Navigating uncertainty: Four HR experts reveal strategies for fostering workplace resilience

Remote

”For companies with remote workers, the ability to navigate challenges and emerge stronger lies in fostering a remote-first work culture. Here are some strategies we have used at Remote to successfully build a resilient and engaged workforce:

1. Centre your work around core values — By centering work around values such as excellence, ownership, and transparency, Remote ensures our employees feel connected and valued while simultaneously empowered to do their work well.
   ‍
2. Leverage async communication — Asynchronous communication and flexible hours allow our team to work at their peak productivity hours, creating a balance between work and personal life, which is critical during uncertain times.
   ‍
3. Support remote work — By eliminating location as a barrier to employment and defaulting to async work, Remote nurtures an environment where everyone’s ideas are heard and respected. Our publicly available employee handbook serves as a comprehensive guide on how to do this well, enabling employees to understand our expectations and feel connected to our mission.
   ‍
4. Protect mental well-being — We’ve also prioritized mental health and wellness, offering supportive resources to ensure our team members feel equipped to handle stress and change.

A remote-first culture that prioritizes people, promotes flexibility, and encourages open communication is what has allowed us to not only survive but thrive in the face of adversity. This resilience is not just about withstanding challenges but about using them as a catalyst for growth and improvement.

Furthermore, remaining faithful to our mission and vision has been instrumental in ensuring continuity for every member of our team, regardless of their tenure. This unwavering commitment has persevered through the ebbs and flows of our journey.”

Workable

”It’s about rolling with the punches. Our experience of the last few years showed us that we can’t always predict what’s around the corner, so we must equip our teams with the tools and capabilities to adapt quickly. That’s resilience in a nutshell.

Communication is also crucial. When people see regular headlines about layoffs, impending recessions, and international crises, they will wonder if their company – or even their job – will be affected. Keep them as well-informed as possible – even difficult information is better than an information vacuum that feeds uncertainty and rumors.

Examples of what we do at Workable are:

1. Learning & development — We have a formal L&D program with a dedicated manager to build our collective skill set.
   ‍
2. Annual company-wide retreats — Last year, we had an all-company retreat in the Peloponnese in Greece, and this year, we had three retreats near our three working hubs of Athens, London, and Boston.
   ‍
3. Mental health support — The retreats are fantastic for employee engagement, connectivity, and morale. We also have tools in our benefits package dedicated to mental health, including the Headspace app and access to counseling services.
   ‍
4. Flexibility in work schedules and locations — We encourage our employees to design their ideal, most productive working environment while remaining close to the office. We also include two full months of “work from anywhere” in our benefits package.
   ‍
5. Transparent communication — We have regular all-hands and departmental meetings to show progress toward our annual goals and each team’s contributions.

The overarching key to all this is engagement. If we equip our teams with the tools to thrive and support them as needed, they’ll be more confident and engaged. That can be powerful when navigating these turbulent times.”

EZRA

1. ”Build self-awareness — Empower managers and leaders with a supportive and structured environment to become more self-aware. In difficult or uncertain times, companies can develop this trait by encouraging and providing people with the tools to explore their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, which can ultimately improve their overall mindset and ability to lead positively.
   ‍‍
2. Set clear goals — It’s impossible to be resilient if people aren’t confident that they can achieve a positive outcome. It’s also hard to ’measure’ resilience, so it’s important to establish clear, meaningful goals. Companies must ensure they’re working closely with their leaders, teams, and individual employees to set goals that are realistic, sensible, and achievable.
   ‍‍
3. Encourage employees to ask for help and be prepared to provide dedicated support — An often-underplayed component of resilience is the ability for people to understand their own limitations and seek constructive feedback. Especially for those in managerial or leadership roles, getting external support to equip them with the tools to navigate challenging situations successfully can be invaluable for both their professional and personal development.

EZRA is a company built on helping others recognize and unleash their full potential so when it comes to our own people, that remains paramount. During difficult times, we always try and stay true to our core company values which remind us to ’keep it simple’ and ’push positively.’ This is done by remaining transparent about the challenges we’re facing, our plan to overcome them, the role our employees will play, and how we can support them. We’ve seen first-hand how transparency and two-way communication can replace uncertainty with confidence and connectivity, and as a coaching company, we deeply understand the role these practices play in fostering both organizational and employee growth.”