The virus that’s spiking collaboration between People and Safety teams
Kerrie Brown and Sarah Cuscadden
Sarah and Kerrie have collaborated to deliver some pretty great safety and people initiatives at Probuild and decided it was time to share some of their insights into why it’s important for People and Safety teams to double down on collaboration efforts during times of crisis.
As Victorians grapple with a reintroduction of stage 3 lockdown measures and widespread community transmission of COVID-19, the rest of Australia are on tenterhooks waiting to see if a second wave is about to descend on other States around the country.
No resilience initiative or crisis planning and communication strategy could have fully prepared Australian businesses for the reality we’re facing today. At the coalface of efforts to sustain operations and ensure people are physically and mentally safe and well are People and Culture (P&C) and Healthy and Safety (H&S) professionals.
As circumstances continue to quickly evolve P&C and H&S teams will be called on to reinvigorate their efforts around managing the crisis and continue to collaborate and support each other through this period.
What do recent events mean for how People & Culture and Health & Safety people collaborate now and into the future?
Businesses rely heavily on the P&C and H&S functions to make informed business decisions during times of crisis and collaborate effectively to reach positive outcomes. These collaborative efforts are now in the spotlight more than ever. Some observations that are emerging around this topic include:
2020 has proven more than even the importance of P&C and H&S teams in our organisations and how fundamental strong collaborative relationships between these functions are to maintaining business operations. Are your P&C and H&S teams joined at the hip right now? Are they connecting, communicating and collaborating effectively with each other and the rest of the organisation? If they’re not, this is a capability gap that needs some attention. Pronto!
Progressive organisations (and even the laggers) were already aware of the part they play in supporting the physical and psychological wellbeing of their people. This awareness has intensified by the arrival of our common foe “corona”. What short and long term strategies are being implemented in your business to ensure your wellbeing measures are providing what’s needed for your teams?
Unlike other people and safety issues that arise from time to time, COVID is forcing every organisation and the people within them to develop strategies to support their people and their networks in ways they’ve never had to before. Organisations are looking to P&C and H&S to guide that thinking. Who are you reaching out to in your network to learn from? What resources have you found to be most effective? How are you sharing best practice approaches across your industry?
Now more than ever, a growth mindset and continuous learning approach needs to be role modelled by P&C and H&S professionals as they rapidly upskill in areas that may not have been top of the list. Depending on the organisation and individual we’re probably all learning a whole new skill set in pandemic planning and management as well as sharpening the toolkit in areas such as change management, communication, safe and sustainable work from home policies and managing and motivating teams remotely — it’s the full spectrum of running a business virtually. How are you capturing and sharing learning opportunities in your organisation? What measures have you got in place to celebrate progress and wins along the learning journey?
We’re all working differently now — so what does effective collaboration look like?
Collaborating in February of this year looked like a lot of post-it notes, sharpies on butchers paper, a few tasty muffins, coffee and a big group of people in a room. Or it looked like, “why are the safety team worrying about this, this is a P&C issue” or “geez the P&C team are holding up our safety initiative”. Times are changing and this is what we’re starting to see when it comes to collaboration:
2020 has seen P&C and H&S teams form stronger relationships to assist people in our organisations navigate through rough and uncharted waters. The demarcation lines have dissolved and made way for a meeting of the minds. Huzzah!
Effective collaboration now looks like virtual meetings with a very clear “why are we here” and “what do we want to get out of this” — it may also mean there are less people on the “zoom” call and there are more breakaway sessions to tackle specific parts of projects or issues.
Collaboration means not having all the answers but asking the right questions — thinking about the “end users” at every point, journey mapping and being open to rapid iteration if something is not working as expected. Getting comfortable with even higher levels of ambiguity is the new norm in this time of crisis.
Sharpening efforts around communication as the pandemic continues is vital. Recent Gallup data shows “that younger, frontline, blue-collar, on-site employees struggle more with feeling informed, cared for and prepared than do older, white-collar, remote-working employees. The former groups of workers are even more vulnerable than the latter to performance setbacks if leaders allow COVID-19 efforts to wane. As leaders and managers earnestly invest in employees, they should pay special attention to these groups of individuals.” (ref: Gallup, 2 July 2020)
Burnout is a bigger risk than ever — how can P&C and HSE support each other and the organisation during these times?
As the pandemic continues to impact our everyday lives the novelty of things like remote work and video calls starts to wane. The propensity of being ‘always on’ as remote work becomes the norm coupled with the challenges of balancing work, home and family is intensifying and the needs of each person across your business are unique and varying. What to do?
More than ever, our people need us to deliver personalised messages to demonstrate empathy, understanding and care. Are you asking questions and listening actively?
For P&C and H&S teams having clarity about what each other's role is during a time of crisis is critical. Leverage each other's strengths and show visible support for each other. Do people in your organisation have clear points of contact for advice on COVID related questions? Is there new information that needs to be shared?
Check in on each other - times of crisis are stressful for all involved; some may argue more so for P&C and H&S professionals, focusing so much on their organisation and “forgetting” about themselves. Creating space and time to recharge and decompress should be a priority for P&C and H&S people. When was the last time you took a break? Have you carved out some downtime in your calendar — what’s your daily ritual for self-care?
How will all of this influence the remainder of 2020 and what will 2021 look like?
As some of us go back to work and some return to lockdown it’s important we refresh plans for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021. What’s the new normal going to look like and how do we prioritise moving forward?
2020 — the year to go will be all about adapting and stabilising to our new business as usual. What processes need to be tweaked or redesigned to ensure we’re working optimally? How are you returning people to work or back into lockdown? What guidance are you providing to leaders and teams about resetting goals and rallying their teams?
2020 — people planning, refining work from home, recovering from losses at a financial, operational and emotional level as well as planning for 2021.
2021 programs of work will require a big focus on people as well as the operational and financial. Outside of COVID, there will be work to do around diversity and inclusiveness policies, wellbeing strategies and potentially for large employers the need for things like on-site doctors and nurses. What type of soft skills has COVID uncovered that we need to develop our people in?
2021 will see an emphasis on psychological safety training, financial literacy (weathering the economic impact both personally and as a business will be a big priority) and how to onboard new hires for remote work. What will offices actually look like - will they be smaller, will hot desks be a thing of the past? How do you envisage the employee experience changing for your team and organisation in 2021?
The silver lining in all this is a renewed focus on people, culture and safety strategy to ensure organisations can continue to thrive in our post-pandemic world. COVID for all the downside might just be the accelerant for a much needed shift in thinking when it comes to how and where we work.
Take the opportunity to start thinking about what the future of work will look like for you and your team and remember to recognise and celebrate change and progress along the way. This is a great opportunity for People and Safety teams to influence and drive strategic decisions within their organisations.