Retain Top Talent

As I have been teaching in my Complimentary one hour Vistage Workshops on Managing Remotely in a Crisis - this is a horrible method to manage performance. It's micro-management and "big brother" looking over your shoulder. It basically says we don't trust you. It's the easy way of out defining real performance mangagement like outcomes, deliverables, expecations, metrics, and KPIs. STOP using monitoring software. It creates a culture of mistrust.

The problem with studies showing that the trend with remote work is increasing and will continue to increase/speed along due to the COVID challenges.

The unfortunate news is that most companies are ill-prepared to managed remote workers. I'm covering 8 key points in my 90 minute Virtual Vistage Workshops on Managing Remotely in a Crisis. The lack of pivoting, innovation, best practices, and changing cultures due to remote workers is almost zero. Most organizations are applying the same tactics of managing they've been using in physical proximity over the last few decades. It DOES NOT WORK anymore.

Expectations of work performance are non-existent, employee engagement and productivity is weak. communication is horrific, and employees feel cast aside, lonely, out of sync with the team and culture.

Let's fix these fundamental problems of how to manage remotely before throwing more people into home office environments.

I've found the research and insights from the Gartner group to be outstanding. They've published a series of podcasts on managing remotely during this Corona Virus Crisis. Might be worth a listen.

Employees Unhappy with their employers. Big surprise here!

I'm surprised the number is not higher with most employers not doing anything of substance different than before the Corona Virus.

This level of dissatisfaction, disengagement, and unhappiness is only going to increase substantially over the next two months.

Are you managing as if nothing has changed?

The article on Forbes attempts to dispel the traditional command and control management approach of time studies and tracking how much people are in front of their computers.

"If your company’s culture is based on micromanagement, think about how to manage the transition away from it."

Let's transition to using OKRs, outcomes, deliverables, expectations, KPIs, and metrics to determine if people are being successful instead of control mechanisms to see when they are working.

This article made me sad to read given the high percentage of people working from home right now. Here's the quote that got to me:

remote workers felt shunned and left out. Results showed that the remote cohort was more likely to feel unrepresented, and ganged up against by colleagues.

What are you doing to prevent your employees from feeling shunned and left out, isolated, ignored, cast off, not cared for?

In working through the webinar I've been conducting for Vistage Groups and members over the last few weeks, many CEOs have admitted to not communicating enough, not providing enough specific direction on expectations, and not embedding a sense of caring, compassion, and empathy into their culture.

Let's fix this right now! The steps are simple, and the technology exists to facilitate a more effective remote work culture.

I'm starting to conduct deep research on the process of managing a remote remotely. This article addresses a couple of issues many companies and remote workers are facing - the security issues around connecting to corporate networks through consumer home wifi routers, and how to carve out an effective home work space.

Now that I've done about 25 webinars for Vistage groups and members on How to Manage Remotely in a Crisis - a pattern of the most common issues facing companies are beginning to emerge. I'll share some of the best practices I've discovered from my clients in this space to overcome these issues.

Interesting article bordering on an intellectual discussion of operating models/theory. Do you use an agile model to navigate in times of crisis or do you return (or not change/pivot) from your traditional model of decision making, innovation, ideation, change management, implementation and execution?

Most companies have their executive teams wrining their hands, holding their head in their hands, and wondering when the crisis will end so they can return to business as normal.

We're never going to return to business pre-Covid. Let's embrace that reality now. Given that we must change and pivot, what's the first step?

You've probably heard me say over and over that one-to-ones are the most important managerial tool you have for coaching and retaining high performers. This article shares some specifics around creating a culture of doing one-to-ones. It's especially important if you're now managing remotely.

Some really good ideas to "sharpen the saw" as Covey called it around sustaining and amplifying employee engagement during a time when people feel isolated, lonely, out of sight/out of mind, and disconnected from the culture.

Which one of these ideas are you currently working on  OR which one appeals to you to start working on?
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In my Vistage webinars for Groups and members on Managing Remotely in a Crisis - one of the biggest concerns CEOs express is how to maintain their culture wth a remote workforce.

This article specifically addresses that issue and starts with the recommendation to nail down your values.

Here's my favorite quote from the article:

“Company culture comes from the people, not the physical space they inhabit.”

Good reminder about the stress and anxiety your employees are suffering and how to listen, show you care, and demonstrate  empathy. I like to the family channel idea on Slack and the idea of laying out an employment plan to your workforce to reduce the stress of whether they will have a job in 2 weeks.

Here are some good tips for employees about how to work at home - especially for those for which this is a new experience. I'm finding most of my clients are NOT providing coaching and resources to help their employees be more effective as a remote worker. The assumption is just work the same as you did in the office - nothing could be further from the truth. Your employees desperately crave your guidance, coaching , and support in how to be productive and successful while working from home.

Sometimes we overlook simple things in managing people - especially remotely. This article references numerous studies that show employees want information from the CEO and direct manager. I'm finding in my workshops on managing remotely for Vistage groups and member companies that the number one element is weak communication.

I really liked the recommendation in this article about front line managers building other rituals and structures with their teams to improve the sharing of information, fun and team building, and overall interaction.

Most people feel alone, isolated, and separated at home - how can you help them feel like they are part of the organization and that they matter?