Can a Healthy Employee Communication Culture Increase Worker Safety?
In the second of a three-part series focused on the 2nd wave of COVID-19, we look at what why solid communication is important to worker safety in the case of a second wave. In Part 1, we looked at three essential areas you must focus on to keep your team safe in the event of another viral wave.
If or when a second COVID wave hits a number of areas must immediately addressed to protect your workers such as any needed PPE or sanitizing supplies and restructuring of operations to facilitate social distancing while working. But even ahead of those important priorities, you need to establish dependable and accessible employee communication with management and your team, wherever they may be working – at home, out in the field or back at the office or plant. The uncertainty of a second wave may feel overwhelming, but there are areas within your power, that you can certainly address right now to improve communication and as a result, the safety of your team.
Be crystal clear about expectations
Right off the bat, you need to be clear and direct when communicating your expectations of the team. We recommend you are as specific as possible and have them recorded and posted where everyone in the team can access see them. In your regular online meetings, remind and reaffirm these expectations, engaging with the staff and asking questions to see if these expectations are realistic and beneficial. Communication is very important in this case as you should ask for feedback from the team, making it a professional conversation.
Communicate about employee communication
Maybe it goes without being said, but the first step you should take is to straight-up ask you team which communication methods do they prefer. Because work environments are becoming increasingly different and less uniform and predictable, you may to customize your team communications according to their different needs. If you have a small team, spend the time to ask them directly and have a conversation about it – it's a great opportunity to touch base. If you work with a larger team, consider an automated option like the primate-themed Mailchimp and/or Survey Monkey platforms, which can distribute questionnaires, surveys and obviously emails to large groups of employees.
Plan regular online huddles or group meetings
Take advantage of the available technology and schedule video chats on a weekly or monthly basis. Not only are they opportunities to discuss work and new tasks, but they are also channels that connect you and your staff members, improving team and overall, company culture. While not as ideal as an in-person office, these virtual meetings capture the communication and details that are lost in emails, texts or messenger like body language, facial expressions and eye contact. Instead of connecting with the team when you have a question or when there’s an issue, booked meetings (which can be flexible, by the way) proactively encourage interaction and engagement within the team – two of the major ingredients in a safe, positive work culture.
How does work flexibility impact employee communication?
One of the benefits of working remotely or at home is the flexibility of your professional schedule and duties. Your new situation may allow you to work different hours, every day or even on weekends as long as you meet your pre-established deadlines. To adjust, the manager should be flexible as well, adapting to the ebbs and flows of the new work schedules, but being proactive when he or she can. In these cases, it might be tempting to monitor these unsupervised workers more closely, when in fact, a more hands-off approach may be more effective, even allowing more lead time for tasks. In this Forbes article, they recommend focusing on the process, not the person, so you “can work together in problem solving mode to pool and confirm best ideas.” By focusing on the process, your communication will improve as well, resulting in more meaningful engagement.
A clear emergency communications plan is important
Like the important conversations about expectations outlined above, you need to communicate with your team when developing an important emergency communication plan. This type of plan is a proactive approach to ensuring you can communicate with your team quickly in the unfortunate case of an emergency. The plan should outline information such as any potential communications issues, how to mitigate those issues, as well as the designated team member when such a situation exists. When time is of the essence in an emergency, dependable and quick communication could save the lives of your team.
Explore new communications tools and technology
Because of the different work environments, you might require different tools and technology to enable you to communicate with your remote team. For example, the reach of cell phone reception is getting better and better, but there are still areas where satellite connection is your only option. Devices from proven brands like Garmin and Globalstar can expand your communications world, empowering you to stay connected with your team in even more remote areas, tracking their location as well. When developing your emergency plan, it is an opportunity to look at other, possibly-better options for your team’s varying communications needs.
How should you manage remote workers?
Have you seen a common thread in this article yet? As you have read, there are a number of communications-related steps you can take to protect your team, but there is one commonality among all of them – they're proactive actions. To ensure that communication and engagement is flowing within your team, you need to approach it from a proactive angle so that effective plans and education are in place and any potential issues are mitigated – or even eliminated – before they occur. While we have learned some lessons from the first bout with COVID-19, what the second wave will bring is still somewhat unpredictable. To combat that uncertainty, we need to communicate in meaningful ways, always exploring new avenues to protect our valued coworkers and team members.