​​​As COVID-19 recovery continues, those who are still working from home are best served by making some upgrades or changes to their routines.For many workers suddenly shifting from home, any space from the kitchen table to a spare bedroom would do. Now as the pandemic-induced spike in working remotely goes beyond temporary, here is how to organize a home workspace to optimize productivity. Speed up your wifiHas your internet speed slowed to a crawl with the stress of Teams calls, multiple devices and virtual learning happening at the same time? There are steps you can take so you won’t have to wait painfully like the days of dial-up. Talk to your organization about helping make investments in a home office, which could includeupgrading and customizing your network.Set up boundariesWhen you work from home, it can sometimes feel like you live at work. Having ready access to work can provide flexibility, but it can also create an always-on mentality that can lead to burn out. Remember to set up boundaries to designate a workspace with a living space, whether that’s a physical environment or a set time to step away from a workspace. You can even put up a sign or a post-it reminder at a boundary that outside these parameters, you are off duty.    Designate work devicesWhile working from home, it can help create a more work-like environment with specific devices that are devoted to only to work. For example, an author might have a low-cost Chromebook that only includes the files to their book without web browsers or other apps that have distractions. Especially for bigger assignments, this can help put everything in one place while minimizing the digital distractions of what else might be on your laptop or phone. Go on the gridThere’s no way we could do our work without interacting with others, but sometimes that interaction in person or virtually can be detrimental to productivity. This is especially true if it’s a significant other or family member that needs something. When you need to really focus, put an in-the-office message on your chair or workspace to let others know you are unavailable -- the WFH equivalent of an out-of-office responder.  Any home office is a balance between flexibility and productivity. Give yourself permission to adjust that equation as needed, and your workspace will benefit you in the long term. ​​​

​​Networking doesn’t need to be only in person with coffee, lunches or mixers. With creativity and resolve, connecting meaningfully with others can be done remotely and across geographic and time zone differences. If you’re stuck at home, here are ways to expand and network effectively. Be mindful when selecting a mentorFor many in the next generation, mentorship is key to gaining a foothold for their career and life. A mentor could be someone in proximity in the workplace or at a professional organization. But if the relationship starts out through a digital connection, more thought can be put into the right match, rather than simply convenience. A university alma mater, your current workplace or a professional organization can help match with a mentor that aligns with your interests, needs and personality. Spend time planning who could be your best mentor during this time. Connect with “loose ties” Research has shown that while we rely on our strong ties in our everyday lives, but it’s our weak ties (also called an “open network”) that help make leaps when it comes to finding new roles. Because weak ties are farther removed, they know about opportunities we aren’t likely to know about. By identifying and reaching out to valuable connections that you don’t know as well, you can extend your open network dramatically. Join social groups at workIf the only time you interact with colleagues is on projects and conference calls in meetings, it’s going to be hard to build friendships. Instead, carve out niches for friendship at work by joining social groups, which can also take the form of Teams/ Zoom happy hours, Facebook groups for hobbies and other shared interests. Use reconnection as networking Networking doesn’t always have to take place in person or with people you don’t know. In fact, networking is often more powerful when it’s cumulative, and not just a one-off encounter the first time you meet someone. Networking can also mean reconnecting with former colleagues and sending notes of appreciation, congratulations on work anniversaries, or other virtual ways to stay in touch.  Start writing on a blog or LinkedIn article One of the most effective ways to build a network beyond your immediate contacts is to start a professional blog on a topic of your expertise, make connections, show thought leadership and get feedback. Here are tipson how to launch a blog and grow your following.It’s less overwhelming when you start to break down the end goal into smaller, individual parts of a routine.Tackle the above categories one by one, and you’ll be able to build on the momentum of each to accelerate the size of your network.​

​​​The chronic stress of facing uncertainty day after day is taking a mental toll, and 2020 is set to be one of the most stressful years in history. Workers are suffering from burnout and loneliness as they manage remote work, affecting morale and productivity. In fact, a recent survey by Oracle found that the pandemic has propelled workplace stress, anxiety and burnout.  ManpowerGroup Chief Talent Scientist, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, shares his top leadership tips around how managers can better support their teams. Check-in regularly with the teamMake an effort to schedule time in your colleague’s schedules that includes time for asking “how are you feeling?” A 21st-century leader needs to act as an employee coach and be willing to proactively reach out to employees to check on their emotional well-being. “A leader needs to act as an employee coach and be willing to have open and honest conversations where they can check in with their employees to see what their stress levels are and help support them manage these.”Be aware of manager stress levels Self-awareness helps managers understand how their own stress levels can impact the team. When someone is stressed, they tend to focus on themselves and are unable to care for or support others. Managers need to see themselves in the eyes of others, so to help grow self-awareness, make it easier for the team to provide managers with constructive feedback in a structured way.Practice self-care outside of workSleep well, eat well and exercise. If managers put their own well-being at the center of their daily routine, it will not only help manage their own stress levels but better support the team and their struggles during this pandemic. The goal should be not eliminating stress, but learning how to manage it with a balanced and supported environment. “And while it’s important to have a solid culture, creating a totally stress-free environment with no problems won’t help build a resilient team,” Chamorro-Premuzic said. The silver lining is that stress itself isn’t the enemy, if understood and managed effectively. As Chamorro-Premuzic said, “Some people see stress as a negative, but actually it can lead to many successes. In the workplace, resilience is often built through some form of stress or hardship.” In 2020, this rule is being put to the test like no other time in recent history, but it can be used to come together as stronger teams in the future.​

​The global economy is starting to see news of recovery, with hiring intentions improving since last quarter in 37 of 43 countries. Better-than-anticipated data shows a recovery on the right track, and ManpowerGroup is seeing employers hiring in the key areas. These newly added jobs, while much of the economy remains working from home, means that onboarding looks different these days without the traditional face-to-face meet and greets. But the same principles that help people get comfortable in a new role still apply. Here are ways to start a new job during the time of working from home. Learn how your team communicates Teams. Slack. Zoom. Conference calls. Mac or PC or phone. Email or Instant Messaging. The list goes on for ways to communicate, both in person and virtually, and each team and manager has a different preferred process. When starting in a new role, make sure to get clarity with your manager about how and when your new team communicates, and understand any technology that you may need to download, order or upgrade in order to stay in the loop and fit with company norms and expectations. Pay close attention to cultureAbsorb all the details, norms and routines around you. This is especially important if work is being done remotely and there is less opportunity for in-person interactions. Really hear what the other person is saying, instead of formulating your response. Ask for clarification to avoid misunderstandings. The person speaking to you should be the most important person. Don’t multitask. This means that if you are speaking to someone on the phone or in a virtual meeting, give it your full attention instead of multitasking. Join social groups at work Think beyond the professional setting and get creative to make bonds with new teammates. If the only time you interact with colleagues is on projects and conference calls in meetings, it’s going to be hard to build friendships. Instead, carve out niches for friendship at work by joining social groups, which can also take the form of Teams/ Zoom happy hours, Business Resource Groups, Facebook groups for hobbies and other shared interests. Finally, give the onboarding process even more time and attention than necessary in an in-person environment. Expect to slowly adapt to culture, understand routine and feel like a part of the workplace, but on a longer schedule. Be deliberate and the same outcomes will arrive.

Any type of big change can cause stress, especially if it’s a disruption in our normal routine at work. After a year where many people transitioned to remote work, now many organizations are gearing up to again make major changes –– whether that’s returning to offices, instituting formal flexible work arrangements or even making remote work permanent. And, according to a recent Forbes article, half of the U.S workforce is under stress. Here are ways businesses can help employees manage the stress associated with these transitions.Understand work's impact on mental health The same Forbes article references a disturbing finding from a research study on mental health: 55% of the respondents reported that Covid-19 has had a negative impact on their mental health. This is not good news, especially since organizations today acknowledge a profound connection between an individual’s work life and their mental health. Organizations that support their employees not only improve employee engagement, but also increase workforce productivity. Foster open dialogue A lot can change in a year, so make sure that managers have open conversations with their team about what they want going forward for career development, work arrangements and work-life balance. At different stages in people’s lives, they can work longer or shorter hours, take on more or less responsibility, or need more flexible hours. Rather than assume, check in with career conversations, encourage them to assess their needs and truly listen. Re-create connection If a team has been working remotely for a year, some colleagues may feel disconnected from each other. To reverse the social distancing of the past year, managers can encourage connecting beyond the usual project meetings and emails by planning for social outings when it is safe to do so again as well as taking action on othertips to help combat burnout. Transparent and frequent communication Finally, when stress and uncertainty are on the rise, transparent and frequent communication on future plans, timelines and processes will help create peace of mind and even mitigate rumors. Good leaders will involve their teams in the discussions of how best to move forward through actions such as employee surveys and focus groups. While the uncertainty of what the post COVID work world will look like can create stress, organizations can take tangible steps to support their workers and keep workforce productivity going strong.

​​Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, soft skills had been growing in demand to fill new roles that complement automation and new kinds of work. Today, that acceleration has only magnified the need for businesses to hire for, train and cultivate the right kind of skills among their workforces.According to new ManpowerGroup research, a K-shaped, two-speed recovery is emerging. Some industries and people are bouncing back faster and better – those in growth sectors and with high demand skills –while others are at risk of falling further behind. By 2025, humans and machines will split work-related tasks 50-50, while 97 million new jobs will emerge in AI, the Green economy and Care economy.1As the workforce moves quickly into a new chapter in the digital era, here are soft skills that employers today need most.Collaboration, communication and teamworkDrawing on multiple people’s talents from diverse backgrounds is the best way to foster the creativity and innovation needed to find solutions to today’s complex challenges. This includes the soft skills of being able to connect people between a variety of styles, generations and work environments. And, as the business environment becomes more complex and flexible work arrangements continue, effective communication skills will be even more essential. The collaborative nature of leaders and workers will be able to add value and glue together disparate elements to create more than the sum of their parts.Critical thinking and analysisComputers can generate big data. Spreadsheets can help analyze numbers. Machines can help automate responses and generate outcomes. But at the end of the day, humans are still needed to see the big picture, communicate effectively, incorporate data, feedback and insights to solve problems and make sound decisions. When there isn’t always a clear road map, the ability to think holistically and consider long-term implications is essential.Leadership and influenceWith uncertainty the norm, organizations need employees who can effectively navigate challenging environments, motivate teams and produce results. That is why transparency, resilience, and optimism are such essential traits of today’s leader.​While automation is augmenting work, effective teamwork and collaboration among humans will only increase in importance. A leader must, therefore, possess the interpersonal skills to guide and motivate teams to deliver results even in the midst of change and ambiguity.​Having the right soft skills will be even more essential as organizations transform and digitize at speed and scale. The biggest challenge, however, will be to bring all people on this transformation so that nobody is left behind.​Download the report, Skills Revolution Reboot: The 3Rs - Renew, Reskill, Redeploy for more insights on today’s soft skills and how to assess for them.1 The Future of Jobs Report 2020. World Economic Forum, October 2020.

