Employee Engagement is Hurting

 

Employee engagement is feeling the Covid-19 virus! We are now one year into the pandemic and remote work, zoom fatigue and home offices are now the norms. Who would have that our lives would be turned upside down by a virus? For most of us, we had to get used to totally different and new routines. I know many people who initially embraced working from home but now want to go back to the office part-time.

For me, the last year has brought tremendous change, changes that I could not have foreseen even at the beginning of 2020. Last year, I:

  • Moved from Northern to Southern California
  • Sold a house
  • Bought a house
  • Started consulting full-time

And I did all that in the first six months.

Like many of you, I commute down the hallway to my home office, turn on the computer, and sit at my desk for 8 to 10 hours. Not having a daily commute is terrific. But I do miss going to an office, collaborating with colleagues and feeling the team’s energy. Is this a better work-life balance?

 

I am not alone in how I feel 

Insync analyzed data from thousands of employee survey responses to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the employee experience. Here, summarized, is what people had to say.

  • Collaboration and connectedness are taking a hit
  • Feedback and recognition are lacking
  • Managers play a crucial role in a challenging environment
  • Employees are taking it (our new normal) in their stride, but questioning whether the new normal will last

Improve your remote work experience

For several years now, I have been collaborating with June Bower on several projects. June’s distinguished resume includes CMO and VP of Marketing roles at  Adobe, Alcatel, Cisco, Webex, and others.

Last year, we began to explore how we could offer a product to leaders who want to engage (or re-engage) their employees. In pre-pandemic times, employee happy hours, offsites, team bowling, etc., were common. But how do you connect and engage with your teams now – remotely and online – to improve, learn new skills and strengthen online teamwork?

This is where TalkShop comes in. Conducted via video or in-person (as conditions permit), TalkShop workshops are engaging, highly interactive, and spot-on relevant to remote, distributed teams’ needs. Employees learn in a fun and engaging way. And the benefits to both employers and employees last longer than a craft beer!

 

Workshops to Engage Teams

TalkShop workshops are designed to foster team employee engagement and personal development. Workshops are limited to 15 attendees, making them ideal for everyone to participate. Our featured workshops include:

  • Create and Use Your Personal Brand
  • Power: How to Get It and Use It for Good
  • Delivering Online Presentations with Impact
  • Managing and Influencing Across Your Organization
  • Vision, Mission and Values

And we are working on additional workshops, all of which are expertly facilitated. Visit talkshopworkshops.com to learn more.

 

Are We Going Back to our Pre-Pandemic Work Lives?

While we are beginning to see signs that the pandemic will end, many shifts are permanent. Companies like Salesforce have announced employees would have the option to work remotely full time, even when it’s safe to return to the office. Dropbox is also going remote permanently.

Employee engagement may well be feeling the Covid-19 virus, and TalkShop could be a remedy for your remote work and distributed teams.

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