Employers are facing a new leadership shift in the way that they cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. They are learning quickly that it is necessary to react with compassion to the plight of people, rather than placing all their focus on the bottom line. Now is a time when humane reactions are required and desired.
An environment of fear governs societies across the world with the threat of economic collapse facing many countries as small and large businesses deal with the barrage of continued obstacles during periods of shutdown to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is a guideline to help employers respond to employee safety and engagement concerns at this time.
First-line response to an employee who has tested positive
By this stage, management and HR should have developed a basic policy for how to react to employees during the COVID-19 shutdown. If not, the first reaction should be to express empathy on hearing that an employee has tested positive.
Determine whether they have received an official test result. Enquire as to how they are coping physically, emotionally and mentally.
Once these basic questions have been answered, ascertain how the company can offer them assistance to get them through this crisis. Ask them which colleagues they have been in contact with.
Arrange for follow up calls to them by the HR or internal health and safety department to ensure they do get tested. HR and personal managers will need to coordinate their actions to provide continued support to their employees and families and to arrange for someone to take up their work slack until their health improves.
Joint support department responses
All support department managers will need to have online meetings to come up with ideas to support their remote employees. Their mental health and wellbeing will determine their levels of productivity, so management needs to take a proactive approach to providing support at this time.
Policies can be created to send out regular emails from the company to demonstrate that employee efforts are appreciated. The company can offer additional support by providing alternate means to keep employees motivated during this shutdown period.
This can be achieved through various means, such as providing free access to movie streaming, as one example. The company may elect to begin a YouTube channel to offer inspirational talks from others around the globe on how to survive this period.
Online game channels or competitions can be provided to offer healthy distractions outside of work hours. Additionally, the company can contract with online schools to provide their employees with support in homeschooling their children.
Management innovation is needed to support customer services
This is the ideal time for management to join forces and become innovative in creating ideas for reducing customer churn. Online businesses can benefit the most from the opportunity to adapt to changing customer behaviors during COVID-19.
They can develop new production avenues to respond to these changing needs and deliver online employee training to cope with this altered demand. Employees will enjoy the new challenge to learn other skills and serve the company and its customers in a different way.
Depending on the type of product or service provided, more human interaction may be valuable. If this is the case, remote employees can now be utilized to contact their customers personally.
They will, in all likelihood, enjoy the unexpected human contact. Personal calls will also serve as a means to assure existing customers of continued service moving forward.
A new business model for a new economy
Management can use this time to prepare new business models for responding to their customers. To implement this model, their employees will require further training as stated.
This level of innovation will need to be quickly developed and implemented to cope with the present shutdown crisis, and to anticipate the future direction of the individual business. Because the pandemic and official responses are presently fluid, commercial rejoinders to the situation must remain fluid and dynamic too.
Not only should employers be focused on the backbone of their existence – their employees’ wellbeing, but that of the way they conduct business in the future. New policies will take in-depth consideration and be flexible enough to change in line with a new economic direction.
Employee and customer fears need to be allayed in the process. Companies will also want to give strong consideration to their societal position at this stage if they wish to leave a lasting positive impression on their employees and customers.
Societal responsibilities
Digital marketing is imperative at the moment to allay fears while reinforcing the reputation that your business cares about far more than the bottom line. Small businesses to large corporates should be playing their roles now by utilizing digital marketing to establish their good intentions.
Employees, customers and larger communities are spending major time on social media sites. They want to see that the company they work for cares about them firstly, and shows it with positive actions.
They want to become their companies’ biggest fans but cannot do that without the provision of substantive, meaningful support. Employees also want to see that their companies are helping with charitable support above and beyond the discounts and special offers provided to retain customer loyalty.
Management can use digital marketing now to make their mark by showing genuine support for their employees, customers and society in general.
Remain in contact with tech-driven communication platforms
Begin a new platform where management and employees can interact with each other on the work website. This will improve the sharing of new communications rapidly. It will deliver a sense of community in a time of isolation, and provide a channel for sharing of concerns and ideas on how to keep departments providing exceptional services.
A new platform will also encourage loyalty, trust and productivity in a time when it is most needed. This sense of belonging and motivation can then spill over into positive services delivered to customers. This new channel is the springboard for promoting ideas on how to improve productivity and can serve as an innovation hub for deserving future rewards.
Conclusion
In times of COVID-19, the way employers behave and react to their employees, customers and communities, will determine their reputations moving forward. Make sure that your responses are considered, appropriate and above all – caring.
About the Author: Leon Collier is a blogger from the UK, who is currently working for online assignment help that provides thesis and dissertation assistance to research students. When not writing, you can find him reading books and playing tabletop games with his friends. Follow him on Twitter @LeonCollier12
