With our planet in a constant state of change, enterprises are working at a faster pace to stay ahead of the trends and maintain productivity in times of crisis. “Workspeed” has become a common term used to describe the quick pace of today’s busy markets. So how do leaders manage a global workforce dispersed across continents and time zones and maintain workspeed productivity in challenging times? Today’s COVID-19 outbreak and past viral epidemics like SARS and H1N1, bring incredible challenges for organizations. Enterprises often request sick employees to work from home and sometimes go the extra mile and close offices for a period of time. How do companies cope with an in-house workforce pushed to remote status and maintain workspeed productivity? In short, they log-on to instant messaging platforms and schedule video calls to keep up with their daily workload. But how does an organization thrive in this environment?
Companies rely on remote employees to maintain their communication and meeting schedules during these crisis outbreaks and it’s a good reminder that platforms and software can connect a dispersed workforce, regardless of the reasons the workforce has been dispersed. Talent mobility solutions, like Hitch (hitch.works), help streamline the process of assembling remote teams, keeping people engaged, and generate support for employees interested in skill development and avoiding isolation.
Here are five ways to maintain your workspeed in navigating through the COVID-19 crisis:
- Dynamic Teaming. Hitch (hitch.works) talent mobility solution helps organizations become more agile and leverages team building regardless of time zones. Leaders need to set the tone for a remote workforce. It’s important that all stakeholders adhere to the same messaging. The introduction of disruptive technology can keep a workforce interested in learning new skills. As learning-based tasks become available, enterprises look to retain the best talent, often being more diverse. Hitch (hitch.works) talent mobility solution helps organizations become more agile and leverages team building regardless of time zones.
- Flexibility. Just because the office is closed, it doesn’t mean that updates and priority-setting don’t happen. Webex, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams all work well for connecting a remote workforce. This is a valuable reminder of the importance of staying ahead of digitization. Increased transparency and better distribution of information provides access to multichannel communications and collaboration with customers and colleagues.
- Building communities. In changing times it’s critical to stay agile and realize that community exists, it’s just different than it was prior to the crisis. Emerging from a crisis as a new community with expanded skills can be empowering. Access to projects and data are the first steps in staying on track with deliverables and it is also a great first step to building your transformed organization. Insist on action item completion and manage fast-changing priorities, while appreciating the changes that are emerging.
- Avoiding isolation. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean isolation. Chatting with coworkers online helps maintain relationships and knowing you’re not the only one grappling with working from home helps a great deal too. The entire workforce is never 100% behind a decision like moving to remote work. Support and understanding need to be available for those employees who are unhappy or hesitant about these changes.
- Keeping your workforce motivated and excited about things to come. A talent mobility solution, like Hitch (hitch.works), provides employees with a clear view of available opportunities and the pipeline of planned opportunities. Keeping a motivated workforce that is excited about up and coming company opportunities is essential to unlocking the full potential of your workforce. Additionally, the workforce responds positively to updating their own skills and educational experience on a talent mobility solution. It allows them to be more than their day jobs and showcase some of their less obvious talents.
As we move through this ever-changing work landscape, it’s essential that we approach changes, like COVID-19 and the power outages experienced last fall in the San Francisco Bay Area, cautiously and with our workforce’s morale front of mind. Once we build a strong remote workforce, leaders can examine the long term benefits of remote work including contextual learning and self-paced training to maintain a readied talent pipeline. Adaptability may be an enterprise’s quickest path to success in these ever-changing times.