Beyond Covid-19 for Organizations and Employee Engagement:

Well, the world of business has experienced “the burning platform” first hand. Businesses are re-inventing the way they work, the way they connect with employees, and the way they reach final consumers every single day. Employees, frontline managers, and senior leaders are leading swift, meaningful change to keep businesses afloat.

Just as we have a post 911 mentality, we’re going to live in a post-virus world. There will be a shift. The world has changed. We have changed. Business has changed.

For many organizations, survival is the only thing on the agenda. But if you can get beyond that and look toward a future (which will come), you can engage employees in what the post-virus organization will look like. This means involving collaborators to find solutions to the business even though there’s an uncertain vision.

Now, more than ever, is the time to be bold, creative, and collaborate to not only solve problems but create a new, more diverse organization. And, in the meantime, you’ll have the unique opportunity to engage employees during one of the biggest crises ever experienced as they, too, reshape their jobs, their responsibilities, and the way they work.

1. Find out what employees are thinking about their jobs, about the organization. Using an anonymous virtual comment box is a great way to get the conversation started. What unique needs does each department have? How are frontline managers and workers reaching customers? What technology, tools, and training do people on the ground need to get the job done in the context of these new challenges?

2. How are teams working? Teams need support during great change. The teamwork assessment tool is an anonymous survey that taps into needs and strengths of teams when the platform has been set on fire. Now, for instance.

3. Change the beginning of the day. Don’t plug in first thing! Teach employees to begin the day with a good breakfast, meditation, exercise. These spaces will spark creativity and reflection. If the first thing collaborators do is turn on their phone to a flood of messages, they’ll click into reaction-mode, which will put strategy and thoughtfulness on the back burner.

4. Time to give. Every organization, every person, is feeling taxed by heavy burdens. Fear is an overpowering emotion. Fear, though, can fade with the power of giving, reaching out. Now, more than ever, is the time to give back to the community. Give time for your employees to give as well, whether it’s working with local schools, providing virtual tours, career-day advice, or providing some services free-of-charge to the community. Some Maker spaces are 3D printing masks for first responders. Many MOOCs have opened their platforms for students to access free classes. Be a giving organization.

5. Set the stage for the future. How will you recover revenue and rebuild operations? It’s critical to identify and prioritize revenue opportunities. Build operations resilience, becoming a more agile organization. After your organization has passed these initial hurdles, rethink the strategy of the organization and accelerate adopting digital solutions. This will take incredible collaborative efforts to push toward solutions and provide training for employees to build new skillsets.

Don’t drown in today at the cost of the future. Tomorrow will come! Put tomorrow on the agenda and engage employees.

Connect with us to find out about the employee engagement tools you can use today to help build a better tomorrow with your teams and organization.