How to make Christmas 2020 Special with a Remote Workforce
WE CANT BELIEVE ITS ALREADY DECEMBER!
We have been very lucky this year and are delighted to have welcomed new team members, new clients, and have lots of exciting projects in the pipeline for 2021.
Despite all the madness, we are truly thankful to our amazing team. Without their hard work and commitment we wouldn’t be in the position we are in now, and seeing as it's Christmas, it’s time to acknowledge success and look after one another.
If you are based in the UK like us, you are probably well aware that we have just come out of our second national lockdown, and face tight restrictions in the lead-up to Christmas. If your business is anything like ours, you are preparing yourself for more screen time then you would have otherwise imagined over the holidays.
Many business leaders are beginning to ask themselves how they are going to keep employees focused and engaged over this period. Working from home is one thing, but doing that over Christmas with the kids off and potentially merging with two households is going to be another.
These are a few tips on how we are planning to manage your workforce over Christmas.
Recognise Strengths
Recognising the strengths and the value each employee brings to your business is likely something you have already discovered (if you didn’t aleady know) over the last 7 months. Now is an important time to respect boundaries and demonstrate that you care about their wellbeing. While we would argue this should have always been important, working remotely over Christmas is going to be a test to the relationship you have with your team.
While many people are enjoying the benefits of working remotely, business leaders shouldn’t assume that everyone is content with the situation. If they haven’t been working remotely for a while, they may not have the space to work from home, or want to share their own personal space with family and work.
You also need to think about whether your staff are struggling to focus because they feel isolated. It has now been over 7 months since the World Health Organisation declared that Covid-19 is a global pandemic. While we are all aware of the effects of the virus itself, the Centre for Mental Health has predicted that up to 10 million people in England alone will need mental health support as a direct result of the pandemic - that’s 1 in 5 people.
With restrictions in place until at least spring, it’s important for our industry to understand that everyone is going to react differently to the pressure working from home is having on them. Check in and engage with staff more often, and show them you understand their situation, and help can be provided if needed.
Open Culture
A good work culture can be attributed too many successful start ups; if your company culture isn’t good, it makes your job a lot harder. The question is, is it still important when your whole company doesn’t work in the same room? The answer is yes. It’s going to take more work, but it’s very important.
It is not for us to say what your company culture should be, if you already have a successful business then you likely have a set of principles that you work from. Over the Christmas break it will be important to try and keep that set of principles alive. We will admit, it is going be tricky over slack, but it will be worth it to keep your team motivated.
Another way to keep a remote team motivated is to offer incentives. This doesn’t always mean money (although we know our team is up for that), it could mean a box of chocolates for hitting a deadline, or a mid-day mini game over slack - think about the fun people would usually have in the office and how you can move that into the virtual space.
Which leads us to out next point,
Virtual Connection
With Christmas restrictions announced it most likely means Christmas parties are off the table. This doesn’t mean we can’t see our founder Will dance on the table, or Lisa take 3 too many shots - we just need to think about how people can embarrass themselves virtually.
Think about how you can take your Christmas party online.
This doesn’t need to be just setting up a Zoom call for 4PM on a Friday and having a chat with staff for an hour. Use your budget to make Christmas gift hampers with a few drinks, send ingredients for cooking contests, and see who makes the best Santa cookies. There are lots of ways to bring the fun online!
For us at UNBXD it has become more important than ever to create a good company culture in the virtual space. Many business leaders think that the hard work they put into creating a nice working environment in the office isn’t relevant when thinking about home working, but we would argue that it is more important.
If you have felt the struggles the pandemic has had on your business, think about how that has affected your staff. Make sure you take the time to check in over Christmas to make sure they are not struggling, or feel isolated.
It’s still Christmas after all 🎅🏼
