Managing Employee Experience in the WFH Age
When the Covid19 pandemic hit us, organizations of all sizes made a quick shift to remote working. Many have announced this arrangement or some sort of hybrid model to continue till year-end as the world races to find a vaccine. Now that organizations have completed the huge errand of putting in place the fundamental framework to empower executives to telecommute, it is important to have a renewed people policy in place.
“This is important because working from home could increase the pressure on employees. It has become difficult to create boundaries between work and personal life.”
Most schools are continuing online, and childcare centers are non-operational; working parents must also act as caregivers as they work from home. In such a situation, it is not surprising that employers are worried about employee productivity and are running the risk of burnout.
Unfortunately, even now we cannot be certain about the end of this predicament. In fact, certain organizations may adopt the WFH model permanently. This makes it even more critical to address the issue of employee experience and take necessary steps to improve the quality of life of our employees.
Here are a few practices HR Professionals can adopt to enhance the experience for employees as they continue to work from home.
Keep Your Communication as Open as Possible
As an employer or an HR professional, you need to step into the shoes of your employees (and walk a mile). In this situation, where employees are facing tremendous challenges and insecurities, regular communication has taken up an even more significant role. From status meetings and lunch-time discussions to unscheduled drop-ins, the workplace banter needs to be accommodated in a WFH day as well. Interacting with your employees inperson is empowering for them, guaranteeing they are both seen and heard. Without those conventional prompts for communication, the remote working staff can undoubtedly feel left out. That is why it is essential to create frequent interactions with your workforce.
Encourage Employees to Create Work-Life Balance
Seemingly it is more important now than ever to convey to employees that you value their entitlement to disengage at the end of a workday. Attempt to maintain distinguishable office hours and have clear boundaries. If you do end up shooting a late-night email, it is always a good idea to mention in the subject line that you are not expecting an immediate reply.
However, if this does not seem to be working, permitting your employees to have flexible work hours or days is another method to energize a solid work-life balance at your workplace. Flexible work hours will permit your employees to have a real existence outside of work too – they can complete their work and still take care of the requirements of their family or home chores. This shows your colleagues that you value them as individuals, not just as workers.
Sentiment Check via AI Tools
Textual communication with employees often conveys underlying information about the sentiment of employees. Sentiment analysis with the help of AI tools such as chatbots can effectively convert unstructured employee feedback and communication into actionable insights for management and can account for higher engagement. These insights can be used to implement decisions and changes and address employee concerns, which in turn can lead to more open communication.
Employee Benefits to Function in a Work from Anywhere World
While employees work from home, theirrequirements and behavior have evolved. Benefits need to go digital and adapt to ensure employees have access to them wherever they are. Digital Meal Cards and allowances likeLearning & Development, Health & Wellness, Telecommunication have an increasingly central role to empower employees. Also, a one-time allowance for setting up a home-office or a monthly Work from Homebenefit go a long way to ensure employees have the tools to function efficiently.
Fun Activities to Keep Staff Engaged
HR professionals need to strive to bring the H back in HR even as employees work from home. One of the best ways to do this is by organizing fun activities and team-building exercises. Many organisations have Fun Fridays where they organizevirtual activities for employees. These activities are perfect to combat the loneliness and build team spirit that employees are missing while working from home.
Do Not Forget to Reward Employees
Appreciation is a basic human need. Employees react to appreciation and recognition of their work since it affirms their work is valued by others. This inspiration can likewise be felt across the organization, building a positive workplace that individuals want to be a part of. Digital Gift Cards are an excellent way to motivate employees and show them that you care about them even as they work remotely.
While it may feel like the current atmosphere is affecting your well-set work-culture, with purposeful steps like the ones mentioned above, you canmaintain the culture of your organization and keep employees productive and engaged.