​​​Moving from college to the workplace traditionally requires major adjustments, including acquiring new skills on the job and learning to balance independent projects. Right now, economic and public health uncertainty only adds to the stress on college graduates. But stepping back, slowing down and taking concrete steps can help mitigate anxieties and improve your outlook. Here are ways to help navigate the unchartered waters. ​Build a mentor relationship In college, students can easily stop by a professor’s office hours or book an appointment with your academic advisor or job counselor. The same principles of mentorship are just as important to getting started in the workplace. After you graduate, you have to be more proactive about securing your own mentor. Having a mentor will enable you to learn what employers expect from new grads and you can use the information to make yourself job ready, and also help find new opportunities in sectors that are hiring. ​Take a skills inventory Does your resume reflect all that you are capable of accomplishing? Make sure that you reflect not just your major and hard skills, but also soft skills like learnability that shows you can make adjustments during turbulent periods. Research from ManpowerGroup has concluded that 65% of the jobs Generation Z will perform do not even exist yet, and right now is certainly a time of disruption and change. Show how your past has prepared you for a future that is evolving and being invented in front of us. ​Be open to new forms of work Look beyond the full-time permanent roles. In some sectors, hiring is ramping up right now for temporary or short-term work. Taking a temporary job to help meet demand may provide an in to a company, or an end in itself. Today, nearly 9 in 10 workers are open to NextGen work– part-time, contingent, contract, freelance or temporary. As younger workers bring tech-savvy skills to the workplace, new graduates can turn to flexible employment opportunities where it is needed most. ​Reach out to help others Right now, it’s easy to develop tunnel vision with respect to your own needs. No one will blame you for that. But many others are going through the same uncertainty, and seeking ways to help is not a zero-sum game. Over time, how you treat others builds a reputation. Recognizing others need assistance, offering to be of service through small acts like proofing someone else’s resume or sending an email with encouragement will become an extension of your resume. Do it for its own reward, and it’s likely to help deepen and expand your network as well. ​After years of being in the school system, it will take new grads time to transition to a new world –– and that’s never been true more than now. For college graduates, it’s important to be patient, keep being productive where you can be, and keep the faith. 

​​​In our new COVID-19 reality, the world is experiencing a level of rapid change never seen before. One thing that’s clear is that digital-minded organizations with the ability to quickly assess and make insightful workforce decisions will be more likely to not only survive the crisis, but thrive.  ​However, this will be challenging for many businesses as 72% of global organizations experienced a reality check and found themselves not fully prepared from a technology perspective. [1] Now these companies are scrambling to play catch up in migrating operations and workforce to a virtual environment. With the majority of employers planning to offer flexible work options for the long-term [2], there’s no turning back the clock to pre-pandemic work styles.  ​Here’s four ways that your organization can leverage data to build a stronger team: ​Use data to predict talent potential Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a crystal ball that could ensure your next hire is a win for the company? Predictive analytics gets close by helping Human Resource professionals assess individuals with skills profiles that help determine who is most likely to succeed in a particular role. That’s crucial when the cost of a bad hire can mean up to $240,000 in expenses for companies. [1]​Remember the movie Moneyball where analytics helped the Oakland A’s select the right players to spur the team to 20 consecutive victories over a month’s time?  That success has translated to the business world with global companies such as Google, Marriott Hotels and Credit Suisse Banks. ​Credit Suisse deployed predictive analytics to identify employee churn and this information was anonymously shared with line managers to help them reduce turnover risk factors and retain  talent. The bank saved an estimated $70,000,000 a year in recruiting and onboarding costs as a result of this initiative. [2]​Make data your company's decision-making anchor When the world stopped, the hospitality industry suffered a significant impact, but take-out and delivery service saw a massive uptick in activity. Domino’s CEO Ritch Allison noted that their team had to take 60 years of standard operating procedures and transform them for digital in a matter of 6 weeks. By making a commitment to digital strategies as their new centerpiece of decision-making, Allison was able to shift the pizza giant to a contactless delivery model across the country. The key was carefully creating a unified data-driven vision for the company’s technology, innovation and supply chain teams while still making the training of Domino’s delivery experts a priority. [3]​“As we look at digital capabilities that we’re putting in place today, it’s not just to be competitive in the next couple of months. It really is to set ourselves up in what may end up being the new normal in our industry,” says Allison. So far, it’s paying off as nearly a year later, Domino’s digital sales are up 75% and they have been able to keep most of their retail locations open. ​Upskill Teams to Leverage TechnologyEven before the pandemic, companies were navigating changing technologies and the new skills that employees would need to manage them. COVID-19 has amplified the urgency for workers to develop these new ‘skill muscles’ to strengthen them and prepare the organization for future disruptions. The U.K. healthcare system, for example, had to retrain their staff within weeks to manage virtual appointments, something that occurred less than 1% of the time prior to 2020. Now doctors assess nearly 100% of patients by phone or video, with only about 7% requiring a face-to-face appointment. This has required medical staff to learn how to do safe and effective diagnosis remotely. Something that will now continue even after the crisis has passed. [4]​As organizations determine which strategies encompass the future of their business, leaders should quickly identify skills that are crucial to business recovery and focus first on those that will drive a disproportionate amount of value to the organization. ​Foster a data cultureOrganizations who ingrain data into their culture are well-positioned to create ‘SuperTeams’ - the next step in technology’s integration into the world of work. “These SuperTeams are powered by increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence blended with the best in human skills – all working together to solve problems, gain insights and create new value for both workers and organizations,” says Dave Mancl, manager of Talent Analytics for ManpowerGroup. ​Creating SuperTeams involves a concerted effort to upskill employees on how to leverage these new tools and processes. That can be a challenge considering that only 21 percent of workers are confident in their data literacy skills, including understanding, questioning, and working with data.3 But Human Resources can play a role during recruiting by including data and metrics language in job descriptions to attract the right candidates. Employers should also improve success by reinforcing skills development through group training or one-on-one coaching and then hold employees accountable to measurable data-driven goals.  ​Organizations who integrate data to better assess, upskill and build SuperTeams will be well-positioned for future growth. ​For more insights on these and other workforce data trends, tune in toThe Transform Talent Podcast.​Sources:[1] https://www.news.xerox.com/news/global-Xerox-Future-of-Work-Survey-results[2] ManpowerGroup Q4 2020 Employment Outlook Survey[3] https://www.apollotechnical.com/cost-of-a-bad-hire/#:~:text=The%20average%20cost%20of%20a,hiring%2C%20retention%2C%20and%20pay.[4] https://techhq.com/2020/01/mind-the-skills-gap-between-big-data-and-employees/ ​

​​​If you are a recent graduate, now is the time to work on refining certain skills to help your transition to the workplace.​This summer, a new group of ambitious college graduates will hit the job market. Along with their energy and enthusiasm also comes inexperience. Here are the top communication skills that employers want to see from new grads. ​Listen, listen, listenWhen you are just starting out, you should listen more than you talk. Really hear what the other person is saying, instead of formulating your response. Ask for clarification to avoid misunderstandings. The person speaking to you should be the most important person. Don’t multitask. This means that if you are speaking to someone on the phone, do not respond to an email, or send a text at the same time. ​Be clear and concise Maybe every once in a while, on occasion it could be said that a college student filled a 20-page paper will a few filler words to meet a minimum word count. In the business setting, however, time is money. Getting to the point in a presentation or meeting is a premium communication skill. Work on clearly articulating your point in a concise and direct manner.​Project management skills In college, a big project rarely lasted longer than a semester, and usually were much shorter. But in the workplace, you are often expected to juggle multiple projects that can last six months, a year or longer. Set several milestone goals, check in on progress regularly, get feedback, and use the resources of others around you. Practice the art of meetings Meetings in an office are also different than the group meetings or the dorms at college. To respect others’ time, always send out an agenda before the meeting, giving participants enough time to prepare. At the start of the meeting, establish the ground rules for communicating, and any other expectations. Finally, send meeting minutes to those who participated or who will be affected by what was discussed. ​​Organizations know that it will take time for new graduates to get acclimated to their new work environment. That’s also a two-way street. Spend time getting up to speed in your communication practices, and the transition will be smoother for everyone. ​

​The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made employers double down on online recruiting, whether that’s job boards or virtual career fairs. For job seekers, it pays to invest time and energy to find a match. Here are tips to maximize a digital job search.Look for new job titles It might be time to audit and add keywords to your job search. Today, a growing number of people are opting for alternative models over traditional, full-time, permanent roles. One of the main findings of ManpowerGroup’s Skills Revolution 4.0 report reveals that the jobs of tomorrow won’t look exactly like yesterday, so workers need to keep an eye out for job descriptions that weren’t previously on their radar. Organizations are investing in digital, shifting tasks to robots and creating new jobs. ​Build your digital brandYou probably have a resume or CV, but a digital brand like a personal website or LinkedIn profile can add another dimension to your personal brand. Your digital footprint gives you an opportunity to have a living career story, complete with career details, accomplishments, skills, recommendations, work samples and more; much more than a normal resume can offer.​Network onlineDigital connections can help you get jobs. You can connect/network with people you know, people you want to know, industry leaders, others with similar skills and interest, and the list goes on. There are networking groups on just about every career, industry and topic imaginable. Join a few and contribute to the discussion. You never know who you will meet. These contacts can be your link to your next job.​Research target companies Technology can help you learn all about a company, its values before you apply or interview. As ManpowerGroup’s What Workers Want report found, workers are looking for more trust and balance from an employer, and a digital job search can help uncover these traits. Follow the company across social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, and also follow competitors and peers how it compares to others. Sites like Glassdoor can provide reviews and a window into culture. Finally, set up Google alerts to get daily emails of relevant keywords when the company is mentioned in the news, which can show interest and engagement in an interview.  ​Finally, make sure you prioritize and make a plan. You’re much more likely to achieve your goals when you write things down. Managing your career with the help of a concrete goal will help you succeed and find your right path. 

