For those that know me, I’m a positive person (the glass half full type!). People often tell me I look for the positive in any situation. As we return to work post-lockdown I have been reflecting on the positive things that business leaders around me have been doing over the last three months that have really stood out.
Here are my top 5 and how they are applicable to the ‘new normal’.
#1 Diversifying health and well-being support
Struck by the number of staff on furlough who were choosing not to engage in ‘staying connected’ activities, one business took a fresh approach. As a hospitality business, team building activities had previously been high energy, high engagement affairs. Through lockdown they had lower than normal turnout rates and feedback was that many of the team needed lower energy ways of staying in touch. To diversify activities, alongside quizzes, the company introduced other engagement methods including small group / 1:1 zoom coffee chats and video updates from the CEO. Engagement scores in their most recent staff survey were higher than they’ve ever been.
Takeaway / top tip for the future:
Recognising the diversity of your employees has huge benefits for the business. Diversity brings new/fresh perspectives, increased creativity and better decision making (to name just a few benefits). As the CEO said to me, “when I stopped looking and listening to people like me and started to listen differently, I realised there is more than one way to see the world”.
#2 Working in partnership with the supply chain
Those businesses playing the infinite game (a nod to Simon Sinek’s book, which I highly recommend) took things to the next level. Conversations with customers and suppliers across the facilities management sector led to money and materials being shared across businesses to support everyone in the supply chain so that no one company suffered so significantly that it could not keep trading. As one client said to me, “paying or not paying invoices was determined by a company’s cash position rather than contractual terms. There has been a noticeable difference in the dynamic of my relationships, there is much more trust now”.
Takeaway / top tip for the future:
Together everyone achieves more... cheesy but true! Collaboration, rather than competition, is a key feature of the paradigm shift post COVID-19. What can you do differently to build more collaboration and trust in your business network?
#3 Aligning resources to demand
The furlough scheme has, for some businesses, been the first time that the level of resource required to meet demand has been put under scrutiny. For one business owner, working out how many staff to keep in the office when the business had no way of measuring utilisation was difficult, but the results positively surprising. "I found that 40% of my staff were able to deliver 60% of the revenue.”
Takeaway / top tip for the future:
Maximising the untapped capacity in your business achieves profitable growth. By focusing on your business infrastructure and making it easy for people to do their jobs, you’ll gain twice as much as striving for revenue growth alone.
#4 Remote working works!
Many businesses have resisted the move to remote working. From a fear that staff would not be as productive to a lack of technology infrastructure, many issues had held businesses back. More than once I have heard people describing remote working as a ‘win, win’. “Working from home has eliminated travel, which has given people more time to spend with family, it is good for the environment, and people have been more productive.”
Takeaway / top tip for the future:
Consciously choose when face-to-face is needed for getting business done and for staff well-being. It will be less time in the working week than you think.
#5 Communicate, communicate, communicate
When everything was changing so quickly it was important to keep talking, keep communicating. Those leaders who really had it nailed were those who realised that they needed to be talking not just to their staff but to all their stakeholders. Overnight the comms plan had ramped up the requirement for regular – daily – communication with suppliers, customers, and service providers to work through dynamic solutions in real-time. (There is a big link here to #2)
Takeaway / top tip for the future:
Business is built on relationships, relationships are built on communication. As one CEO said, “I have realised it is easy for me to think I have communicated the message because I have said it so many times, so much so I get bored of my own voice! But for those on the receiving end it's often the first time they have heard it. I’ve never been told that I over communicate, I’ve all too often been told that people don’t know what’s going on”.
Maintain strong relationships, keep communication channels open and active.
So that’s it, my 5 takeaways / top tips!
Eventually our lives in lockdown will be a dim and distant memory, I am hopeful* that these positives are here to stay.
*remember I'm the glass half full type!
