Cultural Management
The current pandemic is no stranger; everyone and every business are affected somehow or the other. We are about more than a year into the pandemic, while most of us have adapted to the “new normal,” so did businesses worldwide. Even though change remains the only constant, the sudden wave of COVID-19 has taught that in many ways. Almost 90% of companies functioned from the office before the pandemic. Despite firms not agreeing to allow employees to work from home, the existing situation compels firms to work from home and dwindle face-to-face interactions that reinforce organizational culture.
With the rise in economic recession among various industries and growth in layoffs, it menace to loosen the social glue that holds companies together.
Nonetheless, the Covid-19 pandemic could deteriorate your organization’s culture. Will your cultural management collapse because individuals cannot meet in person? Will, they not use your culture as a roadmap to make decisions in these chaotic times? How can you, as a company, continue to build and influence culture while most of your organization is operating remotely?
Cultural management and adaptability reflect an organization’s ability to evolve, experiment, innovate and take advantage of new opportunities. Organizational leaders should continue cultivating their culture to help people stay focused on the most critical initiatives even under these continuously changing pandemic conditions.
What Practices Can Organizations Apply To Make Certain That Culture Becomes/Remains Adaptable?
1. Hire or Promote Employees Who Are Resilient and Adaptable
Employees that are resilient and adaptable will dig deep and use their resourcefulness to navigate the intricate uncertainties raised due to the pandemic. Employees with such traits are rebels. They show up with curiosity, perspective, embrace novelty and maintain calmness even when the world is about to flip upside down- they create positive changes.
2. Create a Virtual Office Culture
Company culture is partially characterized by the connections employees make. An impression of community helps improve employee engagement because employees feel more enthusiastic about their work. Following are some basic ways to foster organizations culture management for remote employees:
- Communicate cultural goals: If employees are aware of the corporate vision for virtual office culture, they most likely will comprehend expectations, accept direction, and work towards achieving those goals.
- Host virtual team-building activities: Think about topics and themes that speak about your business or industry, as well as employees’ amusement.
- Schedule regular calls: Research proves that remote workers feel included, informed, and valued with regular formal, one-on-one team calls.
- Create A Devoted Space for Employees to Connect: There are various software available that allow smooth communication among and teams can easily collaborate virtually.
3. Extra Efforts for Cultural Management
Commitment from the executive leadership team is vital for virtual team building to be effective. Diverse and new opportunities to build team culture might seem demanding to accomplish remotely at first. Still, it is worth the extra effort from the cultural management team to keep everyone connected and productive.
4. Communication Is Crucial For Morale
Effective communication is critical during uncertain times, especially with the sudden and unalarmed shift to virtual work and telecommuting. Here are some ways that leaders can address to their teams to influence morale:
- Include employee morale in your crisis plan.
- Be honest and transparent when discussing concerns and frequently asked questions.
- Have a one-on-one with team members and provide them with opportunities to address personal concerns in private.
- Let employees know that you welcome feedback.
- Plan a schedule of regular virtual team meetings to ensure all employees are regularly updated with consistent messaging.
- Be flexible and empathetic.
- Formulate ways for staff to connect and grasp a sense of community.
- Provide guidance on how to work from home effectively.
Managing work and employees during a crisis is never easy, but a company’s choices and actions have an insightful impact on an employee’s morale. Companies must focus on maintaining a healthy organizational culture during the COVID-19 crisis throughout these times of disruption.
Rahy Consulting provides services in the assessment evaluation, planning, monitoring, and management functions in an international and cross-cultural context. We establish consistency between cultural differences and overcome cultural barriers for increased organizational efficiency.
Is your employee’s physical environment affecting productivity? Contact us at contact@rahyconsulting.com to know how we assist your organizations in cultural management.
