Workplace Communications During COVID-19
January 7, 2021
by Mark E. Hairr, UT Knoxville Director of Parking & Transit
I’m sure everyone has been facing a variety of challenges with effectively communicating during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with ensuring your staff remains engaged with each other while staying on top of their respective projects and responsibilities. The abruptness and unprecedented nature of this pandemic further complicate communications when this issue can already be a challenge in the normal course of business. There are certainly different approaches to communications during the pandemic and these can vary depending on your particular workplace, but at the same time, there are some approaches that tend to be more effective than others.
Something to consider is making a conscious effort to engage with staff beyond relying so much on email. For example, Zoom and other similar communications technologies make face-to-face contact and communications possible and allow you to connect with staff beyond relying so much on impersonal emails. Additionally, the old standard telephone is a tool that should see renewed emphasis by allowing staff to use one-on-one, or group verbal communications to work through issues, discuss complex problems and address a wider range of issues than you may cover in shorter, to-the-point emails.
Other approaches that provide more targeted methods of communications include shared professional development which involves staff interaction, breakout groups, and the like. The benefits of these types of meetings are that they produce meaningful interaction among staff resulting in collaborations that lead to solving workplace challenges that may not be readily accomplished via email.
Although social distancing and other constraints caused by the pandemic are limiting in-person meetings, many organizations are finding they have more time to fill so if you are able to maintain health and safety protocols in-person teambuilding exercises may be appropriate especially if you haven’t conducted these in the past, or in a long time.
As with many aspects of the pandemic, there are likely to be long-term impacts and changes to workplace communications. It is incumbent on management & supervisors to make a concentrated effort to ensure all divisions of your organization are interacting and communicating effectively with a particular emphasis on those staff telecommuting for long periods, those at remote sites, etc., as this will help foster cohesion and contribute to the overall effectiveness of your organization.
