In the tertiary sector, the big reset is doing work at home.
Habits and communication have been tested over the last 2 weeks. One minute you talk to your team, the next one you are helping little Joe to complete his school report. Shifting from one unrelated topic to another, interacting with different stakeholders.
We are shifting and moving into the new norm, setting boundaries, rules, but so many questions remain without answer.
Here are 3 communication elements to think about to make the next big reset successful.
1- Channels of communication
Zoom, Webex, MS Team, Murals…too much! too fast!
So many great tools available, so little time to test and learn them all. For some of my clients, this is creating more confusion than support. Not sure what to use when and how...and even what for!
Here is some advice from a client who works in IT:
- Assess what your team does, how they work together (flow, frequency of update, tasks split, management...) and get your IT team on board. They have updated access to new tools. They have the knowledge to propose platforms that are secure for your organization.
- Think about technical support that can be successfully and timely implemented to serve your remote team members.
- New hardware could be required. If you want your team to benefit from technology make sure you all have the right equipment with the correct updates (PC, memory, camera, microphones, VPN..).
- Designate one team member to be a first-line helper to educate and support on IT issues.
2- Setting new communication rules
Some of your team members will go completely quiet, others will copy everyone and their mother on emails to prove they are working.
The maxim of quantity and quality is challenged. Experience is about trials and errors. It can be the right time to create some guidelines to communicate and work more efficiently.
- In a conference call, is audio-only and mute the default setting?
- When the video is on – How do you expect your Team to look like (dressed up and shaved, or wearing the same T-Shirt as two days ago or something in-between?).
- Don’t forget to pick up the phone if you just need a “yes” or a “no” answer. Not everything needs to be in #Slack or sent via emails.
- Use of #Emojis…or not
- What are the meeting time boundaries? Is it OK to start at 06:00 am and finish at 22:00 every day…and how to do compensate overtime?
Start creating communication guidelines to set boundaries. This is still missing! Burn-outs are happening right now!
3 - Communicating Company Culture
The Culture of your company will be taken home by your employees. If you are high on goals and achievements this will not be lost. Cultural values will carry on.
Research shows that resilient companies create a safe communication dynamic for all. Making employees independent, caring about their health and well-being. Leaders can empower their team members, giving them space for growth and development.
Trust is the key value to be successful for the next big reset.
Which means for leaders:
- Recognize that trust can take time
- Be honest and supportive (a blaming philosophy will NOT create Trust)
- Be quiet and listen
- Model the behavior you seek
- Build-in accountability
- Be genuinely interested in your Team members
Now ready to talk to your team and finding ways to communicate better to embrace the next big reset?
Please drop a line in the comment section and share what communication change(s) you implemented that works for you and your team!
#bounceforward #crisis #resilience #homeofficechallenge #leadership #covid19 #virtualteam #tedxspeaker
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