As we close the door on what many have called the longest and possibly the toughest year ever, it’s time to start looking to a brighter future. With a vaccine now approved and distribution under way, companies can begin to truly dream about business getting back to…well, usual. While your current list of goals for 2021 may just be to dig out from the mess that was 2020, we encourage you to really dig deep this year and think about what your company and employees are truly going to need across the next year. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the top goals we think companies should shoot for in the new year.
Promoting health and safety:
After the global pandemic we have all endured, it goes without saying that maintaining a healthy and safe work environment should be a front of mind goal. Depending on your business type, you may have employees working all remotely or you may have managed to bring everyone back in-house (albeit likely under very different circumstances from our pre-pandemic times). Now is the time that many companies are considering when and if they’ll be bringing workers back into the workplace and what that might look like. Those that have been in person, meanwhile, should be thinking about how they will adapt as restrictions are slowly lifted. That said, now is the time to think about polling your workers to best understand what they feel they would need in order for business to resume as normal. Once you’ve got your finger on the pulse and understand their expectations, you can go ahead and start making changes to your physical workspace or schedules to remain safe (and compliant, since ensuring a safe working environment is a requirement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Emphasizing employee wellbeing:
Since the pandemic happened, most of us have had to dig in our heels and just focus on survival. As a result, taking time to actually workout and engage in activities that promote health and wellbeing have likely been pushed to the back burner…until now! Make 2021 the year that you do what you can to get your employees back into a state of wellness. Members of Abel HR, for example, can participate in our Employee Assistance Program(EAP), which seeks to connect workers with access to short term, confidential counseling and mental health services. Should the problem be beyond the scope of the EAP, the qualified staff will connect you to folks who can provide more in-depth assistance. Other ideas for ramping up wellness in the new year include allowing employees to sign up for local online fitness or yoga classes (bonus points for giving back to an industry that has been hard hit by Covid!) and simply giving employees a little flexibility in their schedules to try to achieve the (now even more elusive!) work-life balance.
Amping up communication:
This whole pandemic has led to job uncertainty and insecurity for all but the most essential workers. With this in mind, a major 2021 goal should be to take steps to address your workers concerns. This year make it a point to be as transparent as possible, meaning, if your business remains in turmoil, go ahead and let your workers know that things are still uncertain and what your plan is to be able to sustain your company. Do not demure if layoffs are a possibility, instead talk about what else you are able to do before making layoffs and provide any details about what such a process might look like, including which departments might be impacted and how many folks you would need to let go. By providing as much information as possible, you prevent employees from getting spun up in the possibilities and instead help to foster trust.
Revisiting training:
There are very few people who can say that the way in which they perform their job was unchanged in 2020. Acknowledging that the vast majority of your company is now doing a job that is very different from the one that they began the year in, you may need to think about how your training needs will evolve. One area that is expected to prove popular as we continue to work from home is training on various technology platforms so that your workers can work even more effectively in the new year. Another consideration is figuring out how you can keep up with annual trainings and certifications when you can no longer have people in the office in the same capacity, be it offering virtual trainings or staggering in-person opportunities so that you can remain up to date.
Revising your culture:
Along with job changes and shifts in company needs, chances are your company culture had some significant setbacks in 2020. With so many companies now operating either entirely online or under a hybrid model, you will need to rethink how you can establish a sense of connection to your company’s core values, especially if much of your culture was tied to being able to be together. For your part, you should identify which events or traditions in your office are tied to your culture and that employee’s value and then find a way to adapt them to the remote environment, such as offering virtual pub quizzes or other opportunities to foster camaraderie.
