sure your team remains productive and in relatively high spirits. Working from home can make this a challenge.<\/p>\n
Of course, businesses have options like monitoring software and constant video sharing to make sure employees do the right thing. But for many business owners, that may go too far.<\/p>\n
Instead, there are plenty of less invasive methods for business owners to use in order to keep productivity moving along.<\/p>\n
These methods aren\u2019t just useful for a pandemic. Consider implementing these now so that your business emerges from the other side of this situation stronger than ever.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This is a trying time for anyone. We aren\u2019t working as normal, we\u2019re working during a pandemic. That puts a psychological toll on anyone, which means their work will be affected. After all, COVID-19 affects everyone.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s HR team has done a lot of\u00a0research into the idea of psychological safety at work<\/a>. In essence, psychological safety means employees have the ability to speak their mind (respectfully), try new ideas, speak freely, and that they won\u2019t be punished for their mistakes.<\/p>\n In fact, Google found their highest performing teams all had this trait in common.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the flip side, the safer team members feel with one another, the more likely they are to admit mistakes, to partner, and to take on new roles,\u201d the Google HR research found.<\/p>\n During a pandemic, help your employees feel psychologically safe. Let them know that it\u2019s okay to feel upset, that their productivity might slip, and that they aren\u2019t at risk of being punished for simply being human.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n With employees who have children at home, it\u2019s going to be extraordinarily difficult for them to work a normal 7.5 hour day in one or two chunks.<\/p>\n Instead, be flexible. Think about what tasks need to get done, and then allow your employees \u2013 as much as possible \u2013 to schedule their day as they need to.<\/p>\n If they need to jump offline at 1pm and come back at 4pm, let them. If they need to get up at 7 and work until 3, let them.<\/p>\n If that enables them to be productive and help the company moving, don\u2019t let the traditional idea of a 9-5 get in the way. After all, this isn\u2019t a traditional work environment.<\/p>\n Ideally you would do this before working from home, but an assessment will help you understand where everyone lands.<\/p>\n For this assessment, think carefully about these questions:<\/p>\n What tools do you use to communicate?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n What tools do you use to collaborate?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n What schedules does everyone follow at home?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n How does your team intend to meet and understand each others\u2019 roles and actions?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n How will you keep track of ongoing work?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n What technology do you have to support these arrangements?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n In a team session, think through these questions carefully and ask everyone: how well do they feel these tools are working?<\/p>\n Getting everyone on board will help keep you all accountable, which helps increase productivity.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Australian Government\u2019s Flexibility Readiness guide<\/a>\u00a0is a great tool here.<\/p>\n These meetings are crucial for productivity anyway, but during extended periods of working from home they are even more important.<\/p>\n Consider these statistics: Gallup found that\u00a0only one in every three employees is engaged at work<\/a>. Another Gallup study found\u00a0only 40 percent of employees agree that their manager holds them accountable<\/a>\u00a0for performance.<\/p>\n But those employees also said they were more likely to be engaged.<\/p>\n Weekly or fortnightly 1:1 meetings with your reports should satisfy a few different purposes:<\/p>\n Avoid status updates on particular projects (those should within project teams)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Divide the time between things you want to talk about, and things the employee wants to talk about<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Ask questions like:Listen to what your employee is saying and empathise with them<\/p>\n How are you feeling?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Is anything bothering you lately?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Is there anything stopping you from doing your best work?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n Listen to what your employee is saying and empathise with them<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Use the time to outline your own expectations of what the employee should be doing<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This time is designed to keep both yourself, and the employee accountable. You let them know where they stand, and they let you know what\u2019s in their way. Win-win.<\/p>\n One of the more difficult aspects of workplace tools in the constant ding-ding-ding of notifications that come through all the time. After all, it\u2019s much easier and more tempting to send a message than walk by someone\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n But take note from Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield, who said\u00a0he even disengages the notification feature on the instant messaging program<\/a>\u00a0for his phone.<\/p>\n As a result? Employees can engage in \u201cdeep work\u201d that allows them to get things done.<\/p>\n If an employee doesn\u2019t reply straight away, consider whether you really need a response right then and there. If you don\u2019t, let them go.<\/p>\n Source : MYOB April 2020\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \n\t\t Important:<\/span> Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business nor our Licensee takes any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author.<\/span><\/p>\n Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents\/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nGive your employees license to work flexibly<\/span><\/h3>\n
Conduct a working from home assessment with the team<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Implement ongoing 1:1 meetings for managers and their direct reports<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Give employees permission to avoid notifications<\/span><\/h3>\n
Reproduced with the permission of MYOB. This article by\u00a0Patrick Stafford<\/a> was originally published at\u00a0https:\/\/www.myob.com\/au\/blog\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
This provides general information and hasn\u2019t taken your circumstances into account. It\u2019s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what\u2019s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person.<\/span><\/p>\n