How to Support Your Employees during the COVID-19 Crisis

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How to support Your Employees during the COVID-19
Crisis
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The COVID-19 crisis continues to spread rapidly
around the world and its implications have left
businesses counting costs. Beyond the serious
implications on the healthcare industry and the
peoples health, it has significantly affected
businesses and the economy. Businesses
need planning for the coronavirus pandemic and
its implications and while youre dealing with
it, your staff may feel anxious and fearful about
contracting the virus, spreading it around,
losing job or layoff and not being able to pay
the bills.
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Apart from the federal government grants and
financial aid, many small business owners are
likely offering allowances to help keep their
workers safe and financially sound during the
coronavirus outbreak. The ability of your
business to get through the coronavirus lies in
its compliancy, resilience and cooperative
potential and you will need the same from our
employees. For your employees well-being,
whether you have the means or not, here are a few
things you can do to help support your employees
during this COVID-19 crisis.
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Use Technology to Connect With Them
If your employees can work from home, make sure
your business has the flexible remote work
policies in place to help equip your employees
with all the necessary tools and technology to
make the remote work environment a breeze. 
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There are various business software and apps you
can use to make the communication and
collaboration easier with employees such as Slack
for instant messaging, Zoom for video
conferencing, Aircall for sales and support
teams, Zapier to automate workflows, Trello for
tasks management, and Klaus quality assurance
tools for employees performance and reporting.
You can also use a secure sharing service, like
LastPass, to provide employees easy access to
different systems. Select the tools accordingly
and ensure your team has easy access to these.
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Use Flextime and Creative Scheduling
Work management in current uncertain times is
stressful. 
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During the crisis, your employee stress levels
and balancing work and personal priorities can be
challenging to stay focused on the job. Use of
flextime and creative scheduling can provide
support to your employees, preserve self-esteem,
and keep their performance high while working
from home. With flextime, your employees can take
care of their office tasks by scheduling time
that is compatible with their personal duties.
Providing flextime during such a crisis can help
build strong relationships with your employees,
retain the talent, and increase morale, which
should be your acumen as a business owner as well.
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Set Reasonable Expectations
A crisis like this also affects employees
productivity and work quality. Consider setting
reasonable expectations of their time at home.
Priorities your projects and assign work
accordingly. Think of the big picture and let go
of little mistakes or errors made by the
employees. Make them feel control and trusted at
the same time. Set reasonable KPIs and
quantitative metrics that align with possible
outcomes. Encourage them to perform their
responsibilities in the best possible way and
support them along the way.
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Stay Engaged and Crank up the Communication
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The communication in close proximity like the
office is easy and effortless. However, when the
team is working remotely, engaging with employees
with frequent communication can be a problem
especially when they arent used to remote
working. Even for those accustomed to it, it may
feel unstructured and detached. When employees
are working remotely, try to foster a culture of
communication to encourage employees to have
frequent conversations. Provide them with the
tools they need to stay engaged and schedule
virtual meetings to broadcast key information
instead of emails. Be in contact with your
employees regularly and always give a little
nudge if theyve gone silent. The use of
video-chat functions and collaboration tools can
help in keeping the employee engaged.
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Foster your Employee Well-being
Your employee well-being is essential for your
business morale and productivity. Consider
offering tutorials on mindfulness,
stress-management workshops, and virtual social
events for staff like a daily creative challenge
or puzzle or simply suggesting them to go for a
walk can help. Let them know that their
well-being is your top priority and act in a way
that protects their physical and mental health.
Have a clear communication about their health
risks, preemptive actions and available resources
to keep your employees safe, and foster
well-being during the coronavirus crisis.
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The Bottom Line
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While the Covid-19 crisis is ongoing, make sure
to keep yourself and your employees safe and
cared for. In these challenging times, support
from your business can dramatically affect your
employees livelihood. You can also explore
the refundable tax credits for paid sick leave
and FMLA by the federal government to provide
additional benefits to your employees during the
coronavirus outbreak. And if you need financial
assistance to support your employees, consider
applying for small business loans. Remember your
employees are the most valuable asset of your
business and when business gets back to usual,
this support will help your business to a
smoother transition well through and to the end
of the COVID-19 crisis.