Gartner offered nine ways companies can support employees during remote work, through empathetic care and productive engagement

Summary:

Gartner gave practical ways managers can support employees through the crisis, while remaining productive and engaged. Summary recommendations include:

• Provide Guidance on Sensitive Issues – Give guidance to managers how best to tackle sensitive issues arising from pandemic, including alternative work models, job security and prospects, impact on staffing, and tension in workplace
• Promote and Engage in Dialogue – Create opportunities for two-way dialogues on both positive and negative implications of COVID-19 outbreak
• Trust Employees – Trust and inspire confidence in employees that they will do the right thing, if managers provide supportive structure
• Reinforce Organization Values – Apply established company values that communicate care to employees, model right behavior, and encourage reporting of misconduct or unethical actions
• Be Clear on Objectives – Emphasize objectives and outputs over processes to bring clarity to employees what should be accomplished, while being flexible to allow them to complete assignments in way most productive for them
• Increase Recognition – Find areas for recognition through surveys and feedback from virtual meetings, and reward with public acknowledgment, tokens of appreciation, development opportunities and low-cost perks to motivate employees and signal behaviors to be emulated
• Encourage Innovation – Even with constraints, managers can provide opportunities for incremental innovation or process improvements, sharing successes to employees and providing safety for potential failures

To read article, visit https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/9-tips-for-managing-remote-employees/

Original publication date: May 2, 2020

Date last updated: May 8, 2020