We’ve been through a lot in the last few months, and as business owners, there’s still much more to come. You’ve managed furlough, working from home, online meetings, a huge range of family circumstances in the background… The ability to measure productivity effectively has been challenging to say the least.
Now we’re ready to go back to something that more closely resembles our pre-COVID world – but are we, as businesses, really prepared?
Here are some things to consider through the next transition so that both you, and your staff, can hit the ground running.
Reset and reenergize
You’re likely to be faced with some fatigue. People have had to work in environments they never have before, juggle demands you just don’t have in an office, and all while dealing with the anxiety of a global pandemic.
Performance objectives set before any of this ever existed are unlikely to be front of mind. But without clear direction, motivation can be hard to find so now is the perfect opportunity to set some new goals.
Work with your staff on both an individual and team level and give them the opportunity to have some input. While you want to have objectives that stretch people and therefore increase productivity, you’ll also need to be mindful that those goals may look different to previous reviews.
Have you got all the right policies in place?
Listen, I think it’s fair to say you’ve been through enough already. You’ve navigated your way through possibly the most difficult time your business is likely to face and you’re still here. You don’t want to find yourself going through more unnecessary challenges due to out of date policies.
Your policies aren’t just a tick box exercise – they’re there to protect you and your staff when problems arise. When they’re right, they can help you navigate through delicate situations with as little fuss as possible. When they’re wrong, they’re costly, both financially and from a reputation perspective.
Emotions are running high and people are facing struggles they didn’t envisage at the start of 2020. Use this time to review your policies and make sure they’re fit for purpose in our new world.
When you’re comfortable they are, have an internal communications campaign ready to ensure all staff are aware of the things in place.
If you want further support why not attend one of our free sessions “Engaging your team after lockdown” Book you place now https://bit.ly/3bm3lng
Have you had a HR health check recently?
You’re juggling a lot of balls and it’s easy for one to occasionally drop. People management issues can be the most difficult to tackle so it’s the one ball that you really want to avoid dropping at all costs.
An experienced consultant will be able to take a birdseye view of your business to ensure that your HR procedures and policies are robust and aligned to business objectives. They will help you avoid potential problems and show you opportunities for increasing staff morale, which in turn increases productivity.
As we navigate through our ever economy, are you happy that your business is future proofed for Q4? If you’d like some help, get in touch today to arrange a no-obligation consultation.
