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The global pandemic crises resulted in virtual work arrangements that impacted how employees were managed and interacted with. It forced change and rattled some of us into operating in ways we weren’t comfortable with and didn’t fully adopt in the past. Virtual work reinforced that employees could work anywhere in the world with confidence under a more flexible relationship with their supervisors; they can grow and be productive in self-directed, collaborative, inclusive and communication-centric environments.

Virtual platforms like Zoom gave employees access to their supervisors that they may not have had before. Those square boxes provided everyone with the same amount of visibility and space at the meeting table.

Supervisors spent more time communicating with each other and their direct reports. All those virtual meetings among team members required them to talk to each other to accomplish tasks. Maybe work became more humanized as we virtually experienced each other’s home life seeing that they had a pet too, and kids vying for attention. Increased understanding of the other person perhaps facilitated consensus and actions.

“Some companies had winning cultures pre- and during pandemic, some didn’t. Which ones will continue to put people first and be ‘Great Places to Join, Work, Develop, and Stay’? Which ones have changed from old school to forward-thinking when it comes to employee engagement, culture, and policies? Which ones will not have learned much? It’s too early to tell the impacts on talent acquisition and retention; 2022 will really be the year to ‘watch’!”, says Jane Baczynski, Managing Director of Talent Acquisition Consulting at FokusPoint Digital.

Employees are saying that they want it to continue: that is, to be effectively engaged. Virtual or hybrid work arrangements will vary and may not remain for some of us depending on the job and business. But employees want to take the positives experienced and make them the “new normal” not the “same normal” prior to the pandemic: organizations need to address how to effectively engage their people to both attract candidates and retain employees.

Strategies to become a more inclusive, collaborative, and employee-engaged culture:

1. Begin with believing in the best in people. Take a half-full, not half-empty management approach with employees. People will respond positively when treated with trust and a chance to create and contribute.
2. Ask employees for their ideas, what they need and what they would do differently?Engage staff in the solutions process. The “Start, Stop, Continue” is a team building exercise for this purpose.
3. Employ what I call the “Five A Lots”: walk around a lot, talk a lot, ask a lot, answer a lot, and listen a lot. Over communicate, repeat critical messages, and explain reasons around why so everyone understands. Be transparent and accessible to break down communication barriers.
4. Be open to a change in mindset and approach with the courage and thick skin to listen. I do not suggest asking employees what they think unless you are really open-minded to what you may hear and are prepared to respond with action.
5. Define the qualities of an engaged workforce culture and act and hire accordingly. Ensure your leadership team demonstrate these skills as they are role models for the rest of the organization.
6. Integrate required skill-sets into the performance management process. Reward the required behaviors and develop them where the need is identified.
7. Evaluate replacing the bullies. Both dictatorial leaders and employee bullies create a toxic and unhealthy workplace. People leave because of people.
8. Utilize cross-functional project teams for new initiatives. This enables different areas to provide their input and share expertise.  You can evaluate work group performance not only for meeting deliverables, but also on how individual members behaved as a team member.
9. Provide tools and resources to do the job. This could include helping people open doors, removing barriers, and being their sounding board as needed.
10. Give credit and constructive feedback. Tell people when they are good, and why it was good, and tell them when their work isn’t so good, then guide and coach them.

Aramini Management is a management and business consulting practice. Since 2005 we have assisted organizations in the corporate, educational and non-profit arenas execute management and operational improvements to attain their goals and better engage their customers and staff.