Lockdown has meant that many workplaces now operate online, with employees connecting through zoom or over email. The ability to work from home, for many workplaces, has been a lifesaver. However, sometimes, the added distance between staff can make it hard to work as a team. Good team collaboration is at the heart of every workplace – staff must work together to finish projects, make decisions and keep on top of important tasks. If you are struggling to maintain good team collaboration during the lockdown, you may be starting to notice the knock-on effects that poor teamwork can have on productivity. Luckily, there are many ways that you can enhance your team during lockdown.
Team building
The best way to rekindle good team collaboration is with team building. Team building is used widely across all workplaces to break the ice between staff and encourage strong communication, trust and support. Many of the team building activities that you may have used before will have probably required face-to-face contact. During lockdown, you should try to find ways that you can run a team-building exercise online. For example, the virtual team building activities from Team Tactics include well-known games, such as ‘who dares wins’, creating team building that can be done online. Team building is the best way to create good relationships between staff, which will lead to better communication and therefore better productivity.
Have clear goals
With everything that has happened over the past year, it can be tricky to understand exactly what is going on. Your team may be confused with their roles during the pandemic – especially if they have no previous experience with remote work. You should try to set out clear goals for your team so that everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what needs to be done. Setting clear goals will also help to reassure your team that the company is doing well. The pandemic has caused many companies to struggle, which could be worrying for your staff. Leading in lockdown is all about clear, straight-forward communication with everyone.
Encourage breaks
Working from home can make it hard for staff to switch off. At first, this might increase productivity, but eventually, staff may fall victim to burn-out which will leave them feeling unmotivated and tired. Burnout can lower team morale which is never a good thing. To prevent this from happening, you should remind staff to take regular breaks. You should tell them to structure their day as they would in the office, with an hour for lunch and a maximum of 7 hours working time. This will help staff to step away from their screens and focus on things outside of work. Taking time out leads to a clear mind, so your employees are likely to be more productive the next working day.
