FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 8, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
In crisis, here’s what employees want most
BY DOUG CLAFFEY
Energage
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues,
employers are scrambling to protect their
workforce, minimize disruptions, and
adapt to a new, virtual way of working.
Undoubtedly, the crisis will have many
phases. And now more than ever, companies
need to keep the lines of employee
communication open with what is the
most disparate workforce this economy
has ever seen.
So, as company leaders navigate the
uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis, here
are some imperatives and key questions
to consider:
• Align: Is your senior leadership team
aligned on your response to COVID-
19?
• Connect: Do your employees feel wellinformed?
Are your senior leaders
clued-in to what it’s like on the front
line?
• Coach: Are managers and leaders
demonstrating they care about employee
concerns?
• Perform: Are you performing eff ectively
and effi ciently given all of the changes,
stresses, and contingencies that are
being presented by this crisis?
During a crisis, there’s one workplace
culture driver in particular that can get
overlooked. “Clued-In Leaders” is about
upward feedback and employees feeling
heard. What happens when organizations
struggle with this? When employees
believe senior leaders are out of the
loop, it’s harder for them to connect with
the organization. And when leaders really
aren’t clued in to what’s happening, they’re
missing valuable insight from those
closest to the customer: their employees.
To keep a strong connection and stay
“clued in” with employees – especially
now – pay special attention to keeping the
lines of communication open. Here are
three ideas:
• Communicate through levels of hierarchy.
Ask employees to talk to their
managers and managers to talk to their
managers. Th en, talk to the senior leadership
team up through the layers of the
organization.
• Utilize town hall meetings. While it’s
best to hold these in person, virtual
town meetings can also be an eff ective
way to communicate key messages and
give your employees a voice.
• Ask your employees for feedback.
Pulse surveys are the most
eff ective and effi cient way to ensure you
give employees a voice, capture realtime
data, and deliver it to the senior
team quickly and directly.
Demonstrating this connection really
makes the diff erence between an average
or awful workplace and a great workplace.
Doug Claff ey is founder of Energage, a
Philadelphia-based research and consulting
fi rm that surveyed more than 2 million
employees at more than 7,000 organizations
in 2019. Nominate your company as
a Top Workplace at amny.com/nominate.
Middle and high school students can win
$500 through Your Voice, Your Viewpoint
BY QNS STAFF
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
As our city has been through
many challenges these last few
months we know that one issue
that is relevant and part of so
many kids’ lives is racism. We are
looking for middle school to high
school students to submit their
stories to us. Send us your story,
video or TikTok and share with
the New York community your
viewpoint or experience with racism.
Please enter Your Voice and
Your Viewpoint by Oct. 30 at
midnight.
Th e details:
Schneps Media and the Claire
Friedlander Foundation want to
hear your voice and your viewpoint
on your experiences with
RACISM.We invite students,
our future leaders, to share your
thoughts and feelings about your
experiences.
Students can either choose
from the following prompts or
choose to submit work beyond
the prompts, but still related
to the overall goal of sharing
YOUR VOICE AND YOUR
VIEWPOINT.
I experienced racism when…
I’ve fought against racism by…I
was racially profi led when…My
fi rst experience with racism was
when…
Submit virtual or written entries
limited to 250 words either by
email or by using the hashtag
#YourVoiceYourViewpoint
on social media including
Instagram or TikTok. Video
entries can be emailed to
YourVoiceYourViewpoint@
schnepsmedia.com. Please
include your name, age and school
with entries. Submissions will
be published in Schneps Media’s
multiple platforms of print, digital
and broadcasting. Th ree middle
school students and three
high school students will each be
awarded a prizeof $500 by a panel
of Queensborough Community
College students. Submissions
will be accepted through Friday,
Oct. 30, and winners of the prize
will be announcedon Nov. 6.
Submission can be emailed
YourVoiceYourViewpoint@
schnepsmedia.com
Schneps Media is the parent
company of Brooklyn
Paper, Brooklyn Courier Life
Newspapers, Queens Courier,
Times Ledger Newspapers,
Caribbean Life, Bronx Times, El
Correo, Ridgewood Times, Long
Island Press, New York Family,
Noticia and Gay City News.
/schnepsmedia.com
/WWW.QNS.COM
/nominate
link
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