TMRC Resources

The World has, I think since the 2nd World War, been afflicted like this before, and in which people are fearful like never before. You never know who is a carrier, and you will take some time to be able to know whether yourself might have the virus. This has changed the way people interact and some behaviours have been acquired in the process that were under looked by others as not being very significant, though important.

The working sphere has not been spared as well. There are many ramifications for all aspect of the organisation like the workforce, activities, security, financial, management, sustainability, work life balance, etc. The way Managers have exhibited their managerial styles have also varied, and will forever never be the same again. Never, unless someone has got a cockroach mindset, hahahaha, which I know we don’t have as human beings.

WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THIS PERIOD?

1. Working from Home is now the in thing.

Some new aspects that have come up, which some organisations or companies never used to even think about, was working from home. Even those against this approach of work, have been beaten to their game, and they will forever not be the same again. They will readily allow flexi working approaches, most especially for those that don’t have to interface with a lot of people in dispensing their work, or are not in critical work processes that their presence is needed at the workplace, even if their work is very critical for the survival of the organisation or company. In this respect, the Managers are now going to look at the time one spends to come to work and returns, and if they can produce the work in time, then why not work from home.

However, this brings a lot of complications for the staff working from home to be able to overcome the distractions that come with it, and being disciplined to stick to what they have to accomplish. It also poses a great challenge of how Managers can be able to track the progress or performance of their staff, in case they are not moving on the right track. This calls for competent staff in all they do, and being able to work with minimal supervision –-- not in theory like when they said during their interviews, but in real life ----, but doing the right thing in the process.

   2. People Centric Vs Guidelines / Policies Centric Management.

Most Managers are not people centric in their approach of managing others. They base their management on the guidelines or policies that the organisations or companies have, and implement them to the latter. This COVID 19 pandemic has exposed us Managers terribly, if it was not your style of being people centric. How are you going to apply those guidelines or policies where the staff is far away, and not in direct contact with you? Do you contact them and start off with why haven’t you submitted in their work? Hell no. Now they should inquire whether their staff are well, and that they are keeping safe and following the health guidelines. Work should now be secondary though important, because life is much more important, and the human being is the most important asset that the organisation or company has. This realization should encourage them to treat their staff with more care and support going forth, even after this pandemic. As a Manager, you should now be on the lookout on what might be disturbing your team members and if possible, ensure that they obtain support, such that they are in their right state of mind and health to perform on their deliverables. The lesson some have been rudely taught by this pandemic.

    3. Presence vs Deliverable / Performance.

Some Managers if not all have now realized that the physical presence of their staff is not necessarily related to their performance or deliverables. I think some Managers are seeing that their staff are producing more work than they ever did while they were present. This is because the person has clear deliverables that they have to accomplish, and as well know that their input is more than ever before needed than before to keep the Organisation or Company afloat.

As a Manager, this should now be an eye opener that they are able to set together with their staff SMART targets. However, these targets should be able to stretch the staff to another level and be able to produce. The staff and their Managers might all be in the lockdown situation, and as such know that they are all experiencing the same situation, but they need to ensure work is done without excuses. This means that they are going to be able to manage the distractions, which won’t come easy, but as time goes on they adapt and get the heck of it.

  4. Movable vs Stationary Equipment.

It is now more than ever before that some of the Managers are going to know the importance of staff having access to movable equipment like laptops, iPads, phones, modems / mifis, etc. In some organisations, it is a policy that the staff have to have desktops, and this silently, though not expressly said out ensures that their presence at the workplace is paramount, lest they end up not accomplishing their targets through using these gadgets or equipment. However, this pandemic has changed all this forever. Imagine, you need a staff member to produce certain deliverables, but they can’t do so because the desktop computer is in the office, and they are not allowed to get out of their homes.

As a result, the organisation or Company is losing out because of their policy of having such kind of restrictions on their assets. Trust me, the staff are laughing and saying, we used to tell them, but they never listened. Sometimes, this is done for the sake of satisfying the egos of the Managers, that they are not to be seen to have laptops or iPads as their staff, reasoning that what would separate them. Hahahahaha. These are now going to be something that are readily provided for most staff so that they can be able to work from whatever place that they might be found. These are no longer going to be luxury items, but essentials of work like never before, especially in our Ugandan setup.

The Manager Resource Centre Ltd is your management consulting agency at hand to provide you with simple, real-life and practical solutions to your management challenges of our time. We are at hand to ensure that you manage and lead with distinction. Why not get in touch with us for supporting your organisational or company journey towards excellence. Send us email on info@managercentre.com or patrick@managercentre.com or call +256 776 521701 / +256 774 928781 / +256 754 082100. You can as well follow up on our various social pages on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, www.managercentre.com or request to join our mailing list for articles on management.

Ayiga Patrick Obita;

Management Consultant and Director with TMRC Ltd.