What 'skar' is Covid-19 leaving on your business?

Every person and every business has been changed by the impact of public health measures to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus. One big change in the UK has been the furloughing of staff. With several months of the scheme left more than 8 million people who are normally in work are being asked to stay at home.

In talking to clients and networks we’ve heard the benefits of this scheme and the limitations. One thing our team can see is the potential scar the furlough experience could leave on millions of people and businesses. The loss of productive purpose for several weeks or months and the impact of knowing you are ‘not needed’ will change workforces across the country. If businesses think that all their people will be able to switch from furlough to being immediately productive and highly flexible they need to think again.

Cathey Broderick, Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub noted that when lock down eases companies, “will need staff that are more productive, more flexible, than ever.” The nature of work in many businesses will have drastically altered and the patterns of commuting, behaviours and teams will be changed permanently.

So. it stands to reason that for forward thinking companies the question is not, ‘Should we invest in supporting our furloughed staff?’ but rather, ‘How are we investing to support our people?’

Know+Do’s way of enabling companies to ensure the productivity and performance is not scarred by furlough but rather that they are SKAR-red by it! The acronym SKAR stands for:

• Skills

• Knowledge

• Attitude

• Routine

We’ve pulled our expertise and resources to make a bespoke, 4-week furlough support programme for staff. This is available live online to groups of up to 8 at a time. The training supports their well-being and provides a structure where individuals can be encouraged to keep their edge and be ready to return to work when needed.

The programme is priced at cost to ensure all businesses can make the investment - at just £99+VATpp or £499+VAT for a group of up to 8 people. A video and detailed information leaflet have been produced to explain more.

Whatever your business scale or context, if you have furloughed staff we encourage you to invest in them, ensuring that they and your business are in peak shape after lock down.

If you would like ideas about staff support please contact Andrew or Bernard on info@knowanddo.com or call 0161 2804567; and please stay safe!

Cheshire & Warrington Consultancy Grant

Know+Do are delighted to announce we can once again work with the Cheshire and Warrington business grants programme managed by Blue Orchid.

This opportunity provides micro, small and medium sized businesses with access to a grant that reduces the investment they need to make in our consultancy support by 33%. It means any work Know+Do undertakes for you through this scheme - which you commission and control - is more accessