Keeping Your Teams Engaged

Keeping your team engaged has never been more challenging.  Business owners have been faced with change on a scale that we’ve never experienced before, at a pace out of our control which has had the impact of fundamentally changing what we do and how we do it.

Whether people are furloughed, working from home or in the office/shopfloor, keeping teams engaged can be easily done however, if we keep our focus on the people.  In times of change though, it is easy to be so focused on strategy and planning, the people aspects can get lost.

Here are just a few ideas to consider:

Connect with people – say hello in the morning, walk around the office or shop floor and make a point of saying hello and asking people how they are.  Operating virtually? Have a Zoom or Teams catch up to say hi and check in.

Share the vision – let people know what the vision is as this might have changed recently and share how what they do contributes to the bigger picture.

Keep people informed– communicate with people so they feel informed about various aspects of the business and check in with them, to make sure there is a common understanding of the message.

Be honest and transparent – perhaps one of the biggest questions on people’s minds right now is around job security. Rather than telling them what they want to hear answer the questions they have concerning working hours and furlough for example. Above all, don’t be too hard on yourself. As a business owner you may not have all the answers and, with a policy of transparency, your employees will appreciate that.

Train, empower and trust – Give people the skills they need to do a great job, and empower and trust them to deliver.

Recognise contribution – Stop and notice what people are contributing and share with them difference they are making to you, the team, and the business.

Get involved with the community – Do something together for your community, maybe it’s a charity that you support where you could get involved together.

Encourage genuine breaks – Encourage your teams to get away from their desks, at least for five minutes every hour. For example, grab a cup of coffee, take a walk outside for some fresh air, stretch your body etc.

Have some fun! – virtual quizzes, cook-a-longs, coffee mornings and fizz nights!

 

If your team is working remotely at the moment take a look at this useful article

 

Communicating with remote teams

For more advice, contact your accountant or the organisation that gave you access to BuBul. They may offer help or refer you to someone they trust. If not, email hello@bubulexpert.com telling us what you need advice on, and we’ll connect you with one of our trusted experts*.

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