​Working over the last year can feel like hitting a series of walls –– each one bigger than the last. If you’re feeling that way, rest assured you are not alone and there are steps to combat the stressors. Here are ways to fight off burnout. Ask for the help you needManagers and organizations can support you if they know what you need. Different situations may require different intervention strategies. For example, struggling to meet caretaker responsibilities with childcare when kids are learning from home could be alleviated with a schedule change, including working nights instead of days. For someone who feels immersed in the “always-on” digital workplace, requesting vacation days off could also help. Make sure to discuss openly your needs so they can be addressed. Enlist the buddy or mentor systemWorkplace relationships are extremely important for well-being, but they can be more difficult to maintain when everyone is remote. It may take intentionally reaching out for virtually “grabbing coffee” or checking in with a colleague, mentor or supervisor who can help provide mental, logistical or emotional support. Don’t overlook the simple power of connecting, even if that means a virtual hangout. Proactively help othersIf you are struggling, that means others are no doubt feeling the same way. Reaching out and providing a compliment, offering to help with a workload or sending someone a lunch delivery will help them and has the added benefit of giving you an emotional boost. Research has shown that kindness is one of the fastest ways to elevate mood and boost resiliency. Set boundaries and know when to turn offEven the highest performer can only run on adrenaline so long. The body and mind need downtime and regular rest periods. Intersperse periods of intense focus with downtime and recovery. The rhythms of hard work and rest need to balance over time. Set time with boundaries to unplug with peace of mind and come back rejuvenated. ​Finally, remember the basics: Take a lunch break in your day, walk around your neighborhood and get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep to help make sure you’re on the top of your game. Work will still be there when you return, more rested, motivated and focused to keep moving forward.  

​​Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has erased hard-fought gains in gender parity at work. It’s been twice the negative impact as women have taken on both more at home while roles predominantly held by women have been downsized. At the same time, a new future is currently unfolding that needs to take into account the skills, leadership and resources provided by women.  Behind every setback, an opportunity can be found. Employers must meet the call to support the women in their organizations and reshape the environment of work. Here are ways to move forward with women learning new skills, advancing in leadership and stepping into a post-pandemic world. Needs to reskillThe impact of the pandemic accelerated changes already taking place for in-demand roles. Reskilling and upskilling will benefit women to meet the increased demand for cybersecurity experts, data analysts, software and app developers. In addition, new roles provide opportunities in areas such as contact tracers, distance monitors and temperature checkers are emerging as fast as others decline in aviation, hospitality and entertainment. Ask for flexibilityWomen and all parents and caretakers can leverage the last year to ask for flexibility and remote work options to continue if they are available and have provided improved balance. Millennials in particular who have caretaking responsibilities are most eager to avoid the commute and least willing to lose flexibility they have gained. As the vaccine roll-outs continue and organizations plan for the future, make sure to communicate your work preferences and how the optimal arrangements benefit everyone. Consider career progressionFor many workers, it’s been a year of coping and getting by as best as possible under the circumstances. In fact, IT workers are the only sector that do not rank “just keeping their job” as top priority. Now as we look ahead, don’t lose sight of career development, progression and advancement. Women should feel empowered to move up in their organization and ask for responsibilities and positions of authority while being supported by their organization. Value your soft skillsWitnessing the biggest workforce shift and reallocation of skills since World War II means that skills that were en vogue in 2019 might now be out of fashion. However, soft skills continue to endure and be in demand. In times of rapid transformation and uncertainty, these so-called soft skills are more important than ever in workers and in leaders. As we move forward, women can emphasize abilities such as adaptability, communication and human connection to help themselves and their organizations navigate change. As we progress through and past the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needs women leaders more than ever. For International Women’s Day, the time is now to focus a spotlight on the necessity of women’s impact in the workforce.  

​​Gaming bestows benefits beyond that rush of immediate gratification; you may be surprised to know it’s also enhancing your employability. Prior to COVID-19, people were already talking plenty about their “work” and “life” buckets – how to keep productivity and play in balance – even separate from one another. Now, it’s safe to say the pandemic has intertwined the two forever. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing: In fact, many of the skills you’ve likely picked up during play have been shown to improve skills and performance in the workplace. Because of COVID-19 lockdown orders and the pandemic’s impact on employment, gaming’s popularity has grown considerably in the first half of 2020. The good news is if you’ve been gaming more often during quarantine, chances are you’ll be especially ready to nail your next interview. Take our free Gaming Skills Translator to find out which skills you are building. In fact, every time you’ve picked up your console, you’ve learned more about how to adapt, learn and refine essential soft skills like critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity. For our Skills Revolution 2.0 Robots Need Not Apply report, we surveyed 20,000 employers across 42 countries on the impact of automation on the workforce. What we found: Soft skills are in high demand in the workplace, especially for employers eyeing an unpredictable economic future. And there is rising demand too for relevant skills from recent research of What Workers Want, Post Covid Report, they are, incidentally, also the most difficult skills to find and train employees on. When it comes to sought-after workplace skills, gaming can be a game-changer. Here’s a list of skills you may have developed in your downtime: Improved Critical Thinking Strategy and racing games like World of Warcraft and Mario Kart require you to work out which approaches will progress you to the next level. What motivates and engages you helps you hone your ability to make inferences and think systemically about solving the game. This sharpens your judgment and your approach to problem-solving, decision making (weighing up pros and cons of different tactics) and strategic thinking. Increased Capacity for Collaboration With the introduction of new formats like massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), modern gaming is shifting from an individual to a social experience. COVID-19 has only accelerated this trend because, for many during the pandemic, gaming has been the only way to “meet” friends and develop proactive social skills. In multiplayer games, you must work together with other players to win, enhancing your ability to collaborate remotely. Plus, these types of games often inspire IRL meetups and hangouts as well as improved relations with peers, family members or your community. This can translate to better working relationships with colleagues. Strengthened Communication Skills Your communication skills also get a workout in multiplayer games. In virtual environments, you can test and learn different communication styles. Players of Second Life, for example, where users build parallel personas for an online world, have demonstrated an improved ability to adapt their conversational style depending on the situation. Enhanced Your Creativity Sandbox games that let you roam free and do your own thing (such as Minecraft and Terraria) are linked to enhanced creativity. If you play these games, you may have better visual-spatial skills – the ability to envision movement of objects in space – important for careers in science and engineering. Today’s job market is unprecedented and unpredictable. What we do know is that skills like teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving are needed now more than ever. So the next time you or your kids enjoy a favorite game on the nights or weekends, don’t think of it as wasted time. You may just be developing the skills you need to be a future-ready employee. To learn how your gaming experience translates into skills you can add to your resume, take our free Skills Translator Quiz.

​Now that you’re working from home, there’s time for that vegetable garden. For craft projects. For building bonfires. You pause to look around and take it all in: The cherry blossoms are blooming. The sea is calm and soothing. You hear gentle waves blend melodically with light jazz. You decide to buy some fresh fruit and go for an idyllic walk. If this doesn’t sound familiar, you’re probably not playing ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ on Nintendo Switch. Considered the perfect escape for the widespread anxiety being felt by many these days, the game has sold 13.4 million copies since its debut in March. Animal Crossing isn’t the only game-breaking sales records. Gaming has exploded since COVID-19. It has been recently reported that gaming during peak hours has gone up 75 percent since the pandemic began. While some see this as a distraction from the news cycle, it can also be viewed as time well spent developing critical – and marketable – soft skills. Look at it this way: When gaming, you must navigate a dynamic environment that requires you to learn and adapt. You have constantly evolving social systems. You have to combine tools and resources to learn new ways of working. You have to convert new knowledge into action. And you have to explore radical alternatives and innovative strategies in order to learn. The common thread? These are all highly marketable skills. The skills cultivated while gaming can be closely correlated to job performance. Games are constructive, situated and experiential learning environments. They require active experimentation. They also require a ton of patience and persistence. Did you just fall into a pit of lava? Go back and rehearse what happened. Learn and adapt. In fact, learnability is a strong predictor of career mobility, and the best way to learn is from experience. Work is always changing. Projects shift. Deadlines get moved. For many, every day is different. Employers need people with agility to maneuver those changes. It would have been unthinkable in early 2020 for companies to imagine the majority of their employees working from home. Yet that’s exactly what happened. While no one could have prepared themselves for a global pandemic, gaming does set you up to manage the unexpected with ease. Complex simulated environments require constant decision-making – an important skill, especially for workers who are confronted with change and need to adapt for their teams to succeed. Games can also offer insight into a person’s persistence, risk-taking, problem solving, mindfulness and attention to detail. If the types of games you play have the potential to give vast insight into the types of soft skills you possess, the question is why aren’t we using it to further identify your talents and match your skills to the right positions? Because most of us don’t know that gaming can be time very wisely spent. Even if we do, we don’t know to articulate its advantages on a resume or in a job interview. In a recent study, ManpowerGroup analyzed more than 11,000 games across 13 genres – from action-adventure to role-playing to music and indie – to identify the top soft skills developed in each gaming category and then mapped the skills that gamers were building to work skills. ManpowerGroup’s proprietary online Skills Translator allows candidates to input specific games, experience levels, and the amount of time spent gaming. The tool then provides guidance for how gaming experience translates into workplace skills. Finally, it’ll connect the candidate to potential job matches. Those cognitive and motor skills you rely on while playing Tetris are highly desirable in machine operators. Mastery of a game like Fortnite is invaluable to collaborative teams because it brings the unique skills of individuals together to solve a challenging problem. Are you more of an old-school arcade player? Games like Pac-Man improve decision-making, planning, concentration and persistence. Use ManpowerGroup’s free Skills Translator Quiz to help you understand how time spent playing your favorite games may just lead you to your best job ever. By better understanding how your specific gaming experience has sharpened your workplace skills, you’ll be more prepared to express your full value to future employers, both on your resume and at your next interview. To understand which specific skills you’ve gained from gaming, take our free Skills Translator Quiz. ​

