5 tips for planning the post-lockdown return to the office

Have you returned to the office yet or are you still working from home? Maybe you work in HR or are a manager planning your company strategy to return to the office now that lockdown restrictions have been partially or fully lifted?

Whatever your position, the journey back to office working is a complicated one. Meeting safety requirements, avoiding miscommunications and managing people’s anxiety are just some of the challenges you will face.

Read on for five useful tips to help you plan the return to your office.

Give plenty of notice

Instead of telling your staff on Friday afternoon they need to get back to the office next Monday, it’s important to give your people at least a few weeks’ notice so they can process the change in their mind. Change is never easy, especially in these tough times.

Most people have been working from home for several months and may have concerns and even feel demotivated about returning to the office. Time to process the new strategy is essential for helping people change their perception of the return.

Listen to employees’ concerns

Instead of just telling your employees they need to return to the office, try to engage in two-way conversations with them. For example, you could ask “what are your thoughts about returning to the office next month?” as opposed to “I want you in the office next month!”

Some of your staff might be at higher risk from Covid-19 or live with vulnerable family members, so may have real concerns about returning to the office. Likewise, some staff might still have children at home and have childcare challenges to deal with. Clearly it is critical to reassure your staff that you are providing a safe working environment for them to return to and to try and understand the challenges they face.

Be flexible

There is no right or wrong in these challenging times. It’s important to be human and as much as possible be flexible. If you want your team member to return to the office, but they have good reasons not to and can still get their job done effectively, then why not let them continue to work from home. This is all part of providing a positive employee experience for your staff.

Man Sitting in Front of Computer

Communicate effectively and empathetically

If your whole team is working from home, think about which messages are best communicated by e-mail and which ones would be better said on a phone or video call. If the information is sensitive, it is often more professional and human to discuss it verbally. This seems like common sense, but many people still don’t do it!

 Get impartial advice

If you need help and support about planning the return to your office, organisations in the UK such as ACAS can provide useful support and advice. ACAS gives employees and employers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice – go to www.acas.org.uk to learn more.

Another useful organisation to contact is the CIPD (The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). They have a produced a useful COVID 19 returning to the workplace planner.

Clearly you should follow the most up-to-date government and public health guidance.

If you are not based in the UK follow your government’s advice and try to identify similar organisations in your country.

Summary

In conclusion, while planning your return to the office it’s critical to consider your employees’ feelings and emotions and give them plenty of notice, listen to their concerns, be flexible, communicate clearly but empathetically and of course follow official up-to-date advice from your government and other reliable sources.

STL offer a number of training programmes to support staff and companies working remotely and to help you plan your return to the office during these challenging times.

Delegate More Effectively with the 6 Levels of Delegation

Delegation: dishing out the jobs, assigning people to tasks, entrusting a task to someone else for which you remain accountable. If done regularly and correctly, delegation can be a beneficial process for all concerned. A manager can empower their team, make them feel trusted and valued, and free up their own time to get other jobs done.

But how do you delegate successfully?

When you delegate, try to follow this managerial motto: Eyes on, hands off! What does that mean? Delegate tasks and then just monitor and observe (eyes on), whilst trying not to interfere and just let them get on with it (hands off). Being eyes on tells you when you need to be more hands on, e.g. if you observe someone really struggling, you could offer your assistance.

With some employees, you’ll need to be more hands on, with others you can be more hands off. It’s what we call situational leadership, and the only golden rule is: it depends! A manager needs to be adaptable and flexible, and often the big question is: how much are you prepared to let go?

If we apply this to the delegation process, we can identify a number of levels:

  1. Do what I tell you: a highly directive style, totally hands on, and can be perceived as an aggressive approach. It shouldn’t, and can be done in a polite and respectful way, but it is the one-way flow of instruction, from manager to employee. You say it and they do it, no buts. It is the right style to use in certain situations, e.g. in a crisis or emergency when swift decisive action is needed, or when the deadline is imminent and there’s no time for a discussion. Sometimes also with new starters who know nothing about the job and need instruction, or when you’ve tried every other approach and nothing has worked!
  2. Have a look and tell me what you think. Then I’ll decide: now we’re involving the team more, asking for their thoughts regarding getting the job done. The manager is letting go a bit, but still has the power and will make the final decision about task completion.
  3. Give me recommendations, pros and cons. I’ll let you know the best way forward: the manager is letting go even more, requesting greater input from the team, but is still heavily involved when deciding how the job gets done.
  4. Decide yourself, but wait for my approval: the manager is getting more and more hands off, allowing the team members to make their own decisions about doing the job. However, they still need to check with the boss before proceeding.
  5. Decide and take action. Let me know what you did: a real shift in delegation style here. The team can make their own decisions and get the job done. The manager is no longer consulted beforehand, instead they are informed afterwards.
  6. Decide and take action. There’s no need to check with me: the team is now totally empowered and the manager is completely hands off! Not many managers are happy delegating at level 6! However, if you have a high performing team, who are self-sufficient, autonomous and trustworthy, then why wouldn’t you operate at this level?

Conclusion

When deciding how to delegate, all of the above levels are available to you. Any of the levels 1 to 6 could be the right approach for the best outcome. Consider the situation and the type of job (complex or very straightforward?), who is available to take it on (new starter or very experienced?) and the time available (the deadline is in 5 minutes, or 5 hours, or 5 weeks?) and then make an informed decision.

That way, if anyone ever questions your delegation style, you can justify it with solid reasoning. Happy delegating!

To learn more about delegation take a look at our Introduction to Management course, where we cover the fundamentals of good delegation alongside lots of other great management skills like giving feedback and team building.