Over the last week I have had two kinds of conversations with two kinds of CEOs. The first – is one deciding to cut costs, cut hours, cut payroll, and cut back. The second – is one deciding to push through, be creative, keep their people safe and find a way forward.
The ultimate question…to lean back or lean in?
At my company we understand that a job is more than a paycheck. And believe that everybody that works hard deserves to be trained. I believe it is in this moment that we need leaders to lean in…more than ever.
We need to support our workers better. We need to invest in tools to keep them connected and improving. We need to continue to strengthen our culture. We need to find ways to move forward and not pause.
At times like this, just adding more users to your web conferencing platform, adding more conference call lines or adding Slack is not going to get the job done. Companies need be investing in strategies and solutions that prevent digital isolation and use this time to reinforce organizational priorities in a way that inspires their people.
I feel for small business owners today. And, as a small business owner we are all enduring the same pressure in this moment. We have a political climate in Washington that is struggling to work together, we have businesses at a standstill, and we have the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.
I think we have all been expecting work to change. The dialogue about the future of work, robots and automation has been a major one over the last several months, but nobody could have foreseen how this global crisis would accelerate our need to adapt to new work realities. Before COVID-19 companies struggled with workforce skill gaps, outdated technologies and new generations of workers changing what work looks like. Today, we all struggle to respond faster.
As the CEO of a Newark-based technology startup that uses games to keep workers engaged and prepared, we have seen a greater demand for solutions to help workers that are on-the-go. And, I am optimistic that in this moment companies are in fact leaning in.
What does that mean? This means turning to strategies and solutions that allow them to:
● Rapidly communicate with their team
● Keep everyone up-to-speed while being fun and interactive
● Strengthen culture and community even while being remote
● Educate their team on how to effectively lead and operate under remote work conditions
● Bring staff together with shared objectives while not all being in the same place
So, in this moment we have also made a decision to turn to our community first. Newark is strong and it’s people are strong. With this in mind we have decided to make our 1Huddle workforce training game platform free for all local Newark and Essex County residents. If you are a local resident that is looking to stay up-to-speed with breaking news about COVID-19, get a quick training game in to sharpen your skills or to learn something new to prepare you for jobs of tomorrow — you can sign-up now by going to www.1huddle.co
Business leaders and companies need to get to work. We must not just transition to remote work, but master it. We must not forget about the front-line workers that may not be able to operate remote and find ways to keep them engaged and connected. We must lean in.
Yes, this is a crisis situation. But, we have more control over its outcome than we may think. Now is the moment.
So, to all the leaders out there … Let’s get back to work.