​​Today’s digital workforce looks a lot different than it did a year ago, largely driven by a pandemic that caused organizations to move entire workforces to remote work virtually overnight.In a recent ManpowerGroup webinar, Technology + People = Transformation, Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & Managing Director of TCS, Tata Consultancy Services, Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup, and Heather Landy, Executive Editor at Quartz,  shared insights on how the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, the impact on skills, and how companies can find the best blend of people and technology.Here are 5 ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in an acceleration of growing disruptive tech trends.Human ingenuity + technology will endureThe pace of how quickly organizations adapted to the pandemic shows the importance of human ingenuity. In many cases, organizations shifted entire workforces to remote work in the span of a week. This was accomplished through sheer resilience and ingenuity, showing that even sophisticated artificial intelligence can’t completely replace the human element. This trend of technology interacting with human capabilities will endure. Although a lot of organizations had the capability of making the shift before the pandemic hit, the crisis initiated the change and made it happen. Organizations going through transformations should remember that it's not about the technology alone, but more importantly about the culture and how you lead and what makes you really make that step change that transforms the organization.Flexible working models for allPrior to the pandemic remote working on a full-time basis was close to 4% to 5% of the workforce.  Today, it’s about 35- 37% of the workforce with a blending of both the offline and the online worlds likely to continue. Workforces have been able to apply human ingenuity, the ability to adapt very quickly, and combine it with technology that while it was always there, we weren't embracing it to the same degree as now---we continue to do the work and maintain the productivity, but in a completely different way. Although human beings are social creatures that like to congregate, what this pandemic has proven is that organizations can create situations enabled by technology where we can combine work life and personal life in new ways that benefits the individual so that the flexibility is available when workers wanted and when they need it and it also benefits organizations all at the same time.Continuous learning is a mustGrowing reliance on technology will accentuate the polarization of the workforce between those that have the skills and the tools to make this transition and those that don't. The need for companies  to invest in the tools and technologies to up-skill and re-skill their own workforce and create a learning culture within the organization have become even more essential.  Many employers are still very unaware of the need to re-skill and up-skill their workforces, critical to growing their talent pool and their human capital in terms of skills and capabilities to execute on business strategies. The gap in training may eventually create a huge turning point in favor of a more scalable re-skilling and up-skilling effort at not only a company level, but also a nationwide level as this situation continues to evolve at such a rapid pace.Strong cultures will winIn a recent Quartz survey, 37% of respondents said that they felt their workplace culture had improved since the start of the pandemic while 15% said they felt that it had deteriorated. Companies that were already at the top of their game culture wise, employees have a favorable impression. The split suggests that building and maintaining good company culture is important, especially when workers are spread out. Organizations that do the right things in terms of increasing the rate of communication, engaging teams, and prioritizing health and safety can emerge from the pandemic with an even stronger culture. As for leadership, organizations tend to move slower with transformational changes than their own frontline talent, so it’s important to create the leadership culture that can successfully navigate today’s complex, fast-changing environment.Trust will dictate transparencyIn the personal space, people have moved a lot in terms of being willing to share information even knowingly. Today’s environment is used to transparency for good or bad, but the trust factor, what institutions individuals trust with that information, is going to determine how workers feel about sharing it.  Many of the world's largest companies today are essentially the world's largest companies because individuals provide so much data for free, which is monetized by the companies. It’s how organizations manage the data that will determine how much individuals trust them with it. In the end, it will come down to individual preferences, and the trade-offs they are willing to make—which have to be built on a full understanding of what the data is being used for. Watch the Technology + People = Transformation webinar available on demand for additional insights.

​​Getting back to work looks different today. For those headed back into workspaces, a new normal includes physical distancing, hygiene measures, regular testing, and other solutions that have yet to be decided upon for the foreseeable future. For those transitioning back to work, here are ways to ease the transition.  Consider appointment-based or flexible scheduling Some people get their energy from working around other people, and some prefer the focus of working remotely on their own. Many people, however, prefer some combination of both work environments, and several workplaces are accommodating these scenarios. As an example, Core Creative is one agency that allows employees to make appointments to work in the office as an option. Discuss with your manager if a similar arrangement would help create an optimal return situation that doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Familiarize yourself with recovery procedures Organizations are creating checklists and routines for training and safety while bringing back their workforces. Familiarizing yourself may not only improve your outlook for returning, but it is also everyone’s responsibility to help keep their fellow colleagues safe. If your organizations spans different regions or countries, pay special attention to how relevant rules may differ and what applies to you.  Communicate any concernsIt’s normal to be anxious and have questions about returning to work. If you have concerns, make sure to bring those to your manager’s attention, as organizations have a duty to make their workforce feel reassured that health, safety and wellbeing come first when returning to the workplace. Take note of multiple feedback channels where you might be able to bring questions, which may include anonymous pulse surveys and HR reporting mechanisms. If you have issues you want to raise, chances are others need to know the same things. Take care of your mental healthIt’s not just your physical health that needs attention right now. Create a mental health checklist that asks questions such as: Can I deal with the demands of life? Do I ask for support when I need it? Recognize any warning signs of burn out or needing help, and talk with managers if you need help and support when you return. Finally, remember that even this transition phase of returning to work will change. The phrase “new normal” has been used to describe this period. But the reality is there will be continual adjustments as businesses approach what was once considered “normal” workforce conditions. That’s why adaptability needs to continue at each step of the next “temporary normal,” and be prepared for each new chapter to unfold. Stay flexible. 

​Since the coronavirus outbreak, many people are finding their mental health and wellbeing affected in previously unforeseen ways. For many, the pandemic has brought about feelings of anxiety, stress and loneliness, while others are dealing with additional worries around finances and employment, or coping with bereavement.But there is help available. We have put together a number of resources you can use to support your mental health through the pandemic, and to access additional help where needed. Open the full PDF version for clickable links.​​

COVID-19 and the need for safe distancing have accelerated the adoption of remote work arrangements by companies and it is likely to remain an option even after the pandemic is over. With more employees working from home, it has become harder for managers to detect the voice and facial cues of someone who needs support. There can be obvious signs of burn-out, fatigue or lack of engagement that are not picked up due to the lack of face-to-face interactions. Thus, when working remotely, managers and businesses need to be extra vigilant in checking in on team members, and being available with caring for mental health. Recognize the warning signsStress can manifest itself in a number of ways, including decreased satisfaction and commitment, lower productivity, increased personal conflicts, and a desire to disengage and disconnect. Employees may feel like they can’t admit they are burned out because it feels like a personal shortcoming or shows a lack of commitment. To get around this issue, astute managers will pay attention to changes in employees’ attitudes which may indicate a deeper issue. In a remote environment, this may mean explicitly asking employees about their mental state.  This can include, for example, encouraging connections beyond work matters.Take something off their plateHigh performers are high performers for a reason – they take on a lot, and accomplish a lot. But eventually, even the most productive person can reach a breaking point. Recognize any early signs of stress, and relieve your busiest workers of certain roles or duties that can be reassigned. Everyone has a finite amount of hours in the day, and productivity without burnout requires strategic cutting back on the activities that consume energy.Show OptimismIf managers show optimism, their teams will too. As an article in Harvard Business Review shared, optimism is powerful and contagious. Attitude starts at the top and can set the tone for a difficult project or a remote team that needs positive encouragement. Leaders who demonstrate hopefulness and confidence in the future are better able to help their team members find meaning and purpose in work, especially under stressful conditions. Using humour can be a useful mechanism to relieve tension and foster greater commitment from teammates.

​While it’s too early to tell when businesses will reopen or in-office work will resume, the way we picture the ending can tell us a lot about leadership. As we grapple with sobering unemployment numbers and hear of economic woes in nearly every industry, leaders face a balancing act of staying calm and reassuring, while also being realists about the state of their business.The question is what role optimism plays in maintaining the health and productivity of a team. Is the weekly jobs report half-empty or half-full? Positivity improves most aspects of job performance. It’s simply easier to stay productive when you feel a sense of purpose, growth or difference making. And it’s harder to maintain a rosy outlook when it feels like all is lost.Humans are hard-wired for optimism. It seems most people would prefer a distorted view of reality than one that delivers a cold truth. When Jim Carey’s character in Dumb and Dumber asks about his chances for dating Lauren Holly’s character, she gingerly replies that the odds are about one in a million. Her answer makes him ecstatic, exuberantly proclaiming, “so you’re telling me there’s a chance!”Many of us are choosing to see the economy through Jim Carey’s eyes. We believe there will be a “v-shaped” recovery. And there’s reason to believe the changes we’re experiencing during these times will have a lasting positive impact. We’ve wanted flexible working hours. We’ve been yearning to work from home. And now that we have these things, we’re unlikely to let them go.We’re basically biased toward optimism.  As Thai Sharo, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London, noted, “when it comes to predicting what will happen to us tomorrow, next week, or fifty years from now, we overestimate the likelihood of positive events, and underestimate the likelihood of negative events.” When it comes to seeing how the pandemic will end, our nature compels us to believe that it will all be magnificent. And why not? Reevaluating our conditions of employment in light of rapid change should have a positive effect on society.The optimists among us have pointed out how pollution levels are way down.  The canals of Venice have turned clear. Animals are flourishing in cities. And we’re all suddenly interested in baking bread. When it comes to work, we’re becoming more empathetic, more flexible, and have a newfound appreciation for essential workers. These are all genuine reasons to be optimistic.Even as we’re grappling with insecurity and rapid change, great leaders can empower us with hope. According to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, ManpowerGroup’s Chief Talent Scientist, the best business leaders combine internal pessimism (in order to see deficiencies and foresee problems and threats), with optimism (exuding a sense of positivity and nurturing hope in others). To be sure, this feels intuitively better than the reverse: being internally overconfident while projecting external insecurities.The best leaders are the ones rallying their employees to see the best possible outcome. If they work in sports, they’re reminding their employees of how much the world will need them when they come back. If they work in the restaurant business, they’re pointing to the indelible cultural fabric that restaurants provide to our cities and towns. Privately, they’re grappling with the unknowns of whether there will be a baseball or football season, or whether the restaurant customers will be ready when they finally switch on the open sign.No one can see how this will end. But the best leaders enable their teams to see the happiest ending. Their external optimism is encouraging them to strive for that result. Even if the odds are just one in a million. They’re telling them they have a chance.To see more on this topic from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, see here.

