Senior Management Talks on Maintaining Productivity during COVID-19

by Prompt Personnel | Apr 3, 2020 | Human Resources, Uncategorized

During this tough time where businesses are facing challenges; we thought it’d be more helpful to gain some in-depth insights from the top management who are well-adept with their area of work. With our new series on #PromptProductivity, we are sitting down with some of the most important people belonging in the managerial positions, for a detailed chat on the current scenarios. We had a talk with our VP – Staffing, Ms. Shirley Gokhlay to understand how she has tackled and managed work from home for her team, and here is what she says.

It is a tough time for the workforce of all levels, especially for you. How are you coping with this sudden, unprecedented challenge, in terms of managing work from home? How has the current situation impacted productivity levels in your department?

When the COVID 19 situation started to be recognised as a concern to the country, we as an organisation realised that we need to start working on a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to keep as a contingency plan. So, in a span of 2 days, we had the entire plan of action chalked out for every department to ensure that each one of us in the organization would be able to work from home with minimal impact on efficiency & productivity. Advance Technology has also played a vital role in providing us the platform to enhance the BCP. Yes, it’s a tough time for the workforce to cope & adjust to various unprecedented challenges and slthough there was an initial teething issue, we are happy to see that most of our challenges could be ironed out within a week. Our employees are now more equipped to handle their work efficiently and there has been minimal to zero impact on productivity of work as of now.

How are you managing your employees and their work from home? How are you overcoming these challenges to ensure regular flow of work?

Work and employees are being managed & challenges are overcome with the following process in place:

• Creation of a WhatsApp Group where all employees can communicate and interact with each other.
• Conference call in the morning with key people of the team, Ops Sr. Manager & Key Account Managers to understand the daily actionable for the day.
• Access to information/data required by the employees for smooth functioning of daily operational activities.
• Addressing any immediate concerns by way of chat/call to reduce the turn-around time with a solution.
• Taking a stock of the situation and analysing if we were able to complete the day’s activity by the end of each day.

What techniques are you implementing/implemented to ensure productivity and efficiency?

Below are the techniques implemented to ensure productivity & efficiency prevails:

• Daily Mobile attendance
• Desktop / Laptops, Internet connection provided.
• Access to require data/ information / software.
• BCP plan communicated to all stakeholders to ensure smooth operations.
• E-on-boarding of new employees through the mobile app.
• Key people of each team/department’s regular discussion in the day to plan the day’s activities.

This has been an unprecedented situation for not just companies but also employees. What everyone needs at this point is to keep communication clear and transparent while also considering other factors like any pain points of employees and their overall well-being.

How to work from home the right way       

by Prompt Personnel | Mar 27, 2020 | Human Resources, Uncategorized

Although the idea of work from home isn’t novel to some people, it can topple the routines and productivity of others, who haven’t or cannot indulge in this trend. However, now with the countrywide lockdown in effect, everyone has been forced to adopt work from home. For those who aren’t used to delivering the same productivity and performance as that in an office, at home, this has been and may be difficult with multiple distractions, lack of a dedicated work station and environment. Here is how you can work from home the right way, without compromising on your performance and productivity.

Create a work friendly environment

Make yourself comfortable and rejuvenate well before you begin and set on a mission for the day. Create an environment that is conducive for you to work in. Dedicate a particular corner of the house to your work, include your planners and work to-dos in your work paraphernalia and set the mood to work in. Make a note of all things you have to do and tick them one by one.

Dedicate a set time slot

We may be relatively free from the regular 9-5 time slot as we take work home. But it is still crucial for us to set a particular time slot to work and adhere to it by all means. Use your time wise and bright and dedicate and don’t let laziness hamper with this set time.

Set boundaries with family

With every member of the family being home, there is bound to be maximum disturbance at home. While everyone is engaged in board-games, movies and other hobbies together in the living room, it can be difficult for you to focus. It is important that you set some rules down and draw boundaries with everyone. This is imperative for them to understand and allow that space to you when you are working.

Increase communication with you teammate

It is easy to be in the zone of your work at an office, where one can simply stroll their chair to their colleagues’ desk or just dial the desk code, in case of any help. The same cannot happen at home, and to maintain the efficiency of work, one needs to be connected with them. To facilitate this, you can engage in conference calls and video calls and keep the communication frequent.

Take frequent but small breaks

Although work continues and you need to dedicate more or less, the same hours to it, you don’t necessarily have to sit 9-5 in your chair. Take small but regular breaks, do a chore, engage in a hobby and relax for a minute.

Although this has been an unprecedented situation, professionals who aren’t adapted to a work from home pattern, will simply have to find ways to be productive at home too. It is definitely not as difficult as you might feel. With a few ways and techniques, one can work from home the right way and efficiently.