The art of communication in the ‘new normal’

“I’m WFH today” – WFH the acronym for working from home; it’s a given now that we are all WFH.
 
WFH is perhaps no longer a remote possibility (pardon the pun!).
 
Pre-Covid-19, many employees would require permission to WFH. Some even feared the stigma of requesting it, but the requirements of lockdown have thrown almost everyone into the WFH category. Right now, all bets are off when it comes to working arrangements.
 
We are not yet in the post-Covid-19 life, but as lockdown eases, will working from home become the new normal?
 
Will the pandemic have been the catalyst that pushed businesses into a home working world that will stick and not return.
 
Has corona-virus made home working a norm that will continue?
 
No one can predict, but a recent article in The Sunday Telegraph on 31 May, stated that Canary Wharf “expects only 10-20% of its previous population to return anytime soon”. With fewer staff returning to the office or businesses requiring the need to rotate staff in order to reduce the number of employees onsite at any one time, the need to change the way in which we communicate with teams is more important than ever.
 
Good staff communication is vital for many business and wellness reasons.
 
For staff wellness, good mental health practice and also to ensure teams still get the comradery of ‘working together’. Team working is part and parcel of the culture of many organisations that want to engage with colleagues and senior teams.
 
Long gone, for now, are the days of the big team meetings, the stand up’s, the social team building events and Friday afternoon pizza and beer sessions. Today it is all about zoom meetings and virtual Friday afternoon beers.  Whilst that still encourages face time and social gatherings – albeit virtually – the ‘virtual’ can soon become the elephant in the room if not managed effectively. This is why internal communications, the style, approach and delivery needs to be effective for all businesses to ensure colleagues are managed and engaged, and still feel a part of the business and its culture.
 
How we communicate can mean the success or failure of our teams.
 
The main areas that businesses should focus their communications on are:

1. Transparency
A new style of management is required, to be more open and available. Managers need to be more communicative, set clear and measurable goals ensuring they are fully aware of the expectations the business has on them.

With clear and measurable goals, staff know who and how and what channels they can use to collaborate with their colleagues in order to deliver against their goals. 

2. Two way communications
Managers need to be more proactive in encouraging feedback and be open to discussion, to assist.  More communication is needed with remote colleagues to ensure no one is sitting at their desk stewing over an activity.  Management and communication style needs to be two way and be open and available to assist more frequently than when in the office. 

 Senior colleagues need to be more visible to the remote teams and talk to their staff / colleagues.

3. Delivery and tone
Our style and tone of voice or writing needs to be carefully thought out – good communication should be the core of a good corporate culture.
 
Sending emails as opposed to a quick call, can mean the difference between a happy and motivated colleague to a distant and demotivated one. Very often emails are misconstrued and read by the reader in the mood that the reader is in, not the sender. So, calls and face time should be a preferred channel.
 
Virtual communications is important but there is nothing worse than overdoing it! So, managers need to be concise and keep their messages and communications to teams clear. They also shouldn’t bombard employees with too many emails and documents.

4. Collaboration
Remote working means distant and disparate colleagues, how can you be a team if you can’t all get together to write on a white board or share ideas around a board room table or over a coffee and lunch?  Digital platforms are important as they allow for collaboration of multiple colleagues all around a single Zoom or Microsoft Teams call. An ability to see each other and share ideas as well as virtual Friday afternoon drinks and snack chat. 
 
People need to feel connected and digital platforms allow for this. It doesn’t take away the missed human element of being in the same room at the same time, but in this current climate, staying safe and alert means staying home and away from others. Virtual is the new normal right now, digital is the platform

The way in which we communicate, collaborate and manage our disparate and remote teams, can be the difference between a disengaged or an engaged and happy workforce.

5. Feedback
Internal communications is essential not just for the management of teams but also for keeping them a part of the company culture and abreast of developments no matter how big or small. People like to know how they are positively impacting on company growth and what the business strategy and direction is.
 
Internal communications professionals need to get more creative now teams are working from home and can no longer ‘feel’ a part of the team, company culture, they need to feel this by way of good communications and creative delivery.

They need to believe and virtually feel a presence in the business that they are a part of.
 
Virtual working is the new normal
 
We are not going back to office life as we once knew it, we cannot afford to avoid the remote working communications issues, we need to find out what barriers to good communication are within the business and iron out any kinks.
 
If in doubt, speak to corporate communications experts who can work with your teams and mangers to put a framework in place to ensure good communication becomes a part of your business culture and ethos.
 


To find out how the team at 3Eight can help, do get in touch [email protected]
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