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Remote working can be difficult for those employees used to working in close proximity of their colleagues and so, it falls on the leadership team to provide reassurance, empathy and guidance to ensure colleagues feel connected and secure in their role while working from home.

When morale is high, a team is more likely to reach their full potential and so, it is essential to find new ways to work together and communicate to ensure company culture remains alive. We spoke to our leadership team to find out what they are doing to maintain high levels of team morale.

Lauren Harris, Director of X4 Life Sciences

  • I like to mix up meetings by having one to ones and group calls throughout the day. I also make a point of making the time to catch-up first, as it is too easy to jump straight into work, with “The reason I’m calling is…” but it’s the worst way to start a conversation!
  • My team normally see me working or helping others, so they know that I am usually busy. Since remote working, I’m making an effort to be more vocal about my own day, letting them know what I am up to as much as I can so they know that we are all getting stuck in. For example, I’ve been getting involved in the daily competitions, which is something I wouldn’t usually do but I know this encourages others to do the same.
  • I try to be as flexible as possible for my team, by mixing up the mediums I use to communicate on and the times at which we chat. From emails, texts to face-time and calls, so communication doesn’t get monotonous.
  • Being honest. Whilst trying to be positive, I’m also not sugar-coating things when people know what the reality out there is. Being open but having structured plans in place on what my team can do to have a positive impact on their business is more effective than pretending that nothing is wrong.

Andy Turton, Director of X4 Technology

  • Each morning I schedule in a call with the team leaders on Microsoft Teams and go through the team objectives of the day and find out what support they need from me.
  • I’ve been using much more informal modes of communication such as WhatsApp and video call, as it’s really important to be able to communicate around the clock with my teams and to also keep them engaged. Video calls are key to keeping people engaged so I like to make the time to speak to as many of my teams via this medium as I can.
  • Each day we send round positives that have happened, no matter the size, as this really helps to ensure people feel connected and credited for the work they are doing.
  • As I’m not able to have meetings with every single person that I manage, one of the most important things I stress to my team leaders is the importance of identifying anyone they think may be struggling to remote work. Perhaps they have a consultant who feels a little isolated or is finding it challenging to get into the rhythm of working from home. Whatever it is, I will ensure I come up with a way for them to manage their work and improve how they are feeling.

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