The "New" Future of Work! What do we want to know in a post COVID-19 world?

It has been while since I stroke my keyboard and shared my thoughts but feeling moved to do so. 

I have so many thoughts about the current state of our world as it relates to, the now even more fitting, Future of Work as it is being influenced by the virus. 

Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

Unfortunately, there is no clear outcome in the near future about what we do with the COVID-19 threat. Re-opening is obviously necessary at some point but damn if we do too early and damn if we do it too late. I am just glad not to be in the decisive position to make such a call. However, one thing is for sure, we are just NOT going to go back to normal anytime soon, perhaps for those of us outside of the hot spots, we will move one with some level of caution but perhaps let our guards down a bit and suffer in the second wave of infections. Those affected in the Northeast or Michigan, I am just not sure how they will go back to any level of normalcy.

I have been advising a few ventures closely since the start of the pandemic and have been coaching individuals ranging from mid-level professionals to executives about what may lie ahead in their careers. Even all have exuded positivity about the future of the venture or their career, it is clear that a great deal of uncertainty in the tone of their voices and the content of our conversations.  I have also been in touch with HR/People Ops/Talent Acquisition colleagues at large well-known corporations to learn about their current status and their plans when we return to the new normal.

I have been through quite a few downturns in my career, have seen dark moments but have also seen memorable moments out of those economic downturns from my Recruiting & HR perspectives. I am going to start to pen some thoughts and perhaps share examples and ideas I have experienced in the past and help both companies and individuals with how to possibly navigate these turbulent times. I want to share some actions taken recently yielding good results for companies in terms of how to structure their hiring needs, their downsizing, and overall perspective on what it means to have a full distributed workforce and how to maintain engagement and culture. I also would like to share information about what to do if you have lost your job or are worry about the stability of your current employment.

I would love your input about the topics you would be most interested in. Either as a startup, VC/Investor, any size business (though I am assuming if you are mid-size and larger, you may have enough resources but still love to hear from you), any and all individuals seeking advice about how to manage a sudden remote team, anyone interested in job searching or resume writing.

Either comment or send me a direct message if privacy is required. My list is full in terms of topics but wish to see what is most impactful and thus would love to hear from all of you. If you are someone with expertise in such matters, what would you like to share? Times like these require we all share thoughts and ideas to overcome the current crisis.

Health & Happiness!