Continuing our focus on wellbeing, Elvina Aghajanyan, Head of HR at HSBC in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man advises on the best way to stay connected and engage with employees during social isolation and distancing.
We are living and working in an unprecedented time of change and uncertainty. We are trying to navigate a completely new etiquette. The power of human connection, of kindness and empathy have never been more important.
Social distancing doesn’t need to mean social isolation. And neither does social distancing mean emotional distancing. We need to make a distinction between the two. We should not forget to be civil and we should not stop being human just because we have to keep our physical distance apart. We need to let people know what we feel about that. We can still maintain pleasantries, keep eye contact with people six feet away, be polite and be interested in their wellbeing, showing respect and genuine emotion.
For those who are not technologically savvy, staying connected may simply mean going back to the basics – letter writing, for example, which nowadays seems to be a well forgotten art.
People are generally drawn to face to face contact and voices – so simply picking up the phone and hearing the actual voice instead of texting is another way of feeling connected.
Italians and Spanish have come up with the most entertaining way of socialising – singing on their balconies and celebrating life together even when they are forced to be socially distanced and isolated.
For leaders in any business, any organisation, it is critical to build that feeling of belonging, that sense of “we are in this together”.
- Regularly scheduled meetings, consistent messaging of the true reality, and hopefulness on how the organisation will come through are critical pathways to staying connected and holding people together.
- Autonomy and sense of being trusted, belonging and feeling part of the bigger team.
- Encouraging people to gain new competencies.
These are the core three layers of crisis management to be applied by all leaders (London Business School).
In HSBC, we engaged people managers on the very first day in managing the crisis together. The ask from them was one – to engage people. We needed to encourage them to stay connected and create the environment of trust where everyone would feel they belong and can help each other, our customers and our communities. Learning and development plans have not paused for us and we keep going by just converting face to face sessions to virtual ones.
And the results are amazing – we had to add more touch points and virtual sessions as they are great fun! We have also not stopped our wellbeing initiatives – and we now have more focus on mental wellbeing and creative solutions on how we can support people at times where social connectedness is at risk.
There are a few principles I would like to share that are helpful management tips:
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
One size doesn’t fit all for home working. Our behavioural preferences mean we will manage our self, time and tasks in different ways:
-
- Encourage, share and celebrate variety.
- Show and tell best practices, whether working spaces, working practices, or innovative ways of staying connected.
- There are so many creative ways to keep energy and effectiveness at an optimum when working remotely.
Check in, don’t check up!
Regular means different things for different people, the team is a collective of individuals so take time to think about what works for you as individuals and as a collective. Consider different formats for calls and video conferencing to maintain and build connections. Use video where possible, pick up the telephone over email, whilst a handwritten note in the post can mean the world! Communication is critical – as a team you should agree what works for all.
Remote team ways of working
To support a brilliant remote working team, it is important to create a virtual space that supports productivity, as well as creativity, connection and curiosity. Use the technology you have, as well as other super platforms like Mentimeter and Kahoot, these encourage inclusivity, gamification and play! Consider original ways to ask for daily updates to avoid being overly tasked focused. For example, use song or film titles to share how the day has been.
We are social animals and we love social interaction. All it takes is that extra step to make someone’s day happier – you just picking up the phone is a good start. Together, selflessly not selfishly, we need to look out for each other and we will come out through this stronger and grateful for what we have.
By Elvina Aghajanyan, Head of HR at HSBC in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
