This has been a tough year for business. The headlines have mostly been negative since the advent of the coronavirus, with talk of recession, depression, and double-dip economic slumps making headlines since March. Moreover, this has been a tough time for local businesses – especially those that have been working hard to stay open as their local areas locked down. In this article, we’ll take a more upbeat tone, looking at how you can boost your business practices, making your team more effective for the post-COVID-19 age.

 

Communication

There can be no better resource than the spoken and written word. It’s what all of your business depends on – from the deals you make in board rooms across the country, to the small tasks that you delegate to your workers. As such, there’s no doubt that getting better at communication will have a huge net impact on your firm. In order to understand communication best practices, this link offers some tips for internal communications within your firm. You’ll also be able to take public speaking and leadership classes – online or in person – to really make your speech that bit more effective for your business’ needs.

Motivation

There’s not been a year like this one since 2008, when unemployment was rising rapidly, homes were being repossessed, and the movers and shakers on Wall Street were packing up their desks and leaving their offices for good. No wonder staff morale has been low recently. Your job, as a business leader or manager, is to try to bring up team morale, boost determination and motivation, and get the job down within your workplace. If you need to put incentives in place to help motivate workers – like prizes, rewards, or team retreats – it’s worth putting them in place this winter.

Leadership

What do you think your workers think of your leadership? Do you expect that they are pleased with your efforts, or that they find you abrasive and difficult to get on with? There are hundreds of different types of leaders: some play the ‘bad cop’ role, while others might be called ‘too nice’ – a pushover for lazy employees. Your managerial and leadership style has a huge impact on the workers around you – and it’s therefore worth thinking about improving how you lead and manage. Remember that the best managers lead by example – so make sure you’re working hard to show your workers what you expect from them.

Fun and Relaxation

It’s going to be a long winter. Your staff might be worried about being jobless come the New Year, or else they may well be staring at a frugal Christmas with fewer people around the dinner table than usual. All this means that they’re in need of a little fun, relaxation, and joy in the workplace – and you can bring this to them with games, after-work drinks, and other events designed to get everyone laughing and enjoying their time together. Work is a big part of your employees’ lives: make it fun, and they’ll work harder for you.

These four tips are aimed at making your firm work better, harder, and faster as the winter of 2020 sets in.