There have been many changes we have all endured in the last year but one of the most significant is the move for many to be working from home. The experience of work is now mostly filtered through our home life, pets, home office space, exercise regime and quality of our internet connection.
With the onset of COVID-19 vaccinations and as the economy grows, there will be many people looking to move jobs and make a fresh start towards the end of the year. So now is a good time to understand more about what your people are looking for in their working life and how you can improve the people experience in your business to retain your teams.
Here are some simple tips for reviewing and improving your people experience in 2021.
Life events and home life importance
With home life taking centre stage, the focus may be more on how the business supports the home. Take some time with managers to review your home life policies, look at whether they are clear, supportive and would be of real benefit to the employee. Get creative and use team feedback to improve how the business can connect with an employee during an important life event, creating a positive touch point with home life.
Health and happiness
Without a doubt, the area of wellbeing is going to be most important in 2021 and with COVID-19 rates having had such a massive influence on the world of work, some are suggesting that employers be prioritise personal health support for the long term. Now is a good time to review your current practice to see how connected you are with your teams’ health and wellbeing. You might be surprised how much has changed since you last surveyed your teams. This feedback may help you tailor your support around your people rather than around their assumed health requirements.
Home working joiners
Many people will have joined your business in 2020 and social interaction will have been hugely limited; many may not have been able to meet their colleagues in person at all yet. This will have dramatically affected a key touch point in the relationship to work. Find out more about the remote induction experience, where there are gaps and what forms of social interaction and engagement would be beneficial (recognising not everyone will be an extrovert and want or need an office social on the very first day on site).
Management relationships
Reviewing the remote team experience could be helpful at this point to understand the level of connectivity and team experience. You may find that some managers have styles and approaches that really benefit the remote working experience and others who find it more difficult – this information could be very helpful as you plan for the future and may look to offer greater flexibility in working from home.
Investing in your manager relationships at this point may give you healthy returns. Manager coaching, health coaching and CPD investments could help to support these vital roles in your business to energise and motivate your teams.
Looking back and looking forward
Everyone’s 2020 experience has been different. Some will have loved working from home, others may be desperate for a return to site, some needing flexibility, others wanting stability. Many will have felt the impacts of the pandemic on friends and family, others may have had a positive life-changing experience in 2020. Finding out what people need from the company now will be important to guide you through the next quarter and the rest of the year; enabling you to adjust your approach in order to provide the best people experience possible for everyone.
Managing change - again
With positive news of vaccines, everyone seems to be looking towards work-life changing again in the 2nd quarter of 2021. Having had change thrown at everyone in the last year, the opportunity to talk, discuss and plan for this change to our working lifestyle together will probably be welcomed and will give you the opportunity to connect and improve the working experience for everyone in the next stage of working-life.
At Medelinked, we have connected and listened to HR managers to understand what is needed to support a healthy workplace in 2021 and we are still listening. Medelinked supports safe working practices, giving organisations the technology to promote health and wellbeing, connecting the individual to their health needs and goal setting, providing the ability to connect and stay connected to health needs whatever the size and scope of your business.
You can contact the Medelinked team at www.medelinked.com