Markets grow and change rapidly. Many of these changes happen during uncertain times. Now with the Covid-19 outbreak still overtaking a big part of our lives, we are experiencing a resounding impact on our lives and our work. The steps that governments take to slow down the virus spread and eliminate the threats have been seismic and restrictive, to say the least. This, coupled with the recommendations for social distancing and remote work, has had a really big impact on the workforce across the globe.

Businesses and HR leaders are currently faced with impossible choices with regard to the survival of the business and continuity of good work. Not only are there many restrictions that prevent or seriously tweak the working progress, but people are also really struggling with these uncertain times.

Even companies which have worked entirely online need to change their approaches and find new ways to engage their employees. For example, a dissertation service that works with online writers has decided to implement more frequent internal communication to keep its employees motivated and informed about the changes in the educational system.

HR leaders definitely have a lot of work at this time. Without knowing the full impact of COVID-19 on the workforce, they have to prepare for what’s to come, and also ensure that the business remains alive during these times.

Right now, a great leader needs to manage uncertainty by providing compassionate leadership, and by finding new ways to engage employees. With that in mind, we’ve created a guide that should help you keep employees interested and motivated during uncertain times.

1. Consistency and honesty

This is not the time to be vague or retreat in your home office. In uncertain times, people need guidance and help. Stop dancing around the problems. The only way to make employees want to work hard at such times is to keep them motivated and happy. To do this, you need to be honest.

Of course, you might not be able to share confidential information with people, but there is no reason to be vague or lie about things. If there’s something you’re not at liberty to say, be honest and tell them this. This is the worst possible time to be caught in a lie, and it will definitely ruin your credibility and reputation as a leader.

2. Communication

You can learn a lot right now from companies which have been handling remote workers before this situation arose. Online companies, like paper writing services, work with remote writers, just like most companies work at this moment because of the pandemic. The best of these companies are able to lead and motivate people even without being at the same office or establishment. They keep them motivated and engage them in their work by using incentives, training and, most importantly, communication.

As you can see in this masterpapers review, companies that offer online help focus a lot of their efforts on communication and training. They have open lines for customers to reach out if they need help or have issues, but they also have open lines for their employees.

You need to be constantly available to your team, especially at times when they might have questions or concerns. It is hard to adjust to this new situation and people weren’t given much time to do it. Keep your doors open, even if this means answering e-mails or phone calls.

3. Evaluations

If you want to do your job in the HR sector properly, you need to evaluate everything. Always know what the situation and the plans of your company are. This should tell you how to handle the situation and what to tell the team.

To keep people engaged, you need to know what they are doing and how they can improve. Meet often, even if it is via social media channels or work communication platforms. Discuss the changes with the employees. This will help you evaluate their progress and their mindset, and set future steps for more effective work.

4. Close attention

Leading people through uncertain times is hard. You need your critical thinking and observation skills now more than ever. Keep in touch with people to catch wind of the happenings throughout the office. Pay careful attention to things that happen in the workplace, even the things in other departments.

This could teach you about good and bad practices, give you the information you need to lead your team, and help you tweak your strategies to help your employees do their work more efficiently.

5. Remote-working policies

The COVID-19 has certainly changed the workplace. Most companies today have decided to move partially or fully to a remote working model as a response to the guidance of their governments. This should put the spread of the virus to a halt and enable companies to continue working.

But, it’s also not something that is simple, at least not for companies that haven’t worked remotely before. Right now, your company will have to review, reconsider and revise the policies for remote work.

This gives HR leaders an opportunity to enhance the working policies and make them more flexible. It also gives them a chance to test the success of different working conditions. Nowadays, workers prefer flexibility over everything else and they’ll be much more willing to work for your company if you provide them with some flexibility in the future, too.

Still, for those who haven’t worked from home before, this will be a challenge. As an HR leader, you need to support people and ensure that the revisions in the policies are clear and being followed by employees.

Wrapping up

In these rough times, HR leaders must do their best to support and motivate employees. The workforce has changed a lot, possibly long-term, which means that you have an even bigger responsibility now in keeping your employees happy, safe and engaged. These tips should get you started, but your unique strategies must depend on your company and your employees’ specific needs.

Serena Dorf is a copywriter and editor at AssignmentGeek in Los Angeles, USA. She has been working in this position for three years, providing essay writing services to students at the highest academic levels. In addition to working for some of the best paper writing services such as her part-time employment company Bestessay.com, she also does some freelance journalism and blogging on inspirational and educational topics.