Supporting your people - Digital tools are not a replacement

I mean that they should not be in place to replace human contact, the storytelling, the collaboration and the idea-sharing. Instead, they should be deployed to improve the workplace and to augment the human experience.

Every place of work is unique, and every person is different. Traditional organisations are very hierarchical, and the larger it is, the more layers and people in those layers. Of course, every workplace, be it commercial, not for profit, educational or charity must have some structure, but you can deploy digital tools to help flatten that structure out. That might mean flattening the structure by removing layers. Still, I believe digital should be used to create communication routes, channels and collaborations that up until recently, organisations have not experienced.

Examples

I'll give a simple example of the problem with management layers. In a small business, if an employee, contractor or volunteer has a concern, they can go right to the top and engage with that organisation's leader. But in large or even medium-sized businesses, those lower down the "pecking order" – a phrase I hate but have seen many times –usually have to report to their line manager. They have no route to the top or even the middle of an organisations structure.

This also holds for organisational improvements. How many times has a team member come up with a good idea, be it for a new product, service, better way of doing things or some other thought or innovation? By the time that idea gets to the top, if it ever gets there, it's now the "managers idea", and worse, it's probably been manipulated and morphed into something less useful than the original concept.

What can digital tools do for you?

Digital tools that are used to flatten an organisations structure can ensure our examples don't happen. Of course, they can be just dropped onto an organisations existing structures and use as part of the status quo, but that is not their ideal use. Yes, there will still be departments handling their appropriate "thing" but taking out the layers and fast-tracking communications (and most important, visibility) will make a huge difference, helping create a cultural shift.

Team members can use these tools to "short circuit" the traditional pathways and make themselves heard because that will give them a sense of self-worth, empowerment and self-determination. In other words, they will feel valued because they are being listened to. Listening is one of the critical things every manager or leader should learn. Don't just hear the first five words that come out someone's mouth, make up your mind, and then start being directive.

Instead, listen to their concerns, questions or ideas, take time to process them and then start asking questions. Anyone who has ever taken a course in mentoring or coaching will know that being directive or being a white-knight is not the best course of action. Now you can use the digital tools at your disposal to grow these skills and make a difference.

Which digital tools?

I want to focus on those that can be deployed to enhance, not replace, your new way of working.

One of the elements I first want to highlight is social. I won't call it social media, because there is no media involved here, but I am talking about similar technologies.

The Social Room

A social room, a place to discuss, let off steam, collaborate and share is a great place to start. Apart from proper netiquette, the social room should not have strict rules in place on what is said. It's a free-speech platform that enables voices to be heard. Just make sure though that you have an acceptable use policy because while free speech is excellent, hateful or discriminatory posts are not.

The types of social room you implement will depend on your organisation's size and may even require more than one technology deployed at any one time.

SME's may well be able to start with a private Facebook group, but either as the organisation grows or if it's large, this won't be suitable. Remember that Facebook is a data company, they don't give away this functionality for free, and even though you think your Facebook group is private, it's probably being scanned by FB's automation, and AI systems and the data sold to goodness knows who. For those with sensitive data or proprietary content and even those who don't want their dirty laundry aired in public, FB may not be the best solution.

There are, however, plenty of alternatives out there. I particularly like Microsoft's Yammer platform, which allows an organisation to create a Facebook-like experience for its people. This is one I'd choose if you were concerned over privacy and security (as you should be). In the interests of fairness, though, I should also mention some similar alternatives like Ryver. Be careful in your research though as many platforms purporting to be "social-for-business" are very enterprise-focused and look more like Teams or Slack. That's not what you want here; we aren't talking about productivity tools. Keep it as a "Social Room".

If you are looking to add-on to the social experience, why not take a look at tools like Remo. Remo is a video chat platform that is laid out like a room, with tables and seating areas. When you connect, you don't see a vast quantity of video-tiles like you'd do with Zoom, for example. Instead, you sit at a table and only see the other participants at that table. And if you want to have a private conversation with someone, both of you can just hop to a free seating area. Think of it a bit like a canteen; just bring your own food.

When setting up your social room, make sure everyone is involved. You don't want the executives taking a helicopter view while the troops are on the ground. As I heard recently, everyone needs to get off the dance floor and head for the balcony. So while you may set up rooms, forums or areas for specific conversations, make sure you also have a general chat area/forum where threads can be freely created. Ensure your platform has the ability for "mentions" as well so that the hard-working team on the coalface can quickly bring something to someone's attention. "You are listening, aren't you @CEO?"

HR Platforms

I'll use the term HR because it's widely understood (and misunderstood). Whether you consider yourself HR, People Management, Talent Management or any of the newer terms, digital tools are available to not only make your life easier but to empower your people.

As before though, these tools do not replace the role of the HR person or team. They should be used to augment and improve and remove difficulties. They are also more than just a tool for the HR department. HR tools have been around a long time, typically managing payroll, sickness and holiday/vacation leave and the employee's records. But they have come such a long way in recent times and now are not just a tool for the HR department because they also include features that nearly everyone in the business should be using.

• HR platforms should now also include these functions:
• Interview management
• Paperless onboarding/offboarding
• Achievement/growth management and reporting
• Engagement and Nurturing monitoring

The platform(s) you choose should be accessible by everyone in the organisation, to allow employees to update any of their details, access payslip and performance data on themselves, view holiday/leave entitlement (and request the same).

For those involved in training, they should be able to record an employee's skills, training/development plan and the outcomes from any professional development courses. Choosing a platform that displays awards and learning-gains, and allows employees to see them, is another excellent way to encourage engagement and boost self-esteem.

For leaders, dashboards are essential to see not only your organisations overall direction but to be able to drill down and see those who are performing well or are struggling. If an employee or team member is having difficulty, it's an opportunity for your support networks to spring into action. The statistics from your HR platform should not be used as a stick, but to identify who needs the extra assistance you should be providing.

