While the onboarding process is typically associated with and crucial for new employees, working remotely due to the COVID-19 lockdown has now made it just as important for your current employees, who have undergone a collective traumatic experience.
Leaders now need to consider a re-boarding processes for all their employees.
The last several months have changed them whether they realize or not, and when the right time comes for them to return to work, they might need some assistance reintroducing themselves to each other and the workplace environment. In the midst of this process of returning to work, some concerning information is coming out of this prolonged isolation.
The CDC recently conducted a Household Pulse Survey and found that one-third of Americans report feeling symptoms of depression or anxiety after self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, people had the expectation that they would soon be returning back to normal. When that didn’t happen, more people started to experience anxiety and depression.
As some companies begin to bring employees back, engagement is crucial. Many teams had to make difficult decisions in the last few months, which means they will likely need extra support to succeed. With the tremendous amount of stress everyone is under, focusing can be hard and thriving can be even harder.
So how do you help employees with engagement and the re-boarding process?
First, company culture needs to be a priority for organizations in the new normal. We’re not necessarily talking about perks like unlimited paid time off or casual dress code, especially since many have been working in relaxed attire for several months.
Company culture is about living out established values every day. A recent study found more than half of employees are willing to go to a competing company in search of a better culture, and 48% said they’d consider working a 60-hour week in exchange for a better culture. If your company culture is having issues, it could show up in the tremendous pressure some employees may be feeling to help the company make up for the lost revenues during the COVID-19 lockdown.
One of the most toxic things a leader can say to an employee is that his or her individual performance can sink the company, and we’re seeing this happen at many organizations. We have witnessed tremendous pressures being placed on sales professionals to increase sales exponentially. We have also watched the pressures of creating new business diversification by targeting new markets or business verticals that companies have never been in before.
Second, assess where your employees may be struggling with an engagement report. Earlier this year, we released the Work From Home report to help organizations and hybrid teams adapt to their set of challenges. An engagement report is our latest offering that becomes your guidebook for managing, engaging, re-boarding and optimizing your organization.
When teams begin returning to their physical workplace, either part-time or through hybrid teams, that is the time to begin the re-boarding process of entering and re-engaging in the workplace, and our engagement report is a fast-track to the insights needed for management to increase engagement.
How Does the Engagement Report Help with Re-boarding?
- Establishes shared language for teams to interact
- Refocuses teams when they might feel lost
- Offers actionable tips and ideas for individuals and other team members
How Can You Use the Engagement Report Right Now?
The Engagement Report was created as a new tool for the new world of work. Here are a few ways to harness the potential of this report right now.
- Reconnect with employees as they deal with disengagement or navigate a transition back into the workplace.
- Help your leaders understand exactly what their direct reports need.
- Optimize roles based on the current needs of the organization and industry.
- Enhance opportunities for engagement at all levels of the company.
- Fast-track the re-boarding process between peers, managers and leadership.
- Uncover the unique dynamics presented with hybrid teams.
Since new problems require new solutions, our new report from our partners at TTI Success Insights is a concise and intuitive report that helps individuals understand their behavior and motivations. It’s the tool teams returning to work need to thrive right now.
If you want to learn more, schedule a time to connect with us and see the report in action.