The sudden closure of many non-essential workplaces has forced an abrupt change to the way that companies operate and how people go about their work and daily living. It is disrupting and stressful, made even worse by the unpredictability of the coronavirus.
For example, Facebook has said that up to half of its employees could work from home permanently in the next 5 to 10 years. In Singapore, work from home is likely to continue even as the government progressively eases circuit-breaker restrictions.
Companies, whether they are a large global corporation or a SME, are now being challenged to a new level to test the creativity of its leadership and workforce. This is the time to reorganize corporate structure and reform its resilience to deal with the on-going crisis and plan for future unexpected external stresses.
With companies taking the first steps of re-opening for business in Singapore and across the world, what are the new skills corporate training need to focus on for companies to be successful and profitable in a vastly different business environment. Beyond core technical competencies and digital savviness, these are the areas which need to be considered in staff corporate training.
- Enhancing communication capabilities and skills
- Developing resilient and emotional intelligence
- Building an adaptable and creative workforce
- Strengthening teambuilding skills
- Motivating staff to rebuild for success
- Reinforcing corporate branding
Enhancing communication capabilities and skills.
With remote working fast becoming a common feature of worklife in the future, companies have to energize their workforce with the communication capabilities and skills that will help them contribute to a robust corporate future. One example is video calls or meetings – can your staff communicate effectively internally within the organisation as well as externally with your key business partners?
Developing resilient and emotional intelligence.
Investing to build organizational resilience starts from the resilient of the company’s human capital. Successful companies leverage on the talent of their workforce to outperform competitors. Emotional intelligence typically includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management – all key people skills that drives productivity and profitability.
Building an adaptable and creative workforce.
Adaptability has been widely seen as a key skill required for the future, especially when disruption to worklife globally has forced companies to change how they operate. An adaptable and creative workforce will be able to take on new roles rapidly, and have the vision to improve business processes or see new business opportunities for the company.
Strengthening teambuilding skills.
Remote working has changed the concept of teamwork and team communications. In the traditional style, you can gather your team to discuss a project over a meeting on a face-to-face basis. In a remote working situation, you may find that your team is scattered all over. How do the team leader and team members make the most out of virtual meetings, build effective teamwork and maintain team cohesion?
Motivating staff for success.
Training, motivating and engaging staff as enterprises re-start their operations after a period of closure is vital to building trust with your workforce especially in the current situation filled with anxieties and stresses. A highly motivated workforce is productive, enthusiastic and willing to go the extra mile – they will have a direct impact on the corporate performance that in time, will drive greater profits for the company.
Reinforcing corporate branding.
How has your corporate brand been affected by on-going pandemic crisis? For example, many badly-hit airlines have put workers on no-pay-leave. They will have to recover their corporate branding eventually. The same goes for retailers who have to bring back customers to their physical of perhaps on-line stores. Reinforcing your corporate brand also means training and developing your staff personal brand, as they are often the company’s ultimate marketing image.
The on-going pandemic crisis has yet to be resolved. However, companies have to start planning for the future and re-imagine their business in a new environment, and implement relevant corporate training to leverage on their workforce to be resilient and drive for success in the new market.
Jill Lowe International is a Talent Transformation company specialising in corporate training and personal branding, including training for people skills and emotional intelligence. With more than 35 years of experience, we conduct customized corporate leadership programmes, staff corporate training courses and motivational talks.
Drop us a note on your corporate training needs at enquiry@jilllowe.com or find out more at https://jilllowe.com/courses/corporate-transformation/.