In business and in life, things can be unpredictable, leaving you and your employees unsure of what to do next. This is where learn the 3 steps to plan for crisis as a recruiter can be paramount to your company’s ability to navigate rough waters.
In our first blog post from our Crushin’ It in Staffing episode with Chris Dyer, CEO of PeopleG2, we discussed the many reasons to invest in a remote workforce. Now, you may be wondering, how do you adequately manage and prepare your remote team for the changes and challenges that lie ahead? In the second part of the episode, Chris spoke in detail about some core practices you can use to make your team unstoppable – even in the event of something catastrophic.
“I find that one of the best things that our company ever did, especially in transitioning to remote employees, was to start talking about what our big, hairy, audacious goals were.”
In preparation for any major company transition, Chris recommends “tsunami planning,” in which he outlines three major steps you can take to prepare your employees for anything that comes their way.
1) Get in crisis planning mode – but make it fun.
Getting your team in crisis mode can be fun and engaging at the same time. Chris does this by asking his employees off-the-wall questions to prompt them to think creatively about how they would handle certain types of scenarios. “I throw in some crazy questions just for fun, sometimes at the beginning of a meeting, as a way to pose the question ‘what if?’ For instance, I may ask, ‘What would happen if I died tomorrow? What would happen if we landed a giant client? Do we have a recruiting plan or staffing company on deck?” While Chris acknowledges these are not always pleasant circumstances to think about, it’s critical to have these conversations before something major occurs.
2) Move on from past behavior.
In most cases, Chris says that focusing on past behavior is simply a waste of time. As he explains, “We don’t have a time machine, you can’t go back and change it. When it comes to addressing things from the past, people are inherently negative, they are defensive, and an argument ensues.”
Instead, Chris advises that it’s best to exemplify “forward behavior,” in which you let everybody express themselves and be fully present in the moment. Taking steps to move forward from prior negative interactions is the most impactful way to start a positive conversation among your team.
When it comes to what’s going to happen in the future, Chris says it’s important to “have a conversation about what that looks like and set those expectations, and remove all the negativity and budding heads and the source of conflict with people.” This approach will bring your employees together in a way that promotes an open exchange of information that’s in the best interest of your organization.
3) Get laser-focused on goals.
You can’t expect to execute any meaningful plan of action until you get clear on your specific goals. So often, employees are expected to fulfill multiple responsibilities each day with little knowledge or foresight about what they’re supposed to be working towards.
As Chris puts it, “If they don’t know what you’re trying to do, they don’t know where your company is trying to get to this big giant goal, then why in the heck would they want to do all these little things?
Why would they want to work hard?
Why would they want to do all these things if they don’t understand what you’re trying to accomplish?”
Taking steps to communicate measurable goals for their employees will give them the incentive to stay focused and contribute to significant decisions.
While you may be tempted to implement all these practices at once, Chris recommends starting with one small change first, saying: “Often where we find organizations can be best is by taking on this idea of the ‘aggregation of marginal gains,’ which means understanding how to get 1% better today or this month or this week, whatever time frame you want to look at.” Making incremental changes and monitoring their results along the way will help you make small, yet powerful leaps in the right direction.
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