The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences. There have been remarkable changes in our personal lives, shifting work practices, social unrest and many other challenges. This has had a major impact on productivity. Fortunately, the pandemic taught us new approaches to managing workers and improving productivity. During the highly disruptive and stressful times, businesses had to find ways to keep their employees motivated and performing.
Here are a few productivity lessons we can learn from the global health crisis.
PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED
The coronavirus pandemic brought major disruptions worldwide. For businesses to survive these difficult times, they had to respond quickly and adapt to the changing events. This made business leaders realize the importance of preparing for the unexpected. Preparation helps you achieve flexibility in case of emergencies, a factor that ensures minimal disruption to your daily activities. This allows you to maintain productivity and face challenging times successfully.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES
Employees are the heart and soul of any company. Nowhere has this been more evident than during the outbreak of COVID-19. Businesses that prioritized the health and well-being of their staff ended up with a more productive workforce. Today, business leaders appreciate the importance of listening to employees and providing them with the support they need. This helps them to focus on their daily obligations, effectively boosting productivity. In addition, the value of empowering staff at every level has become evident.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
The coronavirus disease redefined how people communicate and collaborate. Remote work made it clear that efficient communication during a crisis can help to maintain productivity. To keep workers productive and ensure the continuity of business operations, you need to prioritize communication across teams. This involves installing the right tools and systems to drive engagement and enable the sharing of information. Such tools will allow team members to speak with each other efficiently and securely.
INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY
Having the right technology in place and training employees on how to use it can help your business to survive challenging times. If there is one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it is the real value of modern technology options. Digital collaboration tools like instant messaging, video calls, scheduling tools and project management software help to promote productivity. You can also choose cloud-based applications that make it possible for staff to work remotely.
BACKUPS ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE
The pandemic has shown that disasters can strike when you least expect them. As companies shift to remote work environments, there has been an increase in the number of cyber attacks. Data breaches and data loss can adversely affect business operations and employee productivity. To prevent this from happening, you should protect both your business’ data and employee privacy. Backing up the data securely will ensure it can be retrieved when needed.
ENCOURAGE INNOVATION
COVID-19 brought to the fore the need for organizations to retool and rethink their business models. This will make it easy to adapt to changing events, survive the tough times and succeed. The pandemic has illustrated how beneficial it is to encourage innovation and welcome ideas from employees. This will promote outside-the-box thinking that can help sustain productivity during uncertain times.
THE EXTENDED TALENT OPPORTUNITY
Virtual work environments have given rise to remote recruitment and hiring. This has enabled organizations to recruit talents from different geographical locations. Companies have also realized the potential of this widened talent pool to help build workplace resilience and maturity.
Technology can increase business productivity. At Now IT Works, we provide responsive and personable IT services to help you enhance productivity and prepare your business for unforeseen events. We have a dedicated computer and network team that is ready to serve. Contact us today to learn how we can help align your business with technology.