Managing Talent Through COVID-19

It doesn’t need to be said, but these are officially crazy times we’re living in. If you’re a small business owner, you may be wondering how - and when - to make new hires to grow your business. If you’re not hiring right now, you may be concerned about the impact working from home is having on your team’s wellbeing (not to mention the million other things you and they are thinking and worrying about right now). We’re going to talk about just that in this article. 

Looking for even more guidance and coaching when it comes to hiring and managing talent right now? Don’t miss our webinar on August 13th at 12pm with Molly Eyerman of VIVO Growth Partners. Bring your questions, RSVP here. 

Let’s dive in! 

Finding new talent 

There are a lot of talented and smart people on the job market right now. Unemployment estimates put the country at around 10% unemployment by latest reports, which means there are millions of talented people on the job hunt (including your next great hire)! The thing is, your means of connecting with top talent before, might not work now. If you used to find great talent at networking events, job fairs or over coffee, you’ll need to get digital, set up Zoom meetups, join networking events that happen digitally to actually interact with other people. Got an open role on your team? Instead of (just) listing it on your company’s website or LinkedIn (which you should still do!), ask your contacts if they know anyone looking for a role that might fit your needs. Look on freelance sites such as UpWork, Fiverr, and more. 

Navigating the ever-changing work world in light of COVID

We all know this, but life looks completely differently today than it did a year ago. With that in mind, we need to be conscious of, and adapt our processes and policies to meet the ever-changing environment we find ourselves in today. For your company, make sure you’re consistently (as in every couple of weeks or once a month), looking at and evaluating your teams processes and company policies. You might be managing team members and new hires working from home, or be faced with creating a safe office environment for your employees.  Now more than ever, flexibility and communications will be the key to your success.

Not sure what you could be doing better? Don’t be afraid to ask your team what they need. Keeping communications and feedback loops open between management and teams is everything in these times. Especially as parents send kids back to school (or don’t), navigate a changing healthcare landscape and deal with the day-to-day uncertainty of 2020, communication has become more important than ever before. Being open and receptive to feedback allows you to meet your teams where they are, and by helping solve their problems, you’re building mutual respect, and ultimately trust that will keep them loyal to your company in the months and years to come. 

Embracing your culture with a distributed workforce

This one is not easy. As workforces are distributed around cities, states and beyond, building and maintaining employee engagement is key to keeping teams happy and successful. Our best tip for this is creating opportunities for teams to engage outside of meetings and check-ins. Whether it’s virtual team events, happy hours or just allowing for time at the beginning of meetings for teams to socialize, give your team the opportunity to connect over life (and not work). Depending on your company’s values (such as creativity or service), foster opportunities for teams to work together to meet goals, brainstorm and collaborate towards common goals that align with your ethos. 

Maintaining a sense of normalcy

Even though things are crazy, it is important to try to keep things as “normal” as possible. Not necessarily in how you’re doing business, but in your company processes and benefits. Remind people to take advantage of summer Fridays, PTO and long weekends, even if they’re not travelling. Maintain your review and development roadmaps, and use them to provide feedback and create goals for teams to meet. And then when they meet them, keep the promotion and raise cycles in place so they’re motivated to keep doing great work for your business. 

What are you doing to make sure your employees are healthy and happy? Want to bounce around ideas? Want to connect with our team? Don’t miss our webinar on Thursday, August 13th. Save your spot.