Managing Your Team During a Pandemic: Tips and Tricks That Can Maintain Productivity

The Coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented time where more companies are allowing employees to work remotely than any other time in history. Certain companies are finding that it is quite easy to manage the transition while those that are more hands-on with staff could be struggling. These companies might go fully remote as the overhead cost of a large office space eats directly into overall profit margins. Other companies will increase the number of remote employees and downsize their current space. Managing your team is going to take a detail-oriented approach as some employees will need more motivation than others.

Set Clear Daily Agendas/Productivity Goals

Setting clear productivity goals needs to be done as there will not be management lingering over the shoulders of staff. Clear goals for what tasks need to be done during the day can be easy to manage. Project management software is going to help with this immensely with the ability to send work to the entire team. Productivity goals could be that of writing a specific amount of content during the week for a copywriter. For the marketing department, this could mean reaching out to various publications and influencers for potential partnerships. The ability of the entire team to see how everyone is producing can provide motivation for those on the lower end of productivity.

Communication In Between Coworkers Might Not Change for Some

Communication from department to department has become seamless with instant messaging and messaging within project management platforms. Recap emails should be sent after meetings or calls where employees are checked on. Video calls can be a great way to catch up as many coworkers that have spent years together have formed truly special bonds.

Communication has changed even between doctors and patients with plenty of patients utilizing telehealth services for the first time. A number of medical providers use Zoom or other similar video conference platforms. Restrictions have been lifted during the Coronavirus which allows for billing and payment to be the same as virtual visits were billed differently than physical appointments for Medicare/Medicaid patients.

Client communication needs to be a top priority during this time. Keeping clients updated on current orders or campaigns can provide comfort during a stressful time. While clients might pause certain orders or services ordered being supportive during this time will allow your company to drive client retention numbers up!

Reward/Recognize Those Working at Superior Levels

Recognition in a weekly recap email or during a weekly meeting for those excelling while working at home is important. Offering the possibility of increased remote working time during the year after the pandemic can be a huge motivator. Being able to work from home a few days a week eliminates commutes and provides ultimate convenience a few times weekly.

Sales Can Optimize Processes With Lead Number Shrinking

Sales processes might not be optimized as the sales team is always working on a healthy number of leads generated by marketing/advertising. Taking the time to automate things like follow-up emails and upselling dates to schedule talking about investing more monthly. Sales pages should also be looked at and A/B testing be done to make sure leads are landing on pages that convince them to purchase/contact the sales department.

Do Not Stop Marketing at This Time

The stoppage of marketing at this time can spell disaster for business after the pandemic has ended. Digital marketing which includes SEO directly impacts the amount of traffic a website receives due to various keyword rankings. The pandemic can be a time to revamp the marketing approach and catch up to competitors that have halted their marketing effort. Thee Digital, a marketing agency in Raleigh notes on their blog, “If your brand runs campaigns on social media, now may be a great time to double down your social media marketing efforts. Attention is in high supply and the competition may be pushing pause, giving you a unique opportunity to get noticed.” Marketing is a process that should not stop unless you want growth to be stagnant after the pandemic has subsided.

Managing your team during a pandemic is likely presenting new challenges than ever before. Take this challenge as a test of your management skills as the top feature of a great manager is being able to adapt to adverse conditions.

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