What do my employees need to hear right now?
Q
: I know my employees are going through some stressful times right now. I’d like to let them know I’m here for them but am not sure what to communicate or how. Any thoughts?
Thoughtful leadership is critical right now. Prioritizing your employees by communicating thoughtfully and with empathy can help ensure that your company — and those who work for you — emerge on the other side stronger and more engaged than ever, which supports stronger morale, decreased turnover and better productivity. Here are some tips to help you craft a strategy that lets your employees know you are there to support them.
Be genuine and transparent in your communications.
It is vital that official communications from your company build trust with your employees. Craft your communications with compassion and transparency – and communicate as early, and often as possible. Be forthcoming with new and changing policies and procedures, and always lead with how you are planning to keep your employees healthy and happy amid the changes.
Support their mental health.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If your company offers assistance with access to mental health support, be sure to let your employees know. Gather resources that are available and share them with your teams. Whether a hotline, website with credible information, or free webinar – it’s important to let your employees know you value their mental health.
Build genuine connections for lasting impacts.
Encourage your managers and directors to connect with their teams and direct reports. It could be a formal one-on-one with appropriate social distancing or a fun virtual team engagement exercise. Allowing opportunities for connections to grow is a great way to let your employees know that we’re all in this together, and that they have support from their workplace.
Show gratitude and find innovative ways to celebrate the team.
If you’ve been operating as an essential business, or if part of your workforce is on the front lines, consider sponsoring a thank you lunch for the team. Embrace the new normal with remote workers – host story time for employees with kids, invite people to join virtual workouts, celebrate new, furry coworkers, or host a virtual meditation or happy hour.
Listen.
Find ways to collect honest feedback from your employees. Incorporate a brief survey in your next company update. Encourage managers to have dialogue with their teams. If you have an internal social network, check in on the conversations happening on the chat boards.
You may not have the resources to implement all these action items right away, but we hope that we’ve provided some inspiration for supporting your company’s workforce with good, strong communications.
