The pandemic brought along with it a ‘new normal’ that shadowed itself even in the professional space. It was a task transitioning work to our home offices. The biggest challenge now is to traverse back as with rising vaccine rates and pandemics ceasing to be, the workspaces reopen. With employees quickly adapting to flexible work times, it will be difficult to get back into a fixed work routine yet again. But not with the help of team activities.
However, the way employees get treated, especially presently, will definitely play a part in their loyalty towards the organisation. We have curated a comprehensive guide below on helping you get your team back to the in-house office
- Give The Space To Get Back On Track
Coming back to cubicles from the confines of homes won’t be an easy switch. As a leader, it’s essential here to give enough time and space. Have an open-door policy to communicate difficulties and resolve them together. Humans are known to adjust but everyone takes their own time. It’s important to respect the same.
- Chalk Out An Adaptable Transition Plan
Don’t focus on having a rigid plan in place without addressing the issues that may come once physical work starts. Put in time as well as resources to make the best possible use of the available facilities. It’s all about cleverly moulding the office culture, the team’s needs and business expectations.
- Conduct Relatable Group Sessions
The charm of team activities in Melbourne is palpable especially once the team returns to the office. One such venture can be discussing pandemic stories together. Instead of dusting away the pains, everyone has gone through, the better way is to address them. From growing personally to mental strength, each one will have a compassionate narrative to tell. If not, then laughing together about personal struggles will do wonders as well!
- Communicate And Resolve Consistently
Negativity is easier to catch on than positivity. Try and stay away from statements like, “Sorry, that’s not possible”. Hear out the opinions of your employees and work on them together. The ideal way to tackle these situations would be to give honest feedback. In case you hear further changes coming along, inform your employees beforehand. Ensure you support your employees in every step of the transition.
- Transparency Is The Best Transition Policy
Evidence and facts always help back certain statements. Furthermore, they also give confidence to employees for believing in the organisation. Take, for instance, working from home is not a hundred per cent best option. Despite the many pros it also has shown a decline in productivity and quality of ideation. Therefore, it’s better to have a balance of both and go with a hybrid model.
- Building An Equilibrium Of Needs
Work-life balance has taken a new meaning with the pandemic changing what a normal office/workday looks like. If you had employees staying back to put in extra hours before, some may find to do the same. It is all about finding the middle ground where both parties will benefit. Walk-in reverse. Instead of building policies around the company needs consider the employee needs as well. Then integrate the latter to reach a semblance.
- Keep Health Protocols A Priority
The modern timeline has been divided into Pre-Covid and Post-Covid. Hence, it’s essential to realise that and put in efforts towards maintaining hygiene standards. With health being on high alert, employees will definitely scrutinise more than before. Renovate the workspace to have no-touch facilities like screens. Put up partitions even if the pandemic is reducing. Common spaces should be made limited. The frequency of sanitisation and cleaning should be expanded as well. Kits of safety should be kept especially for those more vulnerable and prone to fall sick.
- Motivate Bonding Sessions
Many employees devote a treasure of hours from their life towards work which makes it all the more crucial to connect. Coming back to physical interactions can be daunting for some. Boosting group understanding and sensitivity to each other is all the more important. The answer to keeping productivity balanced is organising corporate team building activities. Knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses really helps them excel and flourish.
- Trust Your Employee’s Choice
A better way to tackle coming-back anxiety is to adapt to employee needs. For instance, lay down the option of working from the office versus home, on the table. Let your workers decide which suits them more and go on accordingly. Another alluring process is to adopt the hybrid system. In this, the company gets the best of both worlds. Some days will be remote and some within workstations.
- Empathise With Their Situations
Staying inside four walls through the pandemic gave us all lessons on little things in life. One of them is listening to someone’s concerns. Through surveys, forms, message boxes or even open conversations, hear out your team’s worries and act on solving them. When the members feel heard, they automatically invest creativity and effort into tasks. Corporate team building activities are a good way to start icebreakers that help open up. Listen to their expectations and disappointments with an open mind.
- Organise Work Ethics Like A Boss
The best way to get employees involved is to consider their views as well as opinions to create new guidelines. Decide on a common path to follow with where and when work can happen. For instance, have a set time slot where everyone has to be online. This way scheduling meetings will be easier as well. Get the whole team to come on video such that everyone feels like they’re participating and contributing to the bigger picture.
The key takeaway from this is trying to build a new routine together. Instead of having the employees expend energy settling in, catalyse the process with for example team activities in Melbourne. As a leader, kindness and patience really go a long way in nourishing the morale of all.