​The leaders that emerge in today’s crisis will help innovate to solve the problems of tomorrow. In times of uncertainty and turmoil, leadership matters even more because the leader sets the tone for how an organization responds. Businesses need to be guided with a steady and reassuring hand, and yet pivot and be agile when the situation demands it. Grit, persistence and collectiveness are some of the traits of an innovative culture, and they are needed to face some of our biggest problems. As businesses face crisis on a global level, here are a few ways leaders can step up and help to foster an innovative culture when it’s needed most.  Learnability is a must  Learning quickly is more important than ever in times of massive change. Leaders need to have not only a high IQ and EQ, they also need a high Learnability Quotient, or LQ. Today’s problems are so complex and multi-faceted that they require learning as fluid situations unfold. Leaders need to be role models by seeking out different experiences, unusual perspectives and by being open to fresh ideas, ever as they foster a culture of learning in their organizations.   Experimentation and communication  When we are in uncharted territory, leaders must also have an understanding of the technical skills required to effectively transform their business in times of change, such as how to suddenly shift to remote work. They should surround themselves with experts and take time to stay informed of the latest trends, challenges and opportunities facing their organization and how to communicate those needs quickly throughout the workforce.    Ability to adapt for the next crisis   Crisis and transformation does not create a once and done situation. Change is dynamic, so agility and continuous adaptation is essential. Feedback is important to informing what steps leaders should take. Leaders need to innovate, experiment and learn fast and support their teams to do the same. Tomorrow’s environment is just beginning.   

​When you’re starting a new role, your typical first day might consist of meeting with your new manager, picking up your equipment, trying to learn the names of your co-workers, and working out where the post room, toilets and printers are. But what if your new job is remote? How will you get to know your colleagues, get up to speed on your role, or know who to contact when you have questions?Here are a few ways to make your first remote day on the job a great success.Understand the onboarding processReach out ahead of time to your line manager or HR contact to find out what onboarding will look like. The organisation might mail a laptop to you, or they may ask you to use your own device. They might take you through an induction on your first day via Zoom, Skype or Microsoft Teams, or perhaps they will email you an employee handbook. The company itself may still be trying to formalise its remote working procedures, so the process may not be as smooth as usual. Make sure you discuss the logistics of the onboarding process beforehand and fully understand what to expect.Practice the “route”It’s common to travel to the location of your new job before your first day to make sure you don’t run into any issues or get lost. The same is true of a virtual first day. Start to log on early to allow yourself plenty of time in case of technical difficulties. Make sure all the appropriate software is downloaded ahead of time and you know how to use the technology.Pay attention to your presenceIt’s likely that your first day will consist of at least one virtual meeting with your manager or your team. While you may be used to working from home in casualwear, remember to dress professionally in order to make a good first impression. Pay attention to your virtual environment, including the lighting in your room, items in the background, and try to minimise external noise.Find out how your team communicatesIt’s important to learn how your manager and your wider team prefer to engage with each other. Do they rely heavily on email, or do they tend to utilise video or voice calls? Do they use any internal networks such as Teams, Slack or Yammer to keep in touch? With regards to your manager, do they like to receive queries as they come up via email, or would they rather tackle everything in a weekly one-to-one call? Are there particular times of the day or week that they prefer not to be disturbed? Keep in mind that your colleagues might still be trying to work out their preferences as they adjust to their new routine. But knowing your colleagues’ communication styles will help you integrate with the team more quickly and foster positive interactions.Make yourself knownUsually when you start a new job, you’d immediately be introduced to lots of people in the office and learn what they do. You’d also find yourself bumping into new people in the elevator or the kitchen and forging new relationships that way. This process is likely going to take a bit longer and require more effort when you’re starting remotely. Let people know you’re the new person in any online networks like Slack or Yammer, or by sending some short emails to other people in your division. If there’s a team meeting, try to find a moment to introduce yourself and your role. You might even need to remind people who you are when contacting them by email or on a conference call, since they won’t be seeing you on a day-to-day basis. Before making a comment on a group call, simply state who you are and mention that you’re new to the company.Find work buddiesSince you’re not going to be chatting to colleagues in the kitchen over a cup of tea or having a welcome lunch, it’s a good idea to proactively reach out to individuals to get to know them better. Set up a virtual coffee chat to find out about their roles, the projects they’re working on, and anything they think you should know about the organisation. Share any questions you might have and ask for recommendations on other individuals you should get to know within the business. What insights can they share with you about the culture of the organisation?Seek out opportunitiesThe pandemic is causing workplace disruption like we’ve never seen and circumstances are evolving rapidly. Due to the fast-changing situation, you might find yourself not as busy as you expected, or even that certain projects you anticipated working on have been shelved and other tasks prioritised. Don’t complain, but rather try to identify opportunities where you can add value. Reach out to others to offer your help, and speak up in meetings to suggest ideas. Think about the additional value you can bring to the business.There’s no doubt that this is a difficult time to transition into a new role. But by being proactive, patient and flexible, you can smoothly integrate with your new team and prove your worth to the organisation.​​​Credit: ManpowerGroup UK​

​Learning can take many forms. The desire and ability to quickly grow and adapt one's skill set to remain employable throughout their working life, or learnability, can be practiced both in-person and remotely.   Professional development doesn’t have to be attending a conference or a four-hour workshop. Here are ways to continue learning remotely and foster career development.   Focus on the future  Continue career conversations with your manager, even if they are virtual. Don’t lose sight of the goal: Getting ahead both today and in the future means constant learning and development.   Leverage technology training  It’s not always possible to train everyone together. That’s where technology can come in and reach multiple workers on a flexible schedule. Social media chat forums allow real-time peer discussions to address challenges. E-learning, videos, and gamification are all options that ensure learning can take place anywhere, anytime.   Shift to microlearning  Conferences and workshops build in breaks and socialization for a reason. Taking downtime helps keep attention fresh and facilitates learning to sink in over time. Harvard Business Review recommends focusing on microlearning, or short lessons on a single topic in a five to 10-minute segment.   Take educational breaks  Your brain was not designed to be constantly “on” throughout the day, and you need recurring breaks to replenish your focus on tasks. But your rest can be productive, rather than simply scrolling through social media. Give your brain a boost with your break. You can use an app that teaches you a new language, do a crossword puzzle, or read a chapter in a book. Search for something that energizes you to be more productive later.  

​Running efficient meetings can be a difficult task under the best of circumstances. It can add to the challenges if all attendees are remote and reliant on technology. Here are tips to keep virtual meetings running smoothly. Set an agendaIt’s second nature to interpret physical and facial cues in person, but the task becomes harder when you can’t easily see everyone’s screen at once or if there is a lag in audio or video. This can lead to uncertainty about who should be contributing or people accidentally talking over each other. An agenda can help clarify a meeting by sharing ahead of time who is starting a conversation and then who is contributing. Over time, the flow will become more natural. Encourage participation In a time of physical distancing, it’s important to still connect with others on a human level and encourage active participation. Getting everyone to speak up in a remote setting can feel like a challenge since it’s easier to “hide” in a digital setting. First, provide time to talk socially, even putting aside time at the beginning or end of the meeting to share personal stories and small wins. Especially when there’s no physical place to gather, everyone needs a virtual watercooler. Second, manage participation by following five steps outlined by Harvard Business Review, which includes making sure the problem is felt by participants, and no more than five minutes goes by without people working on active solutions to problems together. Use meeting chat –– politely In a physical meeting, attendees can bring hands-outs, charts or slides. All those items can be used virtually by uploading and sharing links and attachments in the chat channel of the meeting for context about topics at hand. It can also be used for texting and asking questions while another person is speaking. But also use this politely by not dominating a conversation in the chat, just as you wouldn’t talk over someone in an in-person meeting. Use the chat function to supplement conversations, not replace them. Set up office hours and take breaksNot every virtual interaction has to be a formal meeting. Many online meeting tools like Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business allow you to set a status, where you can open up your virtual door and let others virtually drop in to ask work questions –– or just to chat. Don’t schedule back-to-back meetings which can lead to virtual meeting fatigue. Take a break away from the screen to give your brain a chance to switch gears between meetings.'​Finally, remember to be patient with colleagues and with yourself as you adjust to virtual meetings. It will be an adjustment for many people. And when someone forgets to mute their mic –– inevitably –– just politely remind them that everyone can hear. We’ve all been there. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. That includes what has traditionally constituted professional development, with businesses cutting non-essential travel, flights being canceled, and conventions and conferences have been called off or postponed. But this time can also be used effectively to keep professional skills sharp for when the world returns to normal. “If you’re not earning, use the time to be learning,” Becky Frankiewicz, President of ManpowerGroup North America, recently said in an interview with Cheddar. “The economy will come back and you can position yourself now to ensure that you have the right skills and capabilities.” Here are options for virtual learning that can be done anywhere, anytime.  Webinars and online training Many conferences that have been forced to cancel in-person events have provided alternatives through webinars and virtual forums, often at reduced prices or no cost. Even if you weren’t planning on attending any upcoming conferences, the abundance of affordable and accessible webinars that provide star power and high talent is worth considering. Online learning courses are another option, such as LinkedIn Learning and Percipico. Currently, ManpowerGroup is offering 60 days of free access to Percipio, for those interested in online learning.Listen to podcasts In podcasts you’ll find authors talking about their books, researchers expounding on their discoveries and experts discussing techniques to improve any professional field. Search in Google Play or Apple’s iTunes for keywords that you want to learn for work, such as public speaking tips, advice for management or productivity hacks. To make sure you’re hearing from an authority, look for podcasts that are hosted by someone with credentials that you trust.  Virtual networking Coffee meetings don’t need to stop just because you can’t physically meet for coffee. In fact, you have more possibilities if you open up to virtual coffee meetings to people across the country or world. Reach out to mentors or colleagues to ask questions, learn from someone more experienced and keep your networking skills sharp with virtual coffee. Reread classic business books Libraries and bookstores are closed. And yes, you can still order new business books online or access them on an e-reader. But you can also use this time to re-read (or finish) older business books that you have on your shelves. Consider what lessons you learned in the past, and if you have been following or have absorbed them over time. ​With the rapid pace of change, it can feel like surviving the daily battle is enough. But that means there’s never been a greater need to pursue continuous professional education. There has also never been a better time to learn for those who want to learn and keep growing. ​​

