FROM Myriam Best

Communication

Clear, timely communication is especially important right now. Even if you don’t have an answer to all the questions, you shouldn’t wait too long to issue an honest statement. Communicate often, transparently and regularly. For example, let your staff know that you will be contacting them twice a week. But also give them the opportunity to ask questions at any time. Answer general questions on an internal platform.

Mental wellbeing

Your employees should never feel abandoned. They will welcome support from their employer.

At work

• Support your staff that are struggling with working from home. You’ll find some helpful tips here.
• Provide stress prevention tips, e.g. mental exercises.
• Make sure that teams stay in contact with each other. Encourage online meetings and telephone calls rather than email communication alone.
• Virtual coffee breaks or after-work drinks also help to maintain communication within a team.

Private life

Not everyone will find spending so much time at home easy. Some will be spending more time than usual with their partner or family, while others will be spending more time than usual alone.

Support your staff outside work hours too:

• Share helpful articles or websites with your team.
• Our partner, Professor Bodenmann, is currently offering free couples coaching. Especially now, a healthy relationship can make a considerable contribution to the wellbeing of your staff, and relationships are under strain now more than ever. You are welcome to share the Link with your staff. Let them know that Professor Bodenmann treats all sessions with the utmost discretion and will not share anything with you, their employer..
• For staff feeling lonely, you could set up virtual spaces to meet after work e.g. online game sessions. Start up challenges and initiatives where your staff can have fun or discuss with others: a push-up challenge for the sport lovers, a cooking challenge entailing everyone cooking the same recipe, or a book exchange where employees send a book for someone else to read. There’s no limit to the creativity.

Physical wellbeing

Physical wellbeing impacts mental wellbeing. There are also ways that HR can support staff here: help them set up a home office. Remind them to stand up, open the window or do some relaxation exercises every now and then. Give nutrition and work-out tips, recommend yoga videos or strength training exercises. Leaving the house regularly is still allowed, and even recommended by the government.

Newsletter, push notifications, video messages

There are various media suited to getting across these tips, tricks, challenges and information. Why not send out a weekly newsletter summarising your own recommendations, an internal challenge and the latest company updates? Remind them to stand up while working, drink enough water and get some fresh air to blow the cobwebs away. Get creative and send your employees a video message. We’ve set up a radio station for our staff, so they can voluntarily tune in every Wednesday to get the latest updates from the company or ask their own questions. Change and variety are more important than ever. Lead your employees through this crisis with optimism, confidence and a pinch of creativity.