Page 19 - Envision November-December 2020

Making Contact

A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE page on Facebook, or a Messenger employees. When it feels appropriate,
Many employees are demonstrating group for work-related bonding, such as and without being paternalistic,
amazing warm-heartedness and making for mentoring and sharing life-hacking encourage staff to take care of their minds
extraordinary efforts to help co-workers tips, research papers, ideas and personal and bodies. You might recommend
and patients. Make sure to sincerely celebrations. and provide resources for the practice
and genuinely praise these efforts and of breathing exercises twice a day,
encourage employees to appreciate one Instead of waiting for scheduled feedback/ setting aside ‘alone’ time, engaging in
another. Make a point of celebrating performance reviews, frequently take mentally challenging activities and
with your employees, not just wins but the pulse of your team and close the learning new skills. Encourage regular
also the fact that they are performing social distancing gap with proactive daily aerobic exercises, positive sleep
‘regular’ business activities under personal touch points or ‘check-ins’ patterns and watching funny movies for
extraordinary circumstances. If possible, with individual staff via text messaging their physiological and psychological
reward the team with gifts, such as fruit or phone calls. This helps to initiate or benefits. Lead by maintaining a healthy
baskets or gift certificates for take-out continue conversations, discuss issues diet and taking nutrition breaks while at
food or an online, non-work-related that are important to them, provide
class. performance guidance and positive work.
feedback, devise solutions and update
COMMUNITY the progress of ongoing projects. At If you take the above-mentioned steps
Meaningful connections and relationships the same time, let them know about in a creative and inspiring way, your
are important to the human psyche. your open-door policy for reaching employees will develop affection and
This means you must continue to build out should the need arise. The more loyalty for your organization and those
on your office culture or create one that interactions you have with your in it. They will value their contributions
inspires collaboration, friendships and employees, the more they will have and grow along with you. As we recover
social connections between your onsite/ a sense of belonging and the more and move to the other side of the
remote workers, and between workers engaged they will be. COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunities
in different areas in the office, such to expand your offerings, such as curb-
as backend administrative staff with SELF-CARE side pickup and digital commerce—the
frontline dispensing personnel. If some Try increasing your own energy level in new “normal” way of doing business—
people are unable to join a scheduled order to expand your capacity to perform will be more readily embraced by your
social zoom call, consider asynchronous and drive engagement. This will rub off staff. And that’s a win-win for everyone
platforms: Slack channel or a private by helping to rejuvenate and refresh your in your organization. n
E

STRONGER

TOGETHER

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