It’s all about balance
It's all about balance
Money makes the world go around, but you need people to get this done. So we need to find a balance between both. And in these days of a virus kidnapping us, it is all about balancing in three areas.
- Healthy business and staff
Healthy business now means cash flow management and close monitoring of expenses vs revenues. In most companies a huge part of the expenses walk on feet. So laying off people could be an easy way of realising some savings. But if business is done by people, who will be there when we have won the battle with COVID19?
- Work and life
The discussion about working remotely has been bypassed by our COVID19-reality. But still we need to realise that a lot of people are struggling with working from home at this moment in time. Think of limited space, no outside, kitchen table as desk, kids running around or even worse they have a side job as hometeacher.
So yes, employees have to manage their own balance here. But as an employer we can offer support by giving flexibility in working times, stimulating them in using the ‘do not disturb’ feature in slack/teams to make focus easier, creating regular informal virtual office moments like a virtual coffee chat/lunch/drink.
- Privacy and care
According to GDPR, as an employer you are not allowed to ask for illness symptoms or other private issues. However, it is now even more important that you do ask them, show them you care for him/her as a person and not only as an employee.
Keep in mind that the way you treat your people in this crisis, will have an impact on the people who are not leaving your organisation. What you give, you get back. So if you can’t make clear that you are a caring employer, who has to make tough decisions but with a warm heart, it will backfire.
Once we won the battle with this COVID19, there will be a new war on talent and you don’t want to be suffering from a new virus popping up then, socalled IDIOT20. For now stay safe and take care!
PS If you are interested in a long read on this, check the full article.