Post-COVID-19 Employee Engagement

Harvard Business School says that the pre-COVID-19 workplace is dead. Do you agree?

Recent employment surveys provide a glimpse into how COVID-19 will change the workforce in the future. Workers are expressing a deep desire for flexible, if not fully remote, work arrangements post-pandemic. Is your organization ready?

In Part 2 in our series on the future of work, we discuss how employers can maintain post-COVID-19 employee engagement, and the steps necessary to adapt to a new, successful normal.

How COVID-19 Changes the Workforce Perspective

At the risk of being cliché, there is an elephant in the room—or perhaps on the Zoom call—when companies discuss returning to an office full time. Generally, it’s not a popular option, even after the kids return to school and the health concerns wane. As an employer, if you are ignoring this fact, you may risk losing your best employees. In fact, you may have already.

Certainly, there are businesses where in-person work is required, and many of those employees have already returned to the workplace. But even the most unlikely industries are now more flexible than before. Just think of telemedicine—for many, this will be a viable option for future routine care, something much less imaginable prior to 2020.

Bottom line, address the elephant and have real conversations with your teams about the quality of work in 2020 and the possibilities beyond. Most research shows that productivity did not change dramatically with remote work. In fact, many organizations and employees saw greater productivity. If your organization does not agree, that may involve serious evaluation and tough choices, both better done sooner rather than later.

COVID-19 and the Future Workforce

For organizations choosing to continue flexible options—such as fully remote work, hybrid schedules, and much more—there are many ways to ensure post-COVID-19 employee engagement. Here are a few for starters.

Set Clear Work Policies: Companies will need to reimagine, or at least revamp, the way they engage their workforce. Many enacted COVID-19 policies as contingent or temporary plans. It’s time to put new, permanent policies in place to establish stability and allow forward movement. The best policies will be implemented with clear communication and mutual understanding.

Ensure Safety: No doubt, safety will need to be at the forefront of any employer response, and organizations should refresh their safety policies in all areas, including:

• Office sanitizing procedures (especially with hoteling or shared workspaces)
• Vaccination policies
• Mask requirements and distancing policies
• COVID-19 protocols for in-office and out-of-office exposure
• Guidelines for shared spaces such as kitchens, restrooms and conference rooms
• Contingency plans for future exposure or outbreaks

Further Invest in Technology: Emergency technology investments made during COVID-19 need to be reevaluated for longevity and scalability, especially for security, collaboration and communication. In-office spaces should be equipped with technology equal to home offices!

Reinforce Culture: Prudential surveyed workers about company culture during the pandemic, and a surprising 70% rated their employers’ effort at an “A” or “B”. However, current successes may be short lived if the respondents had the benefit of a pre-pandemic office network. The challenge for employers will be maintaining culture as well as onboarding and integrating new employees. The cost of ignoring this is real: per the Prudential survey, workers were more likely to leave when employers neglected company culture.

Develop Leaders: Leading remote teams requires different skills than leading in person. Preparation requires more than just dusting off the old leadership curriculum; instead, true development requires interactive coaching and scenarios for the new reality of leading. In addition, leaders will need an updated toolkit for post-COVID-19 employee engagement. For example, implement regular one-to-one virtual meetings with employees to discuss work product but also to allow open dialogue.

How Employers Will Benefit Post-COVID-19

We recently wrote about the benefits of remote work, including the ability for employers to access a national talent pool. This will especially help companies outside of critical talent hubs. While hiring and processing payroll across all 50 states can be complex, employment experts like Marchon Partners have Employer of Record (EOR) services that can solve those issues. Breaking down these types of barriers can be a game changer for hiring!

Moreover, and more importantly, happy employees are more creative, productive and loyal. Flexible work environments may feel like a leap, but the results from COVID-19 showed that many individuals rose, and thrived, during the challenge at home. Work culture in the U.S. has shifted; don’t let your company get left behind. Invest, and believe, in your people and it will surely pay dividends in the future.