COVID-19 and its effects on the organization: Quality teleworking

Nearly two years ago, we began to hear about COVID and its effects on health in the media. While it was scary, it was not the first time we have faced a crisis... and in all of them, we have come out stronger sooner or later.

This led me to extrapolate it to my world of HR and people to ask myself if we are currently spending enough time to see how to improve the organization and how we can help our colleagues in this crisis.

Crises affect both the organization and the people; in 2020 we experienced a long period of stress and uncertainty (which many of us still have in 2022); so the desire to work and give the best of oneself can be profoundly diminished.

That state of mind along with the culture and climate of the company have a key weight. Now that many workers cannot go to the office and see how they work from there, it is important that we know how to transfer from the HR teams, in addition to the company culture, a good work environment that, together with this crisis situation, must adapt to the online model as much as possible. Make no mistake, we are not the ones who should treat anyone's state of mind no matter how much we are psychologists, but we should try to help the organization and the people by making their day-to-day life and information a little easier. How? Following a series of steps:

Carrying out onboarding

It is essential for new hires to get to know their work team, company objectives and internal tools (among other details) with the dedication or help of a person of reference to raise any questions that may arise and that you can dedicate time and attention to them. In addition, it is advisable to provide a support manual that you can consult in future occasions (with basic questions, a brief table of where to go if you need support, etc. At Sngular we know it as the Blue Book and in fact we have shared it publicly); in addition to extra support with a colleague or teammate who can act as a link between the great "Bermuda Triangle": project, client and work team.

A good follow up

Just as important as the selection of a good candidate, are the first steps in a company; so we must know if the person who joins is soaking up the culture and values, as well as if he has any blockage that prevents him from carrying out his tasks, if he knows his manager and, not least, if he has suggestions for improvement ( your opinion matters to continue growing, and even more so when you bring "fresh ideas" from other companies and work models).

A better “productive accompaniment”

We must offer and publicize our training plan and help so that they do not receive external and even internal training through colleagues. In addition, boost their confidence so that they lead new formations in the future and offer them the support of technical communities within the company itself where they can share the most technical details and doubts or even day-to-day challenges.

A professional development plan

We must be clear about the company's objectives in order to define professional categories that lead us to meet that goal, while promoting the professional growth of workers with new responsibilities and areas that allow them to grow professionally.

A reconnaissance plan

Equally valuable is giving the importance that the worker deserves so that they feel valued through a recognition plan. There are 4 types: public recognition, private recognition, promotion recognition and economic recognition. In this sense, the great challenge is to know what type of recognition each person needs and the best time to apply it (you have just finished a project that has involved overexertion on your part or part of the team, and it is better to recognize it now than to wait two months because "I have a follow-up meeting planned") On this point we will be able to deepen in future publications 😉

Offer the best farewell "offboarding"

Last but not least, something that often goes unnoticed by many companies: offer the best farewell, "offboarding". We must be aware that there is a lot of turnover in the IT sector due to the high demand for computer profiles and the variety of projects, sectors and technologies with which you can work; For this reason, we must not close ourselves off and interpret the departure as a direct attack on the company, but rather as a growth process for all. We must be able to convey to each person our gratitude for their time and dedication, in addition to asking for an exit interview. In this way, we will give the employee a space where they can express themselves and let us know their experience (you would be surprised at the valuable information that can be obtained on the details of a project, a bad leader or even a comparison of the market and competition).

In addition, we can take advantage of that bond of union to continue growing together: creating a community of former colleagues where we can meet, network or even collaborate on multidisciplinary projects.

Well, the ideal (always) is to complete as many steps as possible, but above all to re-analyze the initial question: are we managing an improvement in our organization and our employees despite the crisis?