Category: Professional & Management

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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.

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4 Characteristics of Influential Leaders

There has never been a time like it in history, where the explosion of corporate expansion has led to the constant need for great leaders. Where companies have grown in size to match the economies of a small country, the prize of a truly great leader has never been so important nor so highly rewarded.

If you are a leader yourself, or are looking to recruit a top leader to manage a team, here are 4 characteristics you should be constantly looking for and developing:

4 Characteristics of Influential Leaders
4 Characteristics of Influential Leaders
Role model

Reflect and model the behaviours you feel are important. Lead by making the changes you see need to be made and stand by these changes as if they are a personal conviction. If you want your team to behave in a certain way, then you have to be willing to demonstrate by example and expect to be challenged. You set the tone of the business environment.

Purpose

Establish a purpose to believe in and let others see this is what is expected of them. Highlight the importance of their roles, and be specific about their skill-sets and where you see the opportunity for their development. Illustrate what success will look like for them, as well as for the organisation. How the advantage of having a positive attitude to solve problems will raise their professional capital and their self-esteem. Outline clearly how their position connects with the outcome.

Coach

Sometimes being obvious works neatly into time frames and objectives, especially where multiple partners or teams are being managed. However, being subtle in your approach, especially when dealing with inexperienced managers, can also be extremely effective.

Allowing people to discover their answers or experience their mistakes can be an invaluable learning process.

Watch for the rhetorical questions, the statements that contemplate – and then lead through a line of questioning that sets a path of discovery. Remember that the ideas and answers that you uncovered for yourself are still some of the greatest moments of transformation you have had, so why deny anyone else the opportunity to experience these moments for themselves.

Accountability

This simple concept goes hand-in-hand with taking ownership of your position. You cannot have one without the other. Being accountable is a reflection of direction and no-one should make a choice without being accountable. Your team needs to realise, and quickly, that as a leader you are more than just responsible for the decisions, and therefore you own them.

You will always get somethings wrong, you will make the mistakes, owning them is one of the great strengths a leader can display. It sets a foundation of trust. It encourages transparency. It builds and strengthens bonds and it raises a level of integrity that will resonate throughout the company.

Summary

There are many qualities that are important in great leaders, but role modelling, a strong purpose, a natural coaching style and courage to be accountable are some of the most important.

To learn more, take a look at one of our management and leadership programmes, in particular our leadership development training course is perfect for developing these specific skills.