Exclusive Interview with Kimberly Gerber, President/CEO and Founder, Excelerate
“COVID-19 Is A Tough Teacher. Hope The lessons Continue To Benefit For Long”
Posted on 05-06-2020, Read Time: 6 Min
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The COVID-19 crisis has impacted various aspects of our lives - especially work. With remote working becoming the norm, employees and employers alike, especially the first-timers, are experiencing the ups and downs related to the situation.
On one hand, employees are worried about job security and the challenges of working as a team, on the other, employers are facing issues such as engagement and productivity drop, among others. It now falls upon the leadership to keep the team up and running.
How are the leaders handling the situation? HR.com interviewed senior-level executives from various organizations and asked them to share their lessons and insights.
Q: How has the COVID-19 crisis affected your business?
Kimberly: As a coaching firm, we’ve seen a lot of our clients reaching out for guidance on how to effectively lead their teams from a distance and navigate crisis communications during such a chaotic time. Also, many of our in-person workshops have turned into virtual workshops. There’s been a lot of positive impact in that area and it’s a trend that we expect to see continue long after social distancing ends.
Q: Are your employees working remotely? If so, what are some of the challenges you are facing while managing your remote workforce?
Kimberly: Our entire team has been working remotely for years, so we are accustomed to the nuances of working in multiple locations.
Yet, this is not the case for many people, who are faced with the struggles of working with spouses and children, who also need to work and attend school from home...with no additional household support. The daily burden is definitely greater.
Knowing this, we created tools for both employees and clients to be able to thoughtfully schedule their weeks. Creating structure amid chaos is always a good idea, and this scheduling tool has really come in handy.
The shift in work habits aside, team members are dealing with the stress of COVID-19 and, in some cases, are taking it pretty hard. The emotional health of employees is definitely a challenge that employers are facing at this time.
Yet, this is not the case for many people, who are faced with the struggles of working with spouses and children, who also need to work and attend school from home...with no additional household support. The daily burden is definitely greater.
Knowing this, we created tools for both employees and clients to be able to thoughtfully schedule their weeks. Creating structure amid chaos is always a good idea, and this scheduling tool has really come in handy.
The shift in work habits aside, team members are dealing with the stress of COVID-19 and, in some cases, are taking it pretty hard. The emotional health of employees is definitely a challenge that employers are facing at this time.
Q: What policies do you have in place to deal with such a crisis?
Kimberly: To be frank; this isn’t a situation we thought to plan for in advance. However, we have been nimble in adapting our workflow, scheduling and time-off policies to address the different needs of team members.
Q: What employee engagement challenges do you come across, especially in the current scenario, where everyone is working from home? What are you doing about it?
Kimberly: We have found that the most challenging piece is helping our employees learn to navigate their own stressors and the anxieties that come with them.
To help with this, we’ve made sure to check in our employees on a consistent basis, through text, Zoom meetings and phone calls. These calls are not just used to see where projects stand; we also want to see where our employees are mentally and emotionally.
Because our usual channels of communication and connecting have been limited during COVID-19, we’ve also started “Fun Food Fridays”, where our team gets on a Zoom call every Friday for lunch. During these calls, there is a different food theme, and everyone shares how their food choice fits in with the theme. The purpose of these calls is to take a break from both COVID-19 and the hum of work to engage with our employees on a personal level.
Q: Are you providing or planning to provide any emotional and mental health programs for employees?
Kimberly: Our employees already receive healthcare benefits, which includes access to mental health specialists and therapists. Along with this, we’ve notified our employees that if they are struggling, to let us know and we will work with them and be flexible during this unprecedented time. In addition, we’ve engaged some yoga and meditation experts to provide training, so that we can continue to build an optimal mindset and strengthen our personal resilience.
Q: What leadership lessons have this health crisis taught you?
Kimberly: This health crisis has been a teacher in so many ways. Two lessons I’ve learned in crisis are: 1) look for the silver linings - they are always there, and 2) the importance of embodying stability during a crisis. Team members are always looking to their leaders for guidance, and through our words and more importantly the energy we put forth, we can help keep our team grounded, resilient and optimistic.
Q: What positive change has transpired that you would want to maintain?
Kimberly: No one wants social distancing to continue; yet we have been pleased with some of the more positive outcomes. First, communications have improved in numerous ways. People have to think out-of-the-box about how they can share information in new mediums to people in an asynchronous way. This has resulted in thoughtfully compiled information that’s shared across entire teams in the same way. The result is consistency and alignment that is sometimes a struggle to achieve in-person.
Second, relationships are better! It’s likely a combination of empathy and a need for social interaction; yet we also feel that meeting on video has forced people’s attention away from their devices to the meeting itself. With everyone in different locations, there’s fewer opportunities for people to “team up” on issues - which in the workplace can create division and tension. As a result, people are getting along better, collaborating and projects are moving forward with less friction.
Second, relationships are better! It’s likely a combination of empathy and a need for social interaction; yet we also feel that meeting on video has forced people’s attention away from their devices to the meeting itself. With everyone in different locations, there’s fewer opportunities for people to “team up” on issues - which in the workplace can create division and tension. As a result, people are getting along better, collaborating and projects are moving forward with less friction.
Q: Would you like to add anything?
Kimberly: COVID-19 has been a tough teacher, yet I hope its lessons continue to benefit long after we are all back together at the water cooler.
Author Bio
| Kimberly Gerber is President/CEO and Founder of Excelerate. Kimberly is more than passionate about business success, and she understands that strong communication skills play a significant role in achieving that success. |
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