Whether your team is onsite and back in the swing of things, keeping up the momentum from home, or a little bit of both, it’s no secret that COVID-related workplace adjustments are still in place oh-so-many months later. Maintaining good spirits and productivity has been no small feat and we’re all feeling a little bit of fatigue from the constant challenges and changes.
The success of any team hinges on good morale. No matter the industry, department, or location of your group, empowering team members to increase collaboration and openness is an important first step in a long journey. Start by creating a culture that values communication between team members and management alike.
- Stay Connected
Workplace relationships are inarguably more organic when everybody is onsite. As work-from-home and return-to-work restrictions are extended longer than anticipated, it’s also likely that there has been some employee turnover with new faces who aren’t used to the existing paradigm. Help foster these relationships by emphasizing visual communication over text and phone calls, when possible. Instead of a teleconference, encourage team members to schedule more video calls as face-to-face communication builds stronger team relationships in the absence of the ability to pop over to a co-worker’s desk throughout the day.
- Combat Fatigue
At the same time, Zoom fatigue is a valid issue for team members especially with multiple calls throughout the day. Primarily this is because our brains need to work harder to process visual cues such as facial expressions, as well as tone and pitch of voices and body language, according to Marissa Shuffler, associate professor at Clemson University who studies workplace well-being and team effectiveness. HR pros should educate employees about this issue and encourage some simple solutions, including scheduling short breaks between calls, creating a tighter agenda to encourage shorter calls, and relaxing the environment a bit, when possible, so employees aren’t as worried about pets or kids who may wander in during a call.
- Encourage Socialization
It’s also essential to include lighthearted opportunities that aren’t all-business all the time. Virtual social hours, meet-and-greets, and special interest groups can give new employees an opportunity to connect with seasoned staff outside of workday communication.
Create long-term bonds with special interest groups that deviate completely from the workplace atmosphere. Whether they’re lighthearted affinity groups, such as a group chat rallying around a shared hobby, or full-fledged employee resource groups (ERGs), developing a sense of community outside of your team creates a sense of purpose and contentment that will definitely carry over to daily work.
4. Build Accountability
Staying on track can be difficult once employees are situated either fully or partially in their home offices. Even onsite employees may notice a disruption in their usual productivity since COVID changed the workplace horizon. Establishing a collective sense of accountability can help everybody stay transparent with their accomplishments and workflow. Daily or weekly update meetings, where every team member shares what they’ve been able to accomplish throughout the week, gives employees the chance to demonstrate what they’ve been capable of in a way that doesn’t single any one person out.
5. Set a Routine
Even though excitement is the spice of life, a well-balanced routine is the secret to success. Every employee needs a semblance of a routine to keep their priorities balanced and workload even. To keep from overly managing employee progress, encourage teams to set expectations and benchmarks that can be self-monitored and reported back:
- Daily Deviations: For employees whose job is largely unchanged from day-to-day, provide a set time for “side work,” or tasks that might slip through the cracks. Whether this is catching up on documentation, ensuring that workspaces are organized, or progressing on an entirely separate goal, throw a half-hour on the calendar as dedicated time away from the daily grind. This is especially helpful for call center and support staff.
- Morning Meditation: Encourage team members to start every morning with a simple set of meditative tasks that helps them ease into the workday. Providing a few tips can get this ball rolling, with items such as a full sweep of open inbox items, quick review of yesterday’s successes, or a pursuit of continued education related to their position.
- Weekly Review: Set aside time to compile a quantitative list of achievements, capturing any key metrics or deliverables in a way that can be easily tracked week-over-week as a measure of recurring trends. In the end, taking structured time to capture this data can be used to build future schedules and time management skills.
- Divide Your Days: Divvy up tasks in a meaningful and attainable way that keeps like-with-like and avoids any difficult crossover between responsibilities. For employees whose jobs are multifaceted or cross-discipline, this ensures they’re in the “right headspace” for the right activities.
6. Set “Office Hours
Not unlike a college professor, it’s smart for team leaders to block off one or two hours at the same time every week to hold “office hours.” Keep this time recurring and make sure managers are available for on-the-fly questions and conversations that might not fit into a larger meeting or may not be best communicated in an e-mail or instant message. Sure, this time might be over or underused depending on the team’s workload, but it’s an easy way to make sure everybody feels listened to and understood no matter what challenges arise.
This time shouldn’t take the place of weekly or monthly one-on-one check-ins between managers and employees, but instead should be a supplemental way to increase access. Visibility, openness, and a sense of mutual understanding are vital for a collaborative and healthy team atmosphere, enabling everybody to thrive and succeed no matter what challenges arise.
Desiree Carpenter is an HR professional at National Business Furniture, a furniture company with a large variety of products designed to improve every workplace. She has a wide array of experience in recruiting, employee relations, and retention. Carpenter continuously looks for new ways to improve the candidate and employee experience.
