Blog

The past 18 months have had an impact on each and everyone of us, for some in a positive way, for others in a less positive way. However, each one of us will have definitely changed in some way.

There are three words, for me, that translate across everything from a people, employee and employer perspective, that are very much in the spotlight living through and out of the pandemic. They are:

1. Individual
2. Communication
3. Engagement (belonging)

Individual/personal - the pandemic emphasised the need for people managers to, more than ever, focus on each individual in their team; to focus on them as a person and then consider what did that mean for the team as a whole; their shared goals. The great people managers and leaders have always done this, however, for those who didn’t previously, this was a new concept. This could be individual ways of working to on-boarding a new employee remotely. A one-size fits all approach was no longer appropriate. It was and is about embedding meaning into work and enabling employees to contribute in the most positive, supportive and personal ways.

Communication - at the start of the pandemic, so much was unknown territory and there was constant communication which changed, more often than not, on a daily basis and it was often less than easy to keep up! It is important, in times of change and transition, to communicate. Though, if we can learn from last year, it would be to not rush, think through any communication and involve employees. One of my mottos has always been “go slow to go fast”. If you have employee forums or representatives, use them. If not, create focus groups specifically to ask for feedback and help create the messages for your business going forward.

Engagement - through the crisis, senior leaders realised they didn’t have all the answers. People were learning as they went and making decisions at all levels; people were “allowed” to take control. The result: employees were able to be innovative because no one had the answers so amazing results were produced and demonstrated how people stepped up. I hope that this way of working won’t change, however in conversations with friends and colleagues, there are some organisations determined to go back to their old ways of working. As more restrictions are lifted, it is as if the past 18 months didn’t happen. Organisations that wish to be inclusive must move beyond making people feel comfortable at work; they should also foster a sense of belonging by giving workers the ability to contribute in meaningful ways to advance team and organisational outcomes.


Realise the great things that were achieved through the pandemic;
Aspire to build on those learnings and ways of working to allow each individual to belong; and
Do as people managers continue to move forward in the way you lead your individual team members and the team as a whole.