IT leaders have been the main heroes behind the sudden transition to the remote working structure – and they are struggling to get creative to manage this mammoth shift.
Never before have the complexities of remote working become more evident than in 2020, as the virus initiated a mass migration from corporate offices worldwide. Many changes have been set in the working lives of people as they face novel security and technical challenges.
The distinction between personal and professional life has diminished, impacting other crucial aspects like productivity and security.
CXOs need to take the lead in this instance to keep employees focused, safe, and productive during the WFH period.
Monitor workplace productivity
Burnout often presents as a slow process, which is often realized late – more like an insidious creeper rather than a histrionic breakdown. If the pace of high-performing employees begins to swamp down, that could be a red flag or a critical warning sign which needs to be fixed in real-time.
Read More: Remote Working – How to Ensure Security While Using Collaborative Tools
Enterprises are investing in technologies to track everything from how engaged employees are through work devices, their messages, meetings, etc. Collecting and analyzing such data is important to identify whether employees are working longer hours to recommend time off or help them pursue a healthier work-life balance.
Be flexible
As the new remote working experiment sets in, leaders need to show patience with staff struggling to strike the right professional-personal life balance. It is the responsibility of the IT leaders to ease out the transition process for new hires.
Companies are launching chatbots to help with the remote onboarding by answering questions about tech support, corporate benefits, where to get cybersecurity training, and other inquiries.
Facilitate regular team communications
CIOs need to check with their teams regularly, to assure challenges are resolved, and to stay connected. This will elevate the IT staff’s relationships as they’ve worked effectively through the challenges of remote working. Regular team interaction and being mindful is of utmost importance to ensure that employee morale remains high during this unprecedented crisis.
Meeting Preparedness
It is important to make meetings increasingly meaningful by offering “pre-read” materials through various collaboration channels to ensure that all employees are on the same page. This also keeps the meetings shorter and more productive, providing employees more comfort while sharing content. This also helps light more perspectives, more ideas, awareness, and deepening the feeling of inclusion and belongingness.
Read More: Remote Working – Nearly Half of the Employees Are Ignoring Safe Data Practices
Facilitate family time fun
With the WFH model allowing a huge overlap of professional and domestic lives; it is important to encourage people to share more frequently. All industries are witnessing creative, virtual socials such as chatting with the kids or meeting the pets. These casual ways of lightening the load and employee bonding are becoming more common than ever.
Informalize the meeting
People are getting mentally exhausted, so leaders need to be more thoughtful about meetings. Entrepreneurs are working towards informalizing video meetings, making them mobile.
The entire remote working model is new and will take time to seep into the minds and lives of employees. It is crucial for employees to be incentivized to take all their time off and get refreshed and recharged regularly.
In fact, many companies are promoting automated e-mail reminders to the staff for scheduling time off regularly on their calendars. Such small gestures from leaders are exactly what is required to maintain employee productivity during the current crisis.
