Keeping Employees Motivated in the Pandemic
Many companies have successfully moved their staff remotely by providing them the right training. Many employees are effectively working from home also. However, the main challenge is to ensure the staff is happy and motivated.
Due to the on and off lockdown that the countries are facing, employees have adopted a more tactical way of working rather than adapting to solve the bigger, greater problems that the business may be facing in the current and long term.
There are teams in the market who tend to create a win-win situation for themselves and their employees. They have won market share regardless of all the challenges faced by the pandemic. They have always kept the productivity rising and quality bar very high. They even gained customer trust and loyalty by satisfying their customer needs in these tough times. Some companies have thoroughly adapted to the challenges faced by the pandemic and have come out very successful.
Ensuring staff motivation is the key
It is a general phenomenon that working from home is very likely to reduce motivation among employees. Now the crucial part is to make sure the motivation doesn’t decline that quick.
Emotional and financial pressures seem to be soaring in times of COVID-19 as people fear losing their jobs. They worry about paying off their basic utility expenses, rent and healthcare expenses. Here the company needs to ensure their staff about their job safety and try to make sure that no person is laid off. They should be kind enough to acknowledge the tough time and their presence with its staff spiritually. At times, few words of kindness in tough times gives a lot of comfort to the staff.
People usually miss the joy of solving a problem with their colleagues and their teammates. There are virtual meetings but physical presence of everyone working together towards a goal is an entirely different type of environment. Employees face a lot of personal disturbances while working at home. A task that requires 30 minutes to be completed in the office usually takes longer at home.
The purpose of a specific task or a goal might decline as the visibility of other staff members is usually missing so the company needs to ensure that they keep a check on task completion of its employees and virtually arrange frequent meetings to keep the motivation alive.
If the company leaders don’t move to change this, there will be major shifts in employees’ motivation, productivity, adaptability, and quality of work.
What companies are expected to do?
If the company is aware about someone’s illness, other than COVID-19, they can provide relaxation in terms of work. Depending on the severity of the illness, an employee can be given sick leave.
Companies should make sure that the timings should be properly allocated. Working from home certainly does not mean that the employee is available 24/7. There should be time limitations for the employees also to complete their work within the given time span and companies shouldn’t do work talk after the certain working hours are completed. Maintaining a work-life balance should be given importance no matter even if the staff is working from home.
Health and fitness should be encouraged by companies as there are high chances of emotionally disturbed employees during this pandemic. Companies can keep online sessions to emphasize the importance of physical well-being and they can even provide some online fitness classes for their employees.
There should be strict rules and policies from the company’s side to avoid tactical thinking approach. Instead, the work should be made engaging for the employees to promote creative thinking and problem solving. The best way is to give people opportunities to experiment and bring innovative ideas to the table. Ask employees about ways through which customer service can be improved and how to sustain market share. Their involvement in such decisions will make them feel valued.
Providing staff with healthy challenges and asking them to think innovatively and bring ideas to the meetings will keep them involved in critical thinking.
Lastly, companies should keep compensating employees for their hard work and dedication. At the end of the day, monetary benefits provided to the staff instantly boost motivation like no other factor. Paying employees on time especially in this crucial time is very important.
Companies should show that they care about their employees and can do a survey also to find the exact factors that their staff expects for being happy at work.
Monthly meetings can be held discussing about performance cycle of employees and virtual certificates can be given out to the most hardworking employees. This will motivate others to perform equally well. An employee who is having a lot difficulty coping to the pandemic situation and working efficiently can be given a little extra importance. The company can have individual meeting with them to discuss where exactly the problem lies and they can come up to a solution together.