​​A big part of work is about being human and needing social connection. When working remotely, it’s easy to feel the effects of social isolation and a lack of different interactions in your daily routines. It’s important to combat the isolating effects by being intentional. Here are tips to stay connected beyond task-oriented work.   Designate a social channel  Not every interaction with a co-worker needs to have an explicit work function. The watercooler effect has an important place for bringing people together. But in a digital world, that needs to be fostered by creating a place where it’s permissible to open up, share photos of pets or simply blow off steam. And the research backs up why this is important.   Stick to a quitting time  Working all the time can make anyone feel disconnected from the larger web of social frameworks. Setting and maintaining a time to stop work for the day will allow you to reconnect with family, get in touch with friends or even take a walk and get a breath of fresh air.  Seek out a (remote) mentor  For people struggling to adapt, there’s no reason to go it alone. Assigning or seeking out mentors can prevent someone from spiraling into problems. Change and working remotely is a difficult process for anyone but guidance can ease the process.   Grow your network  Socializing doesn’t just take place with coworkers. Your extended network of professional connections also provide valuable social contact, and you can continue to build that web through digital platforms. There are digital options to spread your message, including blogging, vlogging, and podcasting. Tools like Anchor.fm now make it possible to start a podcast with little equipment or training, using equipment as basic as your phone.   Take an actual lunch  When you’re in the office, you may take a hurried lunch by yourself at your desk. At home, you have the luxury of making a real meal in your kitchen and sitting down at your dining room table. Use this time. Make a real lunch and connect with people either at home or through an online chat.   ​These measures are important not only personally, but also professionally. According to a study published in Harvard Business Review, 35% of the variation in a team’s performance can be accounted for simply by the number of exchanges among team members, and the “right” number of exchanges in a team is as many as dozens per working hour. So go ahead, indulge in social conversations –– and feel and perform better.  

Hiring looks different these days. With businesses practicing social distancing as much as possible, traditional interviews have morphed into virtual exchanges with video taking center stage. Here are ways to master the virtual interview new normal. ​Practice the “route” to avoid technical difficulties ​It’s common practice to drive to the location before your interview to make sure you don’t run into any construction or confusing directions. The same is true of a virtual interview.  Make sure the appropriate tool is downloaded, you have an account and are signed in, and you know how to use the technology. Virtual meetings can also be frustrating if they are hampered by freezing frames, lagging audio and dropped calls. Help ensure that your virtual meeting goes smoothly by asking others in your home to avoid using high-bandwidth activities like online video during the time of your interview. If wifi is still an issue, use hotspot data as a back-up. Many wireless carriers have added bonus hotspot data for free for the upcoming weeks. Pay attention to your presence ​During an era of working from home in casual wear, remember to dress up, look professional and be confident. Presentation matters in an interview, and in a virtual interview that includes having an uncluttered and professional background. Sit up straight and hold an upright body posture. Notice your breathing and inhale from your diaphragm, which prevents you from hunching over. Practice how you’re going to present eye contact, facial gestures and even your listening. Pay attention to how you are going to carry yourself, show enthusiasm and confidently lead with skills. Conduct a mock virtual interview ​Getting confident at interviewing takes practice, and this is also true for adapting to a virtual interview format. Practice by conducting a mock interview over video. Most college career centers provide services to alumni and often have services to conduct a mock job interview, and many are offering virtual services. If this isn’t available, rehearse with a friend before the interviewing process.Send a timely follow-up ​A timely follow-up can help highlight and reinforce your best impressions after the interview. Send an email note to recruiters saying what made you feel connected to the position and how the interviewers helped you understand the role. This can reinforce what others thought of you. You don’t need to say too much to stand out in the digital flood of information. ​In this format, many of the same interviewing techniques apply while new challenges arise at the same time. Don’t expect perfection –– interviewers are likely going through the same struggles. But preparation to adapt to the new medium will show another layer of skill and can work in your favor.

Welcome to the Work from Home age.  The impact of the covid-19 virus has suddenly transformed the global workforce into largely a remote workforce. For some, their familiarity with technology has made the transition a relatively smooth one, with more conference calls and Zoom chats. For others, learning digital etiquette and use of technology requires some getting used to. Below are guidelines and helpful tips to follow and share with colleagues to collaborate better.  Designate channels for types of communication   And stick to their purposes. It can add to the stress to sort through emails, texts, Slack messages, voicemails and other forms of communication to find what you’re looking for. Having multiple forums for different types of communication –– such as urgent vs. long-term planning –– can help as long as everyone is clear which forum is used for which type of communication. Once a system is in place, it’s much easier to find what you need in a timely manner.   Remember the phone call  One rule of thumb is to have two or three email replies before you pick up the phone. It can be much faster and more efficient to have a 5-10 minute phone call to hash out details rather than 5-10 emails back and forth. It also helps to bring a sense of humanity into a conversation simply by hearing someone else’s tone and voice.   Take advantage of chat – wisely  Quick text chat tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams can be time-savers if you need a quick question asked without opening up and composing a whole new email. But it can also be a time suck when chat turns into a longer discussion that’s better for a conference call or email. Or it can splinter your focus time if you constantly get pinged. Feel free to on an away message or set your status as busy if you don’t want to be interrupted while you’re working on a project.  Don’t overuse reply all  With the best of intentions, people try to keep others in the loop by replying all to an email chain. But before you send a message to everyone by default, consider if everyone needs to read what you’re about to send. Overcommunicating in terms of replies to everyone can bury someone’s inbox, and hide some of the most important communication that needs addressing.  Technology can be a godsend when it connects us across locations or time zones when there’s no other way to reach out. But also can take over. Make sure when you’re working remotely that technology is your tool, and you’re not becoming a tool of technology. 

​Working from home sounds great, but the transition to telecommuting during this period can be highly stressful as governments around the world move to limit movement and curb the spread of the coronavirus. The disruptions to daily life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are bringing forth new challenges that even seasoned remote workers might find overwhelming to handle. In the midst of trying to juggle everything, you might neglect your well-being and put yourself at the risk of burning out or falling sick. Besides creating a conducive work environment at home, you have to take care of your well-being to stay productive and healthy while staying home.Here are some self-care tips to help you get started.   Watch what you eat You are what you eat, so eating a balanced diet is key to staying healthy. Plus, it will help you stay fuller longer, helping you to focus better. A simple way to make sure you’re eating healthily is to divide your plate into four. Wholegrains and your choice of protein should take up one-quarter of the plate each, and the rest of it should be filled with fruits and vegetables. Additionally, keep yourself hydrated by drinking lots of water.   Avoid junk food and sugary treats Working from home means you have easy access to your kitchen, which means you can conveniently whip up a healthy meal for yourself. However, the opposite applies as well, and you might find yourself snacking on junk food more often than you would like to think. Many of us tend to snack to relieve some boredom or stress, and the snacks tend to be high in sodium or sugars, which are detrimental to the body in the long run. Stick to eating healthy and during your regular mealtimes. If you really want a snack, opt for healthier options like nuts and fruits instead of crackers and ice cream.   Maintain a regular sleep cycle The body needs to sleep to function well, and maintaining a regular sleep cycle is key to achieving the good night’s rest. It can be tempting to stay up late, sleep in or take afternoon naps when you’re working from home but doing so can mess up your sleep cycle.  Stick to waking up and sleeping at fixed times can help you achieve better quality sleep, and you are more likely to wake up refreshed and focused throughout the day.  Also, make sure you are sleeping enough too – an adult body performs its best with seven to eight hours’ sleep. If you’re feeling sleepy in the day, do some light exercises or take a walk around your house instead of taking a nap to avoid disrupting your sleep schedule.    Exercise Just because the gyms and parks are closed does not mean you can’t exercise. Working out have many benefits to the body, including feeling more energized and stronger immunity. Set aside thirty minutes to an hour each day for some exercise to stay fit. Keep things interesting by varying your workout. Besides jogging, you can participate in online fitness classes where there is some interaction with the instructor.    Do social hangouts If you have been working in a bustling office environment, working from home can feel isolating due to the lack of human contact. According to a 2015 research article titled Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality, feelings of loneliness and isolation can negatively affect your emotional and physical well-being, even more so than obesity and smoking itself. To prevent this, find new ways to interact with your co-workers and friends. For example, you can arrange to have lunch via video call with your friends. You can also create a group chat with co-workers for casual conversations and share interesting things that have happened to stay in touch.  ​

