In December 2019, China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases appearing to originate from the Hunan Seafood Wholesale Market in the city of Wuhan. That was the beginning of the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak. Soon, the new virus had spread to countries around the globe, impacting business operations in every industry. Social distancing recommendations—the primary method for containing and preventing the virus—is forcing companies to make tough decisions about staffing levels, operating hours and other workplace precautions. Uncertainty, mandated quarantines and travel bans are driving markets into tailspins, major industries into crisis, and are changing cultural norms around how people travel, gather together and even say hello.
In the business world, the impact to how and where we work has been sharp. In the midst of operational challenges, there are also a number of opportunities for teams around the globe.
Here are six things teams can do to build confidence and improve productivity during the global coronavirus pandemic:
1. SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION
Data is everything in today’s digital world. New technologies in data analytics and AI are stretching the benefits of data farther than ever before. Even with access to unprecedented amounts of data, humans sometimes cannot see what is right in front of us. Our emotions, imperfect memories and gut feelings can deny the truth that data shows and lead us to make poor decisions.
Reduce anxiety and uncertainty about the future of your business by asking your team to explore what’s known to be true about the pandemic and how that truth can put business realities into perspective. Talk about the impacts of rumors and how the lack of data about the new virus can impact your business. Decide on practical, reasonable measures to take to respond to the truth and reality of the coronavirus in your industry. You may be surprised that it’s not as bad as you think.
2. BE MORE AGILE
You’ve probably heard the term “agile” business model to describe businesses that are good at operating with flexibility and responding quickly in an increasingly fast-paced world. Working in an agile way requires thinking in an agile way: constant reflection, prototyping, and improvement as you go. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for your team to practice ways to be more agile. Consider things like shorter meetings, virtual meetings, more ad-hoc conversations where decisions are made quickly and smartly. Can you put less emphasis on office politics and more on coordination and collaboration? Let the constraints of the current situation with become the gym where your team works out.
3. PRACTICE EMPATHY
Remember that your team is one of people and not robots. Use the pandemic as an opportunity to practice empathy and build trust among your team. Discuss the pandemic and its impact across a variety of dimensions including health, economics, emotions, education and family. Use personal thoughts and feelings to better relate to others on your team and in your workplace and with your clients. Developing empathy can boost emotional intelligence and attention to detail and reduce distractions on your team.
4. REORGANIZE
As social distancing requirements limit opportunities for gathering and reduce the size of groups, many companies are setting employees up to work from home. Giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google have all implemented work-from-home-policies and requested teams not gather in-person, unless absolutely necessary.
Follow their lead and use this time to rethink how things get done and how you can leverage technology to keep your team productive and connected. Set a clear protocol for working virtually. Identify and use one web-based platform for meetings and learn how to hold effective virtual meetings . Establish ground rules for communications and meetings. For example, maybe text messaging is the best way to coordinate action on your team. Talk about how to use texting to work virtually, including boundaries and expectations for response times.
5. REFOCUS
Crisis has a way of making priorities crystal clear. Take advantage of this opportunity to align on clear priorities for your team. Review your strategies, and re-prioritize any areas that are no longer top priority, and refocus team members on individual tasks in support of redefined group objectives. When thinking about how your group can contribute to the business during a pandemic, consider things like: How is the global crisis impacting your customers and how can you support them? What can you and your team do differently in pursuit of business objectives? What are your critical functions and who is responsible for them? What are the deadlines? Ask yourself these questions and adjust your team’s strategic focus as necessary.
6. REINVENT
Use this time to learn new skills and expand your team’s capabilities. Practice ways to raise your productivity levels, improve engagement and boost morale via virtual meetings and collaboration. Attend online courses and webinars focused on a relevant skillset. Learning new ways to work will benefit teams into the future as more and more of our world and businesses are transforming to adapt to an increasingly digital marketplace.
While the global coronavirus pandemic is forcing a sabbatical of sorts on businesses and individuals, the slowdown of activity can be leveraged to focus on a number of things you would like to do but may not otherwise have time for. Look beyond the short-term and plan strategy, develop team collaboration skills, review and improve internal processes. Use this opportunity to learn how to be more agile, adapt more rapidly to change, and optimize your operating structure.
We are definitely in challenging times, so challenge back with attention to yourself and your colleagues in a way that builds your competitive advantage and prepares you for success once the pandemic has passed.
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