Feeling Isolated? Now is the time to work on your relationships

Apr 14, 2020 Matt Moore

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The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in new ways of living and working, and these changes are going to last a while. It’s important to be honest about that. This pandemic will, for the foreseeable future, provide moments for serious reflection both personally and professionally. New work arrangements will afford ample opportunities to assess your personal and professional relationships. Finding ways to nurture and protect these important connections during this time of social distancing should be foundational to your strategy to achieve success in the future.

Developing a clear understanding of how the people around you are being affected by COVID -19 will enable you to respond with authenticity and empathy, and will also shore up your crucial connections during this time of uncertainty. The following framework will help you take inventory of your personal and professional relationships. 

Strengthening Personal Relationships

What are my most important personal relationships? How can I specifically use this time to strengthen those relationships? Can I find novel ways of connecting, both in terms of technology as well as relationally?

  • What can you do to deepen your relationships with close relatives - your children, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, etc.?
  • Have you taken time to check in with your friends from childhood, school, the neighborhood, work, church, and other friends? How can you find out who is hurting most from this crisis?
  • How can you connect with those you know in the community? Consider community members that would appreciate a shout out for their work during this time period. This would include health care professionals, law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders. Front line supermarket workers face stress as high volumes of customers pass through stores, sometimes in close proximity to others. Take a moment to recognize essential workers who are also community members.  Not sure? When in doubt, shout it out.
    • Resilience.org offers a helpful essay on how communities recover from disaster. It’s based on the experience drawn from dealing with Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, and includes lessons from Hurricane Katrina, Tropical Storm Sandy, Hurricane Harvey, California wildfires, and other major disasters.
  • Have you considered outreach to the most vulnerable in your community? Is your local homeless shelter going to be able to handle the pandemic? What do they need? What is happening to the restaurants you love and the people who work there? Is there something you can do to help?

Strengthening Professional Relationships

How has this season of weathering Covid-19 affected my work, both in terms of the experience of completing the work and of the quality of the end product? What are my work habits that are useful during these moments of upheaval? How comfortable am I with embracing these habits? How rapidly can I switch to these new habits?

  • Working from home. Am I able to work effectively from my home? Can I arrange my physical space to be more productive? Can I make arrangements to limit the impact of working at home on my family? Can I cope with working from home on top of added caregiver duties, such as parenting or assisting ill or aging relatives?
  • Video conferencing. Am I set up to facilitate video conferencing for work from my home? Do I need to increase my Internet speed? Should I take a class in making video presentations? Where can I set up a video conferencing space in my home that looks professional? 
    • Many of the online guides to video conferencing stress using good lighting, good microphone, and a good camera. For a more nuanced approach about how to effectively communicate from home, I recommend TechRepublic’s etiquette tips for video conferencing. 
    • From experience, I have found Duarte’s courses in communication very helpful. These tips for virtual communication are relevant and timely.  
  • Staying focused. What are some techniques I can use to keep my day from derailing when working from home? What’s the best way to keep in touch with my colleagues? How can I motivate myself to continue looking for a job, for customers, or for clients?

Strengthening Employee Relationships

Your most important professional relationships are with your employees, and many of them are now uncertain and concerned about their jobs and the future of their work lives. Anxiety is to be expected.

  • How can you bring your employees together so they still feel a part of the team when working remotely?
  • Are you able to identify your most tech-savvy employees, and can they be asked to strengthen bonds among the wider team?
    • This may be your chance to institute reverse mentoring, where younger employees mentor older employees on technology and social media. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has an appropriately detailed guide to reverse mentoring.

  • Do you know which employees face additional burdens at home, such as caring for children or aging parents? Is there something you can do to accommodate their added needs?
    • Some ways to help employees who are having difficulties coping under quarantine are to provide health insurance, health savings accounts, paid sick leave, and a free, confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

  • Do you have a plan for how to handle employees who get the virus, have to be hospitalized, or who die from the pandemic? Your actions at the moment of need will be remembered.

Strengthening Customer Relationships

For many businesses, your customers are your most important relationship. Who are your customers? What can you do to support them now?

  • Do you have a newsletter? If not, this might be a good time to start one, so that you can report to your stakeholders all the things you are doing in this time of crisis to support your employees, your customers, and your community.
  • What can you do for your customers? What do you think your customers are prioritizing in this time of crisis? What can you do to support their priorities? It’s self-serving to offer a discount on your own products or services, and is more important to spend money to support your customer’s needs, such as educating their children at home or keeping their local restaurants alive.
  • Make your contribution an extension of your brand. What is your brand’s core competency? How can it be leveraged to help people, employees, customers, and the broader community during this time?
    • Dyson invented a new ventilator in 10 days and donated 15,000 units to medical centers battling the virus.
    • Land Rover is supplying vehicles to support the International Federation of the Red Cross as part of the relaunch of its SUV, appropriately named Defender.

In summary, the coronavirus pandemic is challenging for all of us, personally and professionally. The right move for your brand is the right move for your people. What do your people need to get through this crisis? What do your employees need? What do your customers need? What does your community need? What do you need?

Make an inventory of your relationships a way to establish lines of communication for an uncertain future. Determine what their needs are during this crisis. Tailor your responses to the needs of your relationships and the strengths of your brand. When done correctly, your thoughtfulness will lead to lasting loyalty from both employees and customers.

Copy of Copy of Untitled Design (2)Matt Moore is a brand strategist serving as Director of Brand Management for National Geographic Partners. Connect with Matt Moore on LinkedIn.

 
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