Culture Shift: Surviving COVID
The pandemic has brought many challenges to organizations large and small. Many leaders are unsure of what the future of work will look like or how they are going to manage in the present.
One of the biggest challenges discussed in conversations I have had with senior leaders is how their cultures will survive this pandemic. While critical workers; those working in healthcare, construction, transportation etc., continue to perform their roles from their usual places of work, many of us are still working from home.
With this largely unplanned change in the working environment (for some organisations, this has been more a case of fast-tracking the inevitable), leaders are now looking at what makes up their organisational culture through a whole new lens. Beyond wellbeing sessions and special annual leave allowances, what are leaders doing to preserve/positively shift their organisational culture?
Here are some of my findings from recent conversations with organisational leaders.
COMMUNICATION
Leaders across various sectors have been conducting pulse surveys and employee net promoter scores (NPS). One of the leading areas of satisfaction has been transparent communication about where the company is heading and how it will manage through the pandemic.
For smaller companies, this has been quite a smooth, agile process. I heard about new routines such as standups, weekly newsletters and even group chats on platforms, like Slack. Communication methods that once may have only been commonplace in tech or digital teams have become standard across the board.
Many larger organisations are taking similar approaches. But some have fallen victim to the usual politicking and red tape - senior leaders and departments unable to agree on the best method of communication. Still, many of their staff are giving feedback that they appreciate the open and consistent communication.
MENTAL WELLBEING
Many organisations have had massive reductions in their budget spend on travel, accommodation and catering. They have wisely repurposed a lot of that money to provide for the mental wellbeing of their staff.
From the provision of online therapy to games nights. Check-ins where you are truly asked “how are you?”, as opposed to work talk. Subscriptions to fitness and nutrition videos. Meditation and breathwork sessions.
Organisations have recognised that centring staff wellbeing in these challenging times is a reminder that they are still valued.
AGILITY
The ability to adapt to the new way of working stood out for many staff. From being able to adopt new or existing video streaming technologies and new ways of doing meetings to talking and taking action on the serious impact of diversity and inclusion. Some companies have also gone all out to make Covid-safe spaces for staff who still wanted to come into the office.
One stand-out area in agility is how many coaching courses and programmes, which were historically only seen as worthwhile face to face, are now accepted as just as effective digitally and will probably be embedded this way into future learning and development.
On the flip side, some organisations are not adapting at all. Still approaching this change through the lens of fear and miscommunication - but that’s for another article. For now, let’s celebrate what is working.
What has worked for your organisation? Let me know.
