“None of us are experts in pandemic management. We’re all doing the best we can.” -Mike Fitzsimmons
Here are 5 ideas to help you optimize your people and talent to get through struggles like CoVid:
#1- Organize your talent for adaptability.
“We’ve built our teams knowing that there would be ups and downs in the market. In practice, this means diversifying skill sets from the moment people start by having them partake in a variety of cross-departmental projects. This helps employees build a broad foundation and keeps them engaged.” -JD Conway
#2- Use talent optimization as a framework for making responsible business and talent strategy changes.
“If you can afford to, now is the time to poke holes in existing processes and question why you do the things you do.” -James Parker
#3- Don’t assume you know what everyone wants.
Transitioning to remote work can make your team feel disconnected. Check-in often via emails, phone calls, or video conferencing to personally touch base with team members. Embrace the “village” mentality. Encourage your team to communicate with other team members and trainers. Have them share questions, observations, or suggestions as you adapt to the new normal.
#4- Have measures in place to listen and inspire your workforce.
Find a way to take suggestions and observations and use them to improve trainings and systems. Make training fun with videos, games, roleplays, quizzes, etc. Add incentives and perks to keep the excitement high and your remote team engaged.
#5- Implement no-meeting zones to prevent meeting fatigue.
“Because working remotely doesn’t give us the opportunity to do desk drive-bys for quick chats, we’ve found ourselves holding many more meetings. As a remedy to that, we’ve designated daily no meeting zones at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. This way, people have time to take care of kids, walk the dog, etc.” – Jackie Dube
