Checking in with your people

This past week has reminded us of the truth that change is the only constant. Our thoughts go out to everyone in Victoria as they’ve started another round of physical distancing. We hope that you feel Australia’s support as we get through COVID-19 together. One of the traits often attributed to the Australian personality and character is that we come together through hard times to support one another. Remember to reach out and connect with those of your colleagues, family or friends in Victoria, build connections and relationships as it will help them through the next six weeks.

We’ve noticed some interesting trends in our conversations over the past week and wanted to call it out. A word that has seen an increased frequency in use is ‘deflated’. We’ve noticed that many people experience feeling deflated and described themselves as feeling flat. There is certainly a sense that the recent increase in community transmission has many of us looking at Victoria and asking if, or even when, this could happen to us. How can we provide the necessary support to our people or our peers when we ourselves feel challenged? How can we build our resilience skills to help pick ourselves up or recharge our psychological batteries?

This week we’re turning our spotlight on the importance of naming and normalising the range of emotions and responses.

Supporting your people inevitably requires your leaders to ensure they continue to engage in the right sorts of conversations that will keep your people engaged and feeling supported. What are some tips and strategies you can equip your leaders and your people with? How does your organisation harness the power of positive communication to lead your people through these challenging times? How can your leaders keep things on an even keel as we continue to be challenged to adapt by COVID-19?

Within AccessEAP, we continue to emphasise the importance of investing in self-care. One of the things we always try to do is ensure that we care for our people so they can care for yours. What does this look like? Each morning in our daily Executive Leadership Team huddle, we make it a core agenda item to check in with each other. “How are you doing?” is one of the most asked questions at AccessEAP. Our people leaders make it a daily priority to check in with various members of the team. We’re seeing the benefits of this approach as our people check in on each other. It’s become more than a core part of our culture, it’s just what we do on a regular basis – and we see the benefits in our internal employee Pulse Surveys.

We’ve created two new tools, Strategies for checking in with your people and Acknowledging and neutralising negative thoughts. Find our wide range of Leader Tools and Personal Tools, in the Employer and Employee Login Areas of our website. 

We are here to support you through this. As always, our people are here to help support you and your people be their best in life and work. Contact AccessEAP on 1800 818 728. 

 

Photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova from Pexels