During the Coronavirus Transition, 4 Things Your Team Will Need From You

Most of us have spent nearly the last two months in what feels like a constant state of transition. At first, it was trying to keep up with states closing and adding stay-at-home restrictions. Then it was managing within those guidelines while trying to introduce new services such as curbside pick up or customer delivery, or partnering with new vendors to offer those types of services. At the same time, many retailers furloughed significant portions of their teams, while trying to plan for what a new future would look like. Change is the new norm. Not that change wasn’t already a significant part of our world before, but the pace has picked up and the degree of change required is much steeper.

As states and stores begin to reopen, all of these things from the past couple of months will likely continue, if not increase even further in terms of speed, necessity, and uncertainty. It is nearly impossible to predict what will happen next or how customers will react. New expectations will be upon us and will be in flux for many months to come. Everyone is adjusting what a world in which no one has ever experienced these circumstances. Trying to keep our teams engaged, calm, and eager to move forward for intrinsic reasons will be another challenge every business faces.

Whether the teams are still waiting for an opportunity to go back to work or if they are just getting back into your business, there are some things that every employee will need and appreciate to help them transition into the next phases of our new reality.

Information

Information and transparency is paramount in this ever-changing world. Even if the information is unchanged, people will assume that leaders know more. Sharing what you do know on a regular and predictable timeline will help establish trust and continuity in providing updates. If there is nothing new, state as much. And reinforce the information that is available and the timeline for another update. People always assume there is more to know and that leaders have that information. That is not always the case, but it is important in a fast-changing environment to share what can be shared as soon as possible. Most importantly, people want to know what will be important to them. It is nice to hear about the company information, but, ‘what does that mean to me?’ is the real question people want answered.

Understanding

Many people are scared by the uncertainty they face. Unemployment is higher than it has been in most of our lifetimes. Just a few months ago, the joblessness rate was at a record low. Now many adults find themselves in a situation that generations have not experienced. Empathy is now at a premium. Employees want leaders to understand their situation. While unemployment payments are available and stimulus checks have begun to flow - these have been slow to materialize or difficult to obtain in the past few weeks. Knowing that these payments will not last forever, people are anxious about what this will mean for them in a couple of weeks. Putting ourselves in their shoes is important to help them through a difficult time. Even employees that are coming back to work will have concerns about the future and the stability of their job, their hours, and the company they work for. Take extra time to consider those points of view as you are working with and talking to your team.

Activity

People want to feel as though they are doing something to help the situation. The run on toilet paper was an example of that in the early stages of the current crisis. People didn’t know what was happening or what to do, so they took action on what they could and began to hoard essential items. Now people want to have activities they can do that will help them feel as though they are stabilizing their situation or the business they are in. Provide those opportunities wherever you can. With many people still furloughed, this can be difficult. But even providing recommendations for their own development while on furlough can give them something they can work on while they wait to come back to work.

For those that have come back to work, or never left, connect the actions to how that will help for the future. Many retailers and other businesses have begun to offer services that were not available before companies started shutting down. Getting the team to see how those can translate into the future will allow them to see the importance of the work they are doing right now.

Plan

Everyone wants (and needs) to plan for what is ahead - paint a picture of things that will be coming down the road. How will the company survive? How will the business change? Remain open and honest. This is not a place to paint false hopes or make empty promises. Even if these are early stages of a plan, it is important to let people know that there is work being done to update the vision, to redefine purpose (if needed) and to begin laying the groundwork for new missions. Most will understand that there are still many things to be determined and plenty of unknowns to work through, but a foundation from which to rebuild is what everyone is hoping to hear.

These are starting points and are not all-inclusive, but these are also cyclical and repeatable. Once you get the plan in motion, it returns back to providing information, remaining empathetic, creating activity, updating the plan. These are relevant even when we are not managing in a crisis environment, they only take on added importance in these types of situations. In the past, under normal circumstances, cycling through these may have been measured in months, but now must be cycled through in days and certainly no more than a week or two. People have a heightened sense of concern and they are bombarded with media information that more often than not paints a bleak picture of returning to business, so they will count on you to help bring stability and calm to their lives.

How will you build a platform for sharing information, showing empathy, creating activities, and defining a plan for your team?

Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills all at no cost. JOIN NOW!

No spam ever - just leadership goodness.

Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash