How to manage people in the Covid crisis
Introduction
We haven’t published an article for a while, but we wanted to share with you now some of the lessons we’ve learnt from the Covid-19 crisis.
There is no doubt that this is the most difficult period for businesses since the last world war, at least For some businesses, such as hospitality, it has meant a complete stop to their activities; for others, it has made life much harder, with reduced demand and cash flow. There are even businesses which are experiencing boom times at the moment – who doesn’t wish that they had invested in Zoom? But whether your business is fighting for survival or seeing record sales, we are all having to adapt to a reality where many workers are working from home.
Of course, this is nothing new; many companies have encouraged homeworking for years. But two things set the current crisis apart: the fact that all office workers are being told to work from home, and that there is no face-to-face interaction at all. In the past, most homeworkers would come into the office periodically, perhaps for the weekly team meeting, allowing them to catch up with their peers, find out what’s going on and spend some time with their manager. That is now not possible.
The topic we are being asked about most often by our clients is how to manage people in this new world. How is it different from what we are used to?
There is no doubt that managing a remote team is harder than managing a team that’s in one place. Covid adds further challenges. Staff are more likely to be worried about their family, job security and their own health. Isolation itself can be challenging, especially for extroverts, who might find it hard to focus or think on their own. People also miss the social interaction they get in the office.
And just when managing people has become harder, so has the rest of a manager’s job. Sales, profit and cash flow have become scarce commodities, forward planning is a lottery, and customer interactions are difficult. Many of the old rules simply don’t apply at the moment, meaning that new solutions must be thought through and tried out for even basic problems.
So what should you as a manager of people do?
A reminder on managing staff
In our experience, managing in Covid times is not fundamentally different; it just requires a greater focus on the things that you should be doing anyway. The tools that you already have still work, but may need to be adjusted.
We have looked at how to create a strategic performance management system in previous articles. Let’s have a quick refresher. The key elements of a performance management system are:
1. Clear business objectives, expressed as a long-term strategy and an annual business plan
2. Clear individual objectives that are clearly linked to and support the business plan
3. Individual action plans to achieve individual objectives
4. Regular review of progress against objectives to drive accountability
5. Corrective action and (if required) consequences of under-performance
We also discussed how we use the Hersey and Blanchard model of Situational Leadership to help managers work better with individuals.
How does Covid change this?
In our view, all of this still applies, but you will need to adapt it for the new situation. Let’s see how.
Business objectives
Business objectives are unlikely to remain the same. When businesses are in a crisis (as many currently are), they need to adopt a renewal strategy. We will publish a future article on alternative strategic approaches to the [Visioning] approach we discussed a while back. A renewal strategy radically reviews all elements of a business, and decides what to keep and what to cut. The old adage holds true: don’t waste a good crisis. But key to a good renewal strategy is keeping sight of the long term. There will come a time when things are better, and it’s important for companies to position themselves to take advantage of that. Don’t cut back on the seeds of your future success.
Be prepared to change all of your business objectives to reflect the current realities. Many of your old business objectives will be completely irrelevant now.
Individual objectives
If business objectives change, then obviously individual ones should, too. Make sure that your staff know exactly what you want from them. This is always true, but especially important in a crisis, where staff are fearful and want to know that there is a plan and that you are in control. Even when it is bad news, people still like to see decisive action.
Action plans
Help your team create action plans to deliver their new objectives. As we discussed before, a good action plan looks like this:
Use the Hersey Blanchard model to ensure that you give the individual the appropriate level of support. Even where an individual’s objectives haven’t changed, there has been so much change on the world that an individual may be less confident in how to achieve it, or no longer competent in the new ways required to succeed.
Reviews
A major area of difference will be in how often you check in with staff. In normal times, we advise having one-to-ones every four to six weeks, but that presupposes that you see them often in the office. We recommend formal one-to-ones to discuss objectives every two to four weeks in these times. This will allow you to stay on top of progress and see where any problems lie.
We also suggest much more frequent contact to discuss day-to-day issues. The ideal is daily. There are a number of reasons for this, but the most important is to show that you are interested in what they are doing, to keep their motivation up. Many people find it both lonely and boring to work from home, so staying involved is crucial. Make sure you take time on the call for some personal chat, too, to help stay connected. Other reasons for frequent contact include making sure that individuals stay on course, and as a substitute for the water-cooler chats that can generate new insights and ideas.
Corrective actions
When objectives are not being met, it is important to understand why. The new and unprecedented situation we all find ourselves in mean that there may be valid reasons for an objective being missed. It is entirely reasonable to make allowances in such cases; the trick is differentiating between a valid reason and a performance issue.
Experienced managers of remote teams learn to spot the work patterns of their staff. When do emails get sent? How quickly do they get replied to? Are key outputs delivered on time? There are many distractions for people working at home compared to in the office: spouses, children, Netflix, pets, Chardonnay, YouTube….
Long-term home workers create an environment in which they can focus, such as an office in a spare bedroom or a shed in the garden. The current crop of enforced home workers may need your help in settling down to a new way of working. And don’t forget that for some, working will be difficult; perhaps they are sharing a small space with small children. We have heard of one manager sitting in her car on her drive every day, just to find a quiet space.
And don’t assume that your staff are shirking; some may be, but many of your best people will probably end up working longer hours. Approach this management challenge in the same way as you should a new employee: neither give full trust nor mistrust, but hold back judgement until you have gathered evidence.
Whatever initial novelty there might have been from isolation, it has for most people now thoroughly worn off. Many people, stuck with the same people in the same place for a month now, are becoming bored. As a manager, try to put as much fun back into work as you can. Can you create competitions or games for your team? Encourage team banter on Slack, Teams or whatever system you use (though make sure it stays under control).
Conclusion
We have heard of some managers who spend much of their day staying connected with their teams, using Skype or Zoom. This isn’t overkill: good management and communication have never been more important.
Technology can help you stay on top of what your people are doing, but management is at heart a human to human endeavour. But by following the right structures and by giving your people the time they need, you can come out of this a better manager.
Let us know your experiences of managing with Covid. Are there any other topics you would like to hear from us on?
igesia Consulting helps businesses and the people in them to become peak performing. We understand what the very best organisations do, and work with companies like yours to give you the skills, plans and structures to do the same.
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