How to support your employees and the people you work with

Guest expert Lady Janey tackles how to support your employees and the people you work with

These are difficult times for the nine million people on furlough – and countless others now going back to work. It’s hard to know what your rights are and what life will be like after lockdown.

At Resolver, we’re all about helping making this process easier, so we asked top consumer rights blogger and campaigner, Lady Janey, to come up with 10 tips for businesses to follow so they’re taking care of their teams.

10 ways to take care of your team

‘Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your business’, said Richard Branson. I bet there’s a few Virgin staff who might beg to differ right now, but when it comes to the message, I wholeheartedly agree. You might think that the heart of your business is your customer base but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are no customers without a strong team and in these uncertain times it’s more important than ever to take care of them.

It’s a fact that engaged, motivated, well supported and appreciated employees are happier in their work and that this in turn leads to higher productivity, greater profitability and increased loyalty. But how can this be done in these unchartered waters?

In the absence of a rescue anytime soon, we need to be more innovative in our approach to looking after our teams to ensure that we’re strong enough to get to shore when the storm has passed. Here are my top 10 tips on how to get there:

Be flexible with working arrangements both during and post lockdown. People are gradually returning to work and with that comes increased worry regarding making arrangements accordingly. Treat each case individually; no one is ever just a number.
Be honest and inclusive. Provide regular honest updates to your team about the state of play and what you are doing as team leader or manager to ensure the best outcome for all concerned. There is no ‘I’ in team, we’re in this together.
Encourage all employees to share how they are feeling and what they are doing both at home and at work. Send e-cards for special occasions, initiate group Zoom catch up sessions to focus on wellbeing and keep lines of communication firmly open.
Praise contributions from your team as often as possible. If this cannot be done in person, then set up a weekly appraisal email or initiate a ‘employee of the week’ programme. There’s always something that someone has done well and which deserves recognition both in and out of the workplace.
Lead by example. If you want your team to be motivated, inspired, supportive and engaged then that motivation, inspiration, support and spark of engagement needs to come from you.
Relate to your team by putting yourself in their shoes. There is currently a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty with regard to job security. These concerns need to be addressed and employees empathetically supported accordingly.
Ensure everyone has access to the resources they need. By this I don’t just mean what they require in order to work remotely. People need to know where to turn to for advice, support and help should the need arise.
Be innovative in how you diversify your business. There isn’t just one way to do things and the way you’ve always done things may not necessarily be what you want. However, it might just be the best option.
Be open to ideas. In order to survive in the current climate, it’s going to take a real team effort to get back on track. Tap in to the strengths of your team so that every single possibility can be explored in the bid to survive in turbulent times.
Take care of your team so that in turn they can take care of you and your customers. When you go through the toughest of seas together, the more united you become.

Check out Lady Janey’s blog on all things customer service related here: https://ladyjaney.co.uk/ Janey is a regular commentator on TV and in the papers and her blog is a blast.

And don’t forget Resolver can help you with any complaints or problems you have with pretty much any business in the UK. https://www.resolver.co.uk/