With the impact of Covid-19, companies across the world are having to get creative with how their staff can work together safely. While many teams are able to go back to the office, others are suddenly finding themselves working remotely for the foreseeable future.
Here is a look at the specific challenges of remote working, along with 5 ways that HR can support remote teams.
Potential Challenges
Despite having access to numerous remote working tools like Zoom, Slack, and Trello, working remotely can still pose many challenges for teams of all sizes.
Some of these challenges include:
- Helping teams communicate virtually
- Finding the right mix of technological tools and platforms for project management
- Helping individual team members cope with feelings of uncertainty, stress, and loneliness
- Facilitating a healthy work-life at home
- Keeping employees engaged with the company
- Keeping employees adequately informed and updated
5 Ways HR Can Support Remote Teams
Finding the Right Tools
With everyone away from the office, it can be difficult to figure out which technological platforms your team needs in order to work together effectively from home. An HR team can help you to assess your situation and find the perfect mix of tools, equipment, and platforms to facilitate a healthy and efficient virtual working environment – without overwhelming your staff with new technology.
Additionally, HR can also support you with:
- Coordinating equipment and sending it out to your employees.
- Setting up new online accounts for relevant team members.
- Creating technical training materials and guides.
Empowering Managers with Training
It is important to remember that your managers have probably never had to manage a remote team before – and they could benefit from some focused training on how to manage virtual teams in a supportive and effective way.
An HR team can often lead sessions like this for you in the form of a webinar or a “lunch & learn” via Zoom. Alternatively, they can also help you to find a quality training program from a third-party vendor that fits within your budget.
Boosting Morale with Fun Virtual Events
Employees are used to seeing their work friends and colleagues regularly for lunch, coffee breaks, and other employer-sponsored events. However, with remote working and social distancing, opportunities for non-work-related relationship-building are few and far between.
An HR team can help you to plan and coordinate virtual events to give employees the opportunity to do something fun together. This not only helps to keep morale high in these trying times, but it also gives everyone the chance to reconnect with important work colleagues.
Typical events that HR can help you plan include virtual bingo nights, happy hours, and pub quizzes.
Prioritizing Mental Health
Due to the unprecedented and traumatic nature of the pandemic, mental health is a huge topic that companies of all sizes need to take seriously.
Remember, your employees may be finding themselves having to balance their own work with home-schooling their children. Some may even be taking care of an elderly high-risk relative. Both scenarios can have a huge impact on stress, work performance, and overall well-being.
To help you look after your employees’ mental health, HR can help you find the right support and resources on a number of topics including stress management, depression, anxiety, and grief.
Helping Top Leadership Communicate Frequently
Due to the uncertainty of Covid-19, your employees now require more frequent communication from top leadership than they did before the pandemic. And while most employees don’t expect you to have all of the answers all the time, at the very least they do expect an open and regular flow of communication from the top.
To help with this, HR can support you with a number of activities including crafting email campaigns, putting together informative videos, and even hosting virtual town halls. These activities can help your employees feel informed, reassured, and supported in their roles throughout the entirety of the pandemic.