Due to the impacts of the pandemic and efforts to keep individuals as safe as possible during these uncertain times, many companies in the Logistics, Financial, and Accounting industries have adjusted their business structure, adapted to a remote workforce, and made necessary technology advancements to meet the needs of their employees.
Although a challenging time, it has also brought about many learning and growth opportunities for companies, leadership, and employees alike. As a business leader, you can continue to modify your company to the best of your ability while taking measures to boost engagement, productivity, and take action to support your employees whether they are working in the office or remotely.
1. Invest in technology for improved communication
Especially with a partially remote or fully remote workforce, technology is the main factor when it comes to productivity and efficiency. When technology is not properly set up to help employees, it can hinder their performance and motivation. Especially if they are bogged down with manual tasks that can easily be simplified or made more efficient using technology solutions. It’s important to implement a communication and chat system for your employees to allow for collaboration or discussion. Investing in technology will improve the productivity of your employees and make their lives easier day in and day out. That initial contribution will provide you with more than enough return on your investment as your workforce will be better equipped to handle problems and improve daily output.
It’s also worthwhile to consider investing in IT solutions that can help with troubleshooting issues that your employees might not be able to solve on their own. Once again, this can save time and money by allowing your employees to find quicker solutions to problems with minimal impact on their workflow. In addition, it’s critical to be educating your employees on ways to prevent cyberattacks when working remotely or viruses that can be harmful to personal or company privacy. Technology issues are inevitable but having the appropriate tools and IT consulting action plan in place to help navigate these problems and will save your employees unnecessary headaches.
2. Optimize your employee onboarding experience
If you’ve had the luxury of taking on new talent during the last year, it’s more important than ever to have a well-developed workplace orientation program that can aid new team members in getting up to speed as quickly as possible. Again, if any of this process involves remote onboarding, it’s necessary to make sure new employees feel comfortable and connected with their new job and coworkers. Some ways that leadership and HR can deal with matters outside daily workflow is by explaining company benefits such as health, dental, or vision. Displaying plans for additional work perks, flexible spending options, and additional learning opportunities can be helpful information. It shows that your company is well-rounded and cares about the professional growth of its people.
3. Encourage employees to plan for their future
Another way to show your support is by encouraging your employees to plan for the future. Starting to contribute to retirement early on can have a huge impact on your financial future and the way you are able to support yourself in the years to come. As an employer, you can make it easy for your employees to contribute to their retirement by automatically taking a small portion out of their paycheck and applying it to a 401k or other retirement plan. Another protection that is helpful and necessary in this day and age for peace of mind is securing a life insurance policy. Having a plan in place has never been more critical and by taking the time to explore some of the best life insurance providers on the market, you can help encourage employees to secure their financial future and protect their loved ones. Taking the extra step to show you care about the well-being of your employees will go a long way in their trust for you and your business.
4. Implement a leadership or mentorship coaching program
Employee engagement is a key driver in creating a successful workflow and business structure. If you can count on your employees to deliver on time with quality work, you can focus your attention on bettering the business and improving the daily operations of your workforce. By implementing a program that trains managers and senior employees on how to be great leaders, you can further rely on others to provide necessary encouragement, support, and training that won’t take away from your responsibilities. Even your top employees can learn a thing or two about leadership and how they can improve their deliver to get better results from those employees underneath their supervision. Developing virtual seminars and providing programs to help employees further advance their leadership skills is a great way to improve your company by focusing on what matters most—its people.
5. Streamline or outsource business services
If you’ve been a hands-on owner who takes responsibility for managing the ins and outs of your business, you’re not alone. With that being said, there comes a time when you cannot effectively manage everything from business acquisitions to employees, to finances and relationships. It’s important that you streamline certain areas of your business to give yourself the time and energy to focus on tasks that need your attention. Especially for a small to medium-sized business, managed IT services can help you to accurately and easily handle your accounting, financial management, or logistics firm. Consider it a weight lifted off your shoulders as this forward way of thinking can help you organize your business and allow you to focus your time on your company leaders that require your guidance.
6. Create organized meeting plans and recurring check-ins
In a remote setting, it’s important to set recurring meetings and check-ins to help hold your employees accountable for their work as well as keep you informed about problems they might be facing. By coupling this with a mentorship program, you can encourage more senior employees to take ownership of these team meetings and create an open and encouraging environment. By setting clear expectations, goals, and initiatives, there is always a conversation to be had about successes and shortcomings—both of which are necessary for growth. You can rely on your IT solutions and advanced tech tools that can provide error-free virtual meetings, calls, and video chats. In addition, your employees will feel like they have a place to share their progress or talk through possible solutions.
7. Get to know employees on a personal level
One last piece of this puzzle towards growing a business in this unique way is gaining trust and connection with your employees. Getting to know your employees, their skillsets, talents, and their passions can help you assist them in their career progression. Knowing personal and professional strengths or weaknesses can help managers and supervisors provide the best feedback to help employees improve in specific areas of expertise. Inquiring about prior work experiences, education, or unique jobs is beneficial and it provides a level of connection. Encouraging employees to reach out with questions that might involve their job, technology, or career shows that your support goes beyond their daily production.
Finding the Right Solution
Technology adaptations and modern workplace solutions have allowed many businesses to transition to remote work quite seamlessly. With that being said, there are considerations for business leaders to continue to make modifications that can help improve their employee experience and productivity at the office or in a remote setting. By providing technology such as IT consulting, Managed IT services, and IT solutions, you can better serve your business and allow for a more streamlined approach to growth. Continuing to take steps to support your employees, improve your business structure and advance your technology, you will set you up for a successful future and business possibilities.
