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The virtual employee experience

COVID-19 is forcing us to drastically redefine the way we work. The most agile companies planned it and have implemented teleworking policies. However, what about the employee experience in this context? Since teleworking is now part of the reality of the workforce, we must adapt to change. It is time to wipe the slate clean and rethink the employee experience.

Recognize the personality color of your employees to implement practices that meet their needs

The extroverted employee will experience this new reality in a different way than the introverted employee. While the extroverted employee needs to be connected with others in order to feel energized, the introverted employee will tend to be happy in partial isolation. You can adapt your management approach according to the personality profile of your employees. Make sure you provide them with the opportunities they need to be in tune with their new reality.

Formally or informally, regularly survey (new) needs in the context of teleworking

If there is one thing that we have learned over the past year, it is that needs change and evolve. The reality that employees embraced yesterday may not be tolerable today. Employees who didn’t choose this teleworking arrangement may have a harder time adjusting. The prolonged duration of collective efforts and the additional measures required by the government do not help employees to feel empowered. The health of employees depends in part on your ability to support them during this time.

Rework communication channels

Instant messaging, email, cellular and social media are just a few examples of communication channels used in organizations. It is important that employees are comfortable with the tools and do not hesitate to call on colleagues when needed. By sharing Outlook calendars, employees also have visibility into the availability of their colleagues. On the other hand, we must not go overboard and cause communication saturation by having too many channels and receiving too many messages, especially after regular office hours.

Organize team building activities

There are all kinds of activities teams can do online. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at Iceberg Management, we have organized among colleagues a murder mystery game, a treasure hunt, a Scategories game, virtual 5 @ 7 cocktail hours, team lunches, remote group training, recognition sessions in addition to encouraging connection via mobile physical activity applications. And that is just a small part of what we put in place to make sure our team has an unparalleled employee experience.

Your employees are also aware of the various activities that are available online. Probe them. Do not hesitate to organize collective intelligence workshops to update your practices. Opportunities are waiting to be created to strengthen your teams.

By Andrée Mantha, M.Sc., CRHA

HR Blog Editor – Iceberg Management