​​Global Best Practices for Getting Back to Work: #SmartRestart #PeopleFirst  As countries around the world begin to relax lockdowns, lift restrictions and plan for a return to some kind of new normal, it’s refreshing to be looking ahead to restarting our economies and reopening our workplaces. Already there are lessons to be learned from early waves from South Korea and Singapore, and now the Nordics, Spain, Italy and others planning how to ease thousands of workers safely back to work in the coming weeks.  While we scrutinize the impact of this health crisis on GDP, digest the reams of data and look ahead to formulate scenarios to minimize damage to our economies and businesses, it’s imperative we remember this crisis is all about people – about how people behave, how people react and how they respond in times of crisis.  The question we should be asking is not how speedy, how soon or how stringent a lockdown or lifting of restrictions should be; more, how do we encourage individuals to act on the information available and change their behavior accordingly?  For example, while restaurants remain open in Sweden, business is down 80% - because adherence to public advice is incredibly high. The focus on not alarming the population yet creating the culture and conditions that encourage people to take the right steps is one of the most important determiners of how we will emerge from this crisis.  Employers have a significant role to play with 3.3bn people at work every day. When we talk about how to reopen the economy, understanding that customers and employees want to feel reassured requires data and insight to build trust and instill confidence for a strong, smart restart. As a global organization operating across more than 75 countries, here’s what we can learn from those countries first impacted, first emerging: Testing, tracing and technology is key. Just as tech bridged the way almost overnight to remote working, it will also help bridge society back to reopening. Data is strengthening our response to the pandemic and the fast deployment of contact-tracing and self-diagnosis apps are helping containment.  In Singapore, a contact-tracing app that requires users to opt-in and share data, is already proving that many prefer the confidence of knowing and minimizing health risks. It also helps ensuring individuals at risk follow the quarantine rules. Widespread availability of testing is critical too.  Spain may prove to be one of the hardest hit countries in Europe, yet this week a partial release of lockdown allowed 300 000 workers who couldn’t do their jobs remotely return safely to work thanks to distribution of over one million testing kits, and 10 million masks provided at subway stations. What we can also be confident of: people will not return to productive employment if it’s perceived as a risk to their health and to the health of their loved ones. Communication, Communication, Communication. Openness and honesty remains key, and it works both ways. The best employers are carrying out pulse surveys, asking people what works for them, what they expect from their employer and how they can do more to help. Others - like airlines – are asking customers what will make them feel comfortable to fly again. In South Korea the government launched a campaign to educate people that testing at a national scale was key to containment. They established a call center to keep people informed, introduced an app to assist self-diagnosis and tracing, and wearing masks in public was universally adopted. Clear communication focused on data and insight has undoubtedly saved lives and allowed people to work safely and confidently. We cannot simply flip the switch.We cannot go from ‘off’ to ‘on’ with the current situation. There will be no universal return date for all. Countries ahead of the curve are orchestrating a phased approach prioritizing health and containment. Employers must provide clear guidance so people understand the rationale around returning. Gatherings at work and outside will be controlled. Workers who can work remote will likely stay home. Shifts will be staggered to allow for physical distancing, deep cleaning will happen between shifts and protective materials will be available to workers. Temperature-taking and virus-testing will continue in order to contain the virus, reduce anxiety around inevitable, controlled flare-ups and heighten worker confidence.  Partnerships and collaboration counts.Reopening the economy will require large-scale cooperation and alliances -- public and private, international and domestic. That’s why we are proud to join together with HR Industry Leaders and call for employers, trade unions, and NGOs to join us, too. We know this collaborative model works. Countries around the world are beginning to minimize disruption with a collective will to defeat the virus. In South Korea the public and private sectors are coming together quickly and efficiently, seamlessly merging data to identify new cases and isolate their spread, resulting in raised awareness and socially responsible behavior.  Acknowledge we will return to the future, not the past. Now is the time to embrace a shared vision of tomorrow. The sudden transformation of how we do business is going to have a lasting effect. Some of these changes are closer to what workers wanted all along. For years we’ve heard the growing chorus of calls for more flexibility, for remote working. Trust is now being required of both sides - to balance well being, productivity and independence.  And for those who remained on the job – the essential workers who have served us in hospitals, grocery stores and delivery centers – their service must remain valued and rightly rewarded long after the shut-down ends. Work is something that largely defines the human experience. If we remain strong, resilient and well-positioned to support our colleagues, customers and communities we can all be safely back to work - however that manifests itself in the next normal. Employers must be a part of the solution and put the well being of their people at the heart of what they do, protect lives and livelihoods.  After all, we’re all in this together. 

​​​To slow down the spread of COVID-19, many workers worldwide are being told to work from home. The mass shift to telecommuting have left many workers scrambling to secure laptops, internet routers and other items they need to set up their home work space. Besides getting the technology, adopting good work habits and creating a conducive environment are important in helping you stay focused and motivated while working from home.​Here are some tips that you can incorporate into your daily work activities to boost your productivity:​Work from a deskIf you have been working from a desk at work, continue doing the same at home to emulate your usual work environment.Sit in a good postureSitting upright while you are working will help to increase oxygen flow to your brain and help you stay focused as you work. Find a chair with back support and place a cushion or rolled-up towel at your lower back for the extra support if needed. Also, make sure your eye is level with the top of your laptop screen so that you do not strain your neck.Bedrooms are for sleeping onlyWhile it is tempting to work from bed, this is a no-no as the bedroom is typically a space where you unwind and rest for the day. Working in your bedroom might blur the lines between work and personal time, and even affect the quality of sleep you get in the long run.Choose a clean and well-lit area to do your workBeing surrounded by clutter while working can be distracting. Working in a clean and well-lit area can help optimize your focus and think clearer. Not only that, working in a clean environment will be beneficial to your physical health. Do remember to regularly tidy your work space and ensure it is clean.Do some light exercises during breaksWorking for hours in front of the screen can take its toll on your body. Make the most out of the personal space by doing some light exercises such as stretching or go for a walk. This will help to reduce muscle soreness and stress in your body, as well as stimulate blood circulation, giving you an energy boost to keep you going throughout the day.

​​The coronavirus outbreak has triggered an accelerated trial run for remote work at a previously unthinkable scale. What we learn in the next few months could help shape the future of work and drive innovation across a range of business functions and industries. However, while much of the focus has been on whether technology and infrastructure can handle the surge in demand, what’s often not considered are the communication nuances crucial to productivity.The digital era has ushered in a revolution in communication that’s equivalent to the one surrounding the invention of the printing press. It’s changing how we speak — often in bullet points. And it’s affecting what we hear, as the jumble of information coming at us can lead to frequent misunderstandings and confusion.​People who work on remote teams face these challenges consistently. According to recent estimates from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 22% of Americans work from home, while nearly 50% are involved with remote or virtual team work. This continuing shift calls for a new range of behaviors and skills.​Why do remote teams demand new collaboration skills? What’s missing from our texts, emails, conference calls, and other digital communications? Body language. Even when we’re co-located, the tone of a text or the formality of an email is left wide open to interpretation, to the point that even our closest friends get confused. These misinterpretations create an anxiety that can become costly, affecting morale, engagement, productivity, and innovation.Remote communication can distort the normal pace of our conversations. The delay between our messages can often postpone or hide emotional reactions to our comments. How many times have you written an email and, immediately after hitting send, felt concerned about how it would land? Would your boss see your late-night email and consider it to be an intrusion on their private time? Would they tell you if it was? While we may have become used to these types of asynchronous interactions, they can still conflict with our normal rules for social interaction. Lacking an immediate response, we can become distracted, second-guess ourselves, or even grow frustrated with our teams.To perform at the highest levels, remote teams have to find new and better ways to operateFirst, consider that there are three kinds of distance in remote collaboration: physical (place and time), operational (team size, bandwidth and skill levels) and affinity (values, trust, and interdependency). The best way for managers to drive team performance is by focusing on reducing affinity distance. Try switching most remote communication to regular video calls, which are a much better vehicle for establishing rapport and creating empathy than either e-mails or voice calls. And design virtual team-building rituals that give people the opportunity to interact regularly and experience their collaboration skills in action.When remote teams communicate well and leverage their strengths, they can actually gain an advantage over co-located teams. Here are some best practices to master.Don’t conflate brief communications and clear communications: In our efforts to be efficient, we sometimes use fewer words to communicate. But such brevity can mean that the rest of the team wastes time trying to interpret your messages (and then misinterpret them anyway). Don’t assume that others understand your cues and shorthand. Spend the time to communicate with the intention of being ultra clear, no matter the medium. Indeed, you can never be too clear, but it is too easy to be less clear than you should.Don’t bombard your team with messages: Do you follow up on a task by email, text and phone? Do you tend to ask people if they got your previous message? Abusing those access points can be a form of digital dominance, a relentless and uncomfortable form of harassment. The medium you choose creates different demands on the time of the receiver. Using all of them for the same messageis ineffective (as well as annoying). Choose your digital volume wisely.Establish communication norms: Remote teams need to create new norms that establish clarity in communication. Companies such as Merck have created acronyms for their digital communications like “Four Hour Response (4HR)” and “No Need to Respond (NNTR)” that bring predictability and certainty to virtual conversations. Individual teams can also establish their own norms — e.g., to use or not use Teams, Slack, Google Docs, or WhatsApp groups. And norms can also exist on an individual level, such as people’s preferred response time, writing style and tone. For example, some individuals prefer short and quick messages, while others favor lengthy and detailed responses; people also differ in their preference and tolerance for humor and informality.While we often tend to regard human predictability as a defect, few qualities are more sought-after at work, especially in virtual collaborations. We are all unique, but our consistent behaviors help others predict what we do and, in turn, help them to understand us — we all benefit from being understood. You can make that easier for others by establishing a clear personal etiquette and sticking to it consistently.See the hidden opportunities in written communications: Being behind a screen can create new opportunities for certain team members, making space for those who might be less inclined to speak out in groups. Text-based communication places less importance on interpersonal skills and physical appearance, offering an effective way to share power and decision-making. Research shows that introverted individuals are less inhibited in online versus offline interactions. However, you need to watch out for virtual unconscious bias, where punctuation, grammar and word choice might reveal prejudiced attitudes towards certain groups.Create intentional space for celebration: Old school birthday cakes are still important for remote teams. Creating virtual spaces and rituals for celebrations and socializing can strengthen relationships and lay the foundation for future collaboration. Find ways to shorten the affinity distance. One company we worked with celebrated new talent by creating a personal emoji for each employee who had been there for six months. You can find your own unique way to create team spaces for social connection. How you do it is less important than whether you do. As more and more of our interactions happen digitally, we will continue to experience new forms of miscommunication and misunderstanding. The solution will not come from new technologies (although, no doubt, developers will keep trying to bridge that gap). Instead, the solution is in understanding the new rules of engagement; in building a communication skill set that reflects the demands of our digitally-driven age.

