Staying in touch with your home workers

We all know it’s good to talk – but how have internal communications changed for the many companies whose staff continue to work from home?

Companies that operate acrossmultiplesites mayhave found the transition to homeworking in the wake of covid-19 easier, having been used to communicating predominantly via virtual channels.

Smaller companies however may have found it a bigger challenge, having to set up staff with laptops and other resources in order to enable them to work from home successfully.

The topic of home working can be divisive, with many business l eaders worried that breaking away from the traditional environment and working hours will have a detrimental impact on team morale and productivity.

Weareallcreatures of habit, so this has meantanadjustment period as office teams settledintoanewwayofworking and overcoming barriers and concerns concerns.

However, millions of workershaverisenadmirablytothe challenge of the home working scenario, withequalmeasuresofbenefitsandhurdlesto overcome.

Forward-thinkingemployers quickly recognised there was one element that would be crucial to success – strong, consistent and regular internal communications.

From daily digital ‘huddles’ to weekly conferences delivered in a range of ways, keeping in regular contact is crucial in making sure that employees don’t become isolated in their approach to the workload. This helps teams to effectively prioritise tasks and make sure that deadlines are metandkeepseveryonein the loop.

A top-down approach is key when it comes to consistent communication. Leaders and senior members of staff cannot expect productive and proactive communication without being dynamic and transparent themselves.

That means providing accurate information about the business, inviting feedback andupholdingtheintegrity of meetings, sticking to agreed meetings and frameworks, demonstrating that communication is a priority for all.

Relaxed ‘happy hour’ video calls, conversations of all kinds should be encouraged, because social interaction is critical to excellent internal communicationbothhorizontally and vertically within an organisation.

Before t he pandemic, the thought of being on a video call may have made even the most resilient employee feel uncomfortable. Now spending proper ‘facetime’ withpeoplethatwehave professional relationships withisthekeytomakingthem stronger and more fruitful.