Health and Safety

Every business and organisation need to take H&S seriously, but it shouldn't be just a box-ticking exercise to ensure compliance. Some organisations do the bare minimum to maintain compliance. Still, a forward-thinking organisation can use H&S as an employee engagement tool, increasing productivity and at the same time looking after it's people.

Again, H&S digital tools are available, and if you are researching these, go for not just a templated, compliance system but look at one that includes policy management AND learning. Combining real-life, instructor or advisor-led H&S programmes (in whatever form) with an excellent H&S platform will give you a great start to building on the compliance and take it forward to the next level. I am by no-means a H&S specialist, and I'd, therefore, recommend speaking to a qualified H&S consultant as part of this journey. Remember, digital tools are an enabler, but H&S impacts on people.

Remote Working

I won't repeat my previous article around remote working tools and systems. What I wanted to cover is some of the other aspects of Remote Working / Work from Home that may be less obvious.

Giving an employee a laptop and assuming they can work at home is not the end of the story. At least not beyond the short-term. A responsible organisation should holistically look at this and consider many other points:

• The workers home environment
• Equipment needed
• Costs to the employee
• Performance & engagement
• Health (including mental health)

When looking at the workers home environment, there will never be a one-size-fits-all approach. If this is your initial roll-out of "mass" remote working, you could consider a questionnaire and try and group your people based on need. There will also be exceptions as well, and you should ensure your implementation can be tweaked appropriately.

Some of your people, especially those with larger homes, may well have an office, study or box-room that will enable them to work well and shut themselves away from some of the distractions that can lead to a drop in productivity. Others may have a dining room or desk in the corner of the living room that, while not as isolated, still provides a safe and semi-ergonomic place to work.

Others may have no dedicated space at all and find it a real struggle, both in terms of comfort and environment when it comes to home working. The outcomes from your employee questionnaire can be used as part of the first steps to ensuring you provide the correct support for your team.

With equipment, some of your team may have a work laptop, while others are expected to use their own device. Regardless of how you are deploying your remote worker's tech ensure you have not only the appropriate policies in place but also a support structure.

You need to consider what equipment may be required beyond the bare minimum. Here is a list to get you started in your thinking on this:

External screen/monitor, cordless keyboard/mouse, laptop stand/riser, printer/scanner, safe power distribution, cable management, lighting, chair and desk, ergonomic support, office supplies, wired or super-reliable broadband, better internet router/firewall.

Costs to the employee can be very variable, and every organisation needs to consider how far it is going to go to mitigate or remove these. Again, there is no single approach. Any of the above items listed in equipment are a cost and who bears what part of that cost is a matter for discussion.

Not having to provide your office staff with expensive office space will save you a lot of money, but you are also saving on cleaning, heating and cooling, refreshments and other sundries. Don't just use home working as an excuse to pocket this cash and leave your employees to pick up the rest. But I also appreciate these are challenging times and it may not be possible for you to fund 100% of a workers desires – but you should support their needs.

The other costs a remote-working employee may experience include things like insurance, heating, electricity and internet access. Depending on the worker, their amount of time working from home and maybe some other factors unique to them or your organisation, you should consider what you wish to do about these.

I would suggest the engagement and performance aspects can be initially handled using the social and HR strategies mentioned above. Your team needs monitoring, and as well as the HR side of this, the worker's department should be involved. Note this is not the same as micro-managing! Support is essential if engagement levels are to be maintained or even improved and as well as support, leaders need to ensure that all their teams have seamless, secure methods of communicating.

Advice for your people around health and mental health is also essential. Ensuring appropriate workload is the first step. If an employee has too much to fit into a day at work, they may stay a little longer in the office to get the job done, but that pales into insignificance when you picture how much longer one of your team could carry on working when at home. Encourage your employees to set boundaries and stick to them, and lead by example.

Working from home can lead to lower levels of exercise. Anyone who's put on a little extra weight during the Coronavirus lockdown can attest to that. So, as well as making an employees workload appropriate, set out guidance around breaks. Don't arrange meetings before 8 am, after 5 pm or over the lunch period. And consider other advice to ensure the members of your team get regular breaks during the day.

In the equipment-needed section above, I discussed a few things that should be factored in when it comes to ergonomics. Working on a laptop all day, in its standard form is neither desirable, comfortable or good for your health. Screens should always be at eye level, so you are not looking down. If you are using the laptop screen, that means raising the laptop up. And if you raise the laptop, you'll need an external (ideally cordless) keyboard and mouse. Alternatively, especially if the screen is small, consider an external monitor. Of course, that then comes back to the working environment and space, but there are other options – for example, deploying an all-in-one PC for knowledge workers who don't need the mobility of a laptop.

Working remotely for long periods can be lonely. It's less likely to impact on team members who have a family, but it cannot be ruled out, especially if the other members of the family are out all day. Remember that in the "old-normal", your worker's colleagues were likely to feel like an extended family; in fact, some great businesses are run with a "family feel" atmosphere. There is no single solution to this, but loneliness can cause a drop in engagement (which is a vicious circle) and can lead to a feeling of disconnection. All of this can have a profound impact on mental health, especially if it's combined with other factors such as stress or financial worries.

If you are implementing some of my recommendations, your social room will help partially with this. Still, if an employee is starting to feel disconnected, they may not even use those facilities, or attend physical, social events (when these are allowed again). Keep an eye out for tell-tale signs and ensure that someone is available to call-up a team-member you may suspect is having difficulties.

Remember, people suffering from mental health issues or other concerns, in whatever form, are unlikely to be the ones reaching out. All it needs to start the ball rolling is a simple phone call. "How are you doing?".