By Businesses are beginning to restructure their operations, with leaders seeking to understand a relatively new professional environment. Remote working, for example, was once a divisive mode of operation that, while not short of supporters, remained outside of the mainstream. Now, centralised working spaces and offices are slowly being usurped by teleworking professionals, creating new dynamics and structures within businesses.
At the same time, physical and mental health is being given far more consideration too, with businesses becoming more insistent that sick days are taking and that support, such as workplace counselling, is offered more readily. Both of these examples go against historically widespread stigmas, with sick days often being associated with laziness and poor mental health being hidden behind physical ailments. In our post-pandemic society, these stigmas are disappearing.
One cost of this changing business landscape is that habits and practices, especially those of managers and department heads, are required to adapt to the new normal. No longer can managers reach out to employees during the day, catching up with their work over a coffee. Instead, communication is performed virtually, either via video call or email. This hurdle means that interpersonal dynamics and communication change, leaving managers who have previously been confident in their management skills now ill-equipped.
Undertaking management training in London and elsewhere is an increasingly logical choice as many educators are now refreshing their course structures to involve such new considerations. They are now focussing on refreshing managerial skills, adjusting their education to ensure that managers are ready to succeed in new environments.
Another pertinent example is that of the recruitment process. Historically, the hiring of new employees has often been influenced by attitude as much as it has by experience, leading managers to build their employee teams with staff who are likely to complement each other and thrive in a certain type of environment. As that environment changes, so much the hiring process.
Employees who are self-motivated and independent were once an ideal candidate for many businesses. Now, however, they can cause issues since they are likely to overwork themselves when performing tasks remotely. Without constant supervision and the cut-off of shared office space, such employees will soon burn out finding it more difficult to switch off at the end of the day. Alternatively, employees who may have been a cause for concern for their interpersonal skills may now be preferential as they thrive in online communication. Managers themselves may also fall into similar profiles, requiring different oversight and support than before.
So, when beginning to navigate your business in a post-pandemic world, be sure to take into account the new and ongoing needs of your team. By investing the time and resources in retraining your managers, your business will find greater success in the long run, as opposed to any alternative. Departments and individuals teams will learn from those leading them and, by instilling your managerial team with these new skills, you ensure that the wider staff follow in their footsteps.
