Sorry about the boring spreadsheet image below. While I am an unabashed spreadsheet-lover, I put it there because sometimes the simplest solution works best.
This spreadsheet is an example of that. It’s the similar format to what we sent to our team at FlexJobs to help us urgently and effectively gather a status check on everyone during the coronavirus. This is important because once you have this information, you can really start to get a transparent team-by-team view on trends happening and then prioritize steps to find solutions, scheduling, and training as needed.
Create a “[Company] Pandemic Support Spreadsheet”
As organizations scramble to harness their teams for working-at-home productively, one of the basic challenges is understanding how to support everyone remotely in a way that is time- and cost-effective for your organization.
So first, we sent out out a version of the above Google spreadsheet so our team members could update their specific situation, town/area status, current challenges or needs, etc., as they related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are the fields we used, and while none were required, we have found it incredibly helpful both practically and psychologically for us to share our situations, commiserate, and identify opportunities for extra support where needed:
- Name
- Team
- Unlimited job posts
- Low, flat membership fee
- Access top-level remote advice
- Unlimited resume searches
- Reach the right candidates
- And so much more!
- City
- State/Country
- Town Status
- Current Schedule
- School-Aged Children at Home? (Y/N, ages)
- Roommates/Spouse Also Working from Home Suddenly?
- Other Impacting Circumstances?
- Is There Anything You Really Need and Can’t Get?
Discover a better way to recruit remote talent
Founded in 2007, FlexJobs is the most experienced remote & hybrid hiring platform.
Since we’re already a 100% remote company, we know that our team’s are already set up with the technology, communications, and management platforms they need, so we didn’t need to check in about those. But for most companies, you’d want to consider adding custom questions for your situation, such as:
- What tech problems are you having, if any?
- What information access problems are you having, if any?
- Do you know how to contact all of your teammates as needed?
- What parts of your job are proving to be the most difficult to do from home?
- Do you have any ideas of resources you could get to solve these challenges?
- How productive do you feel you are currently compared to being in the office?
- How well do you feel overall with the situation of working from home so far?
You should replace or add any other questions that feel right, although you don’t want to make it too long.
Next Steps for How to Come Up with a Plan of Support During Coronavirus
Overall, creating this spreadsheet helps to accomplish several things: gain useful information to understand each team member’s unique situation and psychology, provide transparency and clarity around the fact that most people will be having some kind of challenge, and identify ways to problem solve and provide support.
I then asked our VP of People and Culture to look at the answers, identify company and team trends, and come up with recommendations. While keeping me in the loop, she is also connecting with each team lead to share her thoughts on the team as a whole, any particular efforts we want to consider with individuals, and then discuss how we can best keep both team spirit and productivity up during these really difficult times.
Whether you want to use a similar spreadsheet model to the one I started this article out with, or something fancier, the most important thing is to check on your people. Remember our shared humanity, take time to care, and this will help us all survive this a bit better.
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Photo Credit: bigstockphoto.com
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