​​#1 Embrace New Ways of WorkingLeverage smart tools and tech which level the playing field for all workers – not just those who were equipped to work remote anyway.Enable collaboration but also ensure data security and privacy by explaining to workers that everyone is responsible for protecting data, while initiating practices and procedures that will strengthen data security within a business.Focus on output, not online presenteeism. Too much emphasis is placed on ‘being seen’ as a proxy for how committed an online worker is to an organization. Ensure clear output targets are set as the measure, rather than being hung-up on specific hours.Create structure for remote teams via scheduled meetings and informal checkins, boosting engagement as workers will feel included and clearly understand the value of their daily output.Find online expressions for your culture. Create a virtual water cooler (e.g. culturally dedicated Slack channels) where employees can run into each other and play out their personal and human sides.Think long-term. The reaction to COVID-19 will leave behind a legacy on which to build a way of working closer to the needs of people, proving that we are capable of overcoming physical barriers.Think of remote work as not a challenge to overcome but a business advantage to achieve. By not tying work to a physical location we democratize opportunity and open-up a world of new possibilities.#2 Prioritize Strong LeadershipRemember prepared and responsible leadership is critical to react promptly and competently in a time of crisisLead by example. Leaders should be visible in online tools and channels, communicating proactively and engaging in timely conversations where they are happening.Trust teams to be more autonomous but with processes, responsibilities and clearly defined roles to measure results and readjust behaviorConsider how new ways of working and getting work done can contribute to industry transformation, redesigning business models and diversifying supplyRemember a good contingency plan is just the start to creating the basis necessary to seize the opportunities to rethink your company and its leadership in a context of great transformation imposed by the crisis.#3 Stay Focused On Reskilling And UpskillingHelp people learn, apply and adapt to new roles and new ways of workingGet ready for more training to move digital. Webinars and online tutorials “solve” the theme of copresence. Quizzes and tests allow companies to verify learning and keep the engagement curve high.Create a culture that enables people to nurture their learnability and continually update their skills. The Skills Revolution we predicted is here and it’s happening now, ensuring people re-skill and upskill is how companies will stay competitive and people will be motivated and engaged, bringing value for the long-term.

​​​As the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic, employers need to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of their employees, as well as providing transparent and regular updates related to the business and virus. Critical to this process is the role played by the Contingency Manager – an individual who can take steps to manage this evolving situation to keep employees safe, while ensuring continued delivery of business operations.Their role should include:Actively monitor development of the virus outbreak and work with management to disseminate messages to employees with clear instructions of when measures need to be activated.Educate employees on the latest available information. Brief them on the need for infection control measures and the preventive procedures that have been set in place. Educate employees on the different types of thermometers, such as oral and ear thermometer, and the proper way of using them.Collate updated contact information of all employees, i.e. home address/home telephone number/mobile phone number. Make sure all employees have contact numbers of Contingency Manager/Assistant Contingency Manager*. Employees are to contact the Contingency Manager if they are admitted to hospital with suspected infections for contact tracing purposes.Ensure that the company has appointed at least one designated Point of Contact (POC), who will be responsible for liaising with the local government agency during activation of contact tracing processes at the workplace.Check local government websites daily for updated advisories (e.g. travel advisories) and update employees accordingly.Ensure that employees who have travelled to affected areas are quarantined for a sufficient number of days, as advised. Check on employees’ health by phone or email during his/her absence from work.Appoint employee to keep quarantined employees informed of events in office.Ensure that the workplace has adequate supplies of tissue paper/hand towels, disinfectants and masks.Brief employees on personal hygiene measures:Wash hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and waterSneezing and coughing should be done onto tissue paper which should be carefully disposedAvoid sharing of cups, cutlery, etcBefore and after preparing foodAfter going to the toiletBefore and after eatingAfter coughing and sneezingAfter removing personal protective equipment like mask and disposable glovesAvoid physical contact such as shaking handsPut up notices in washrooms on proper hand washing techniquesEnsure common areas e.g. pantries, washrooms, meeting rooms are disinfected daily. Liaise with cleaning employees/contractors on thisDesignate a room/area in the office with nearby toilet facilities as the isolation room/area for the employee(s) with fever to use. Identify the isolation route (a route that is not commonly used by employees/visitors) that leads to an area where the employees with fever can be brought to the flu clinic/hospitalIdentify hospital/clinics that employees with fever can be brought toWhere advised by government agency, carry out symptom or temperature monitoring of employees. If temperature monitoring is instituted, ensure employees measure their temperature twice daily*Note: Depending on the employee strength of your company and the size of your company’s premises, an Assistant Contingency Manager should be appointed as a backup to cover the duties of the Contingency Manager.

​​As COVID-19 continues to impact governments, businesses and communities around the world, it has never been truer that a resilient organization needs to plan for uncertainty and be built for change. In these emergency situations, business continuity planning must be outlined in a Business Contingency Plan - a process that identifies potential risks and scenarios and provides operational solutions.Establish Local Business Continuity Plan TeamThis can be a small team to start with that can be expanded with pre-identified, named people. Representatives from HR and the business should be included.Set clear objectives for the team and delegate areas of responsibility.This team should specifically be made aware of what they are expected to do in case any of our people are impacted.Cover Each Business Unit / Site Office When You Develop Your Contingency StrategiesIdentify critical aspects that may be affected.Develop interim mitigating/recovery guidelines and procedures for business unit operation for maintaining/resuming to normal situation if abnormality arise.Identify backup resource as and where required.Establish Communication ProtocolOutline a call tree system (emergency contacts list, staff telephone no., management contacts, government contacts etc.).Decide who should communicate what to whom and at what frequency (to staff, associates, clients and other stake holders).Keep in mind that all communication should be factual and do consider carefully how any message that you plan to communicate can be understood in the minds of the receiversWork With Building ManagementWhere relevant, clarify with the office Building Management Company the emergency procedures they have (e.g. emergency contact, additional clean down, taxi arrangement etc.).Discuss the expectation for special hygienic practices with the Building Management Company.People FirstRegular reminder to all staff about preventive/mitigating actions that everyone can take such as personal hygiene etc.Request Declaration for Health Status (both for the staff and their family members).Study work from home / remote office / operations feasibility and develop relevant procedures (e.g. information security).Update family emergency contacts.Encourage staff members to take regular temperature checks before going to the office and remain at home in case of fever.Consider not having all leadership being located in the same physical office in case of an outbreak. Develop plans in case virus is confirmed among staff where you should consider the following:When you make your plans, consider different scenarios of severity and plan for minimum or no interruption of operations due to the actions you’re taking.Ensure that your technology infrastructure aligns with you plans.If the staff member has been confirmed no return to the office is allowed, even if it relates to pick-ing up personal things, and the staff member should immediately be put into quarantine.Seek to map out who the staff member in question has interacted with during the last two weeks, prior to being confirmed with the virus. Depending on length and time of interaction, consider who else should be put in quarantine/work from home or remain in the office but being observed for developing symptoms in the coming weeks.Regular CommunicationsRegularly update internal and external audiences on the latest guidelines and business continuity plans.Periodically review, amend if needed and refine your plan as required for change in status of the virus spread or other reasons.

​​In response to the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, many companies are requiring some or all of their employees to work from home.While working remotely does provide some advantages such as saving time and money by eliminating commuting, it can also increase stress levels. For many, this is an unexpected development they may be unprepared for.Working remotely can be challenging under normal circumstances—but for those doing so for the first time or adjusting to sharing their home office with children, spouses or roommates—it is important to create structure and expectations. This applies to your colleagues and also within your home.Potential Challenges Working Remotely:Lack of colleagues and managers to collaborate with and stay on taskWorking too many or too few hoursManaging work/life balance and establishing boundaries to limit distractionsLack of everyday face-to-face interaction, increased feelings of isolation and decreased motivation and trustPotential for miscommunication due to lack of non-verbal cuesEssential Tips for Successful Remote WorkingIn addition to any best practices your company will share relative to specific requirements for your technology and cybersecurity, the following tips enable optimal productivity:Prepare for SuccessCreate your workspace: Establish a dedicated work environment that is free from distractions. Consider logging out of all social accounts during work (unless necessary for your job). If sharing a space with others, lay ground rules and expectations for noise levels and break times.Evaluate and upgrade your home technology: Consider increasing or boosting your Internet bandwidth especially if you have multiple people accessing your network at the same time. Those with spotty cell reception may consider a dedicated office line.Establish set working hours: Develop a routine where you “start (and end) your work day.” Potentially schedule a recurring meeting each morning to ensure you start your day on time. Similarly, log out and log off at the end of your work day.Stay ConnectedHold daily check-ins: Maintain open and frequent communication with your manager, colleagues and those who report to you. Managers should hold regular meetings with team members. Establish expectations for response times to emails and phone calls while utilizing out of office reminders or notifications if you will be away from your desk for extended periods of time.Leverage multiple technology platforms: Phone, email and chat are likely standard in your work life. Using video conferencing may enable feeling more connected and decrease isolation (Tip: video calls can also motivate users to “dress more for the office” which can also help shift mindset throughout the day).Be productive and proactive: Plan to deliver the same productivity that you do when you are in the office. Have your manager or colleagues hold you accountable. Alert colleagues if you anticipate delays in your work or if you are collaborating on a group project.Leverage technology support: Leverage your company’s IT support desk if you have questions or need support. Understand that they are likely receiving a large number of requests for similar support at this time.Manage Your TimePractice effective time management: As you adjust to your new environment, you will establish peak performance times such as early morning before other family members are awake. Find the times that work best for you to maximize your productivity.Build in time for the unexpected: If you build in extra time for unanticipated work demands, you will be less stressed if and when this happens. Set aside time and you can always reallocate it to get ahead on a project if no emergencies pop up.Take breaks: Step away from your work area for 10-20 minute breaks every two hours. Take a short walk, read a quick article, check in with your family members or other friends working remotely. This shift in your focus will make you more productive when you return to work.Be flexible and patient: This is even more essential now that you are working from home. As your company is responding to properly equip the newly remote workforce, there may be delays in responses from colleagues or a lag in technology.