It is our third lockdown and many of us continue to work from home. While it has its benefits, such as not getting up so early in the morning and not having to sit in traffic jams, not having constant interruptions from people dropping into the office or having to dash from site to site for meetings.
However, there are also disadvantages. It can be lonely. It doesn’t suit everyone, there are different distractions such as home schooling and it may be difficult to get motivated. One thing is for sure and that is the need to be even better at communication.
We are also in a position where employees new to the organisation, may have only worked from home and may have only met a few select people in person. Therefore, there is a need to not only communicate well but build relationships and develop trust with new colleagues or direct reports.
Here are my top tips to communicate and build relationships.
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- Understand your own feelings and mood and how this can impact on your interactions with colleagues. When are you at your best and most affable? Choose this time to have meetings and work on your own projects when you know your mood can be lower.
- Be empathetic and think about what your colleagues are dealing with. Are they home schooling and juggling work, do they live on their own or are they worried about loved ones? Ask how they are coping, compare your experiences if you too are home schooling for example.
- Facial expressions give away our thoughts and feelings. Take care when using Zoom or Teams when your face is centre stage! Avoid multi-tasking, it is obvious when you are answering e-mails and not really listening, even when you think you are being subtle!
- We all like a bit of reassurance especially when situations are new or difficult, so don’t forget to praise others and give them a lift, but always ensure it is genuine.
- Don’t jeopardise your reputation for being reliable, keep your commitments, do what you say you are going to do and message people if you’re going to be late to an online meeting.
- Meet regularly, it’s much easier to get together for short periods of time to catch up. More frequent, shorter meetings are more effective at keeping the team engaged when working remotely.
- Consider how you might promote team bonding. Could this be through regular ‘fun’ activities to allow you all to laugh together – an hour at the end of the week every month where you have a quiz? Or can you afford to do some team training, picking a subject that allows good discussions, or maybe reviewing at team goals and expectations.
There are lots of ways to keep engaging your team, keep communicating and building relationships. It may take a little more thought and may take a little more effort, but the rewards will be a happier and more productive team.
Do you need help with team training?
Get in touch if you would like some help with team training in areas such as emotional intelligence, communication, building trust or persuasion skills. See my whole library of available training titles at; https://jmcoachingwestmids.com/services/on-site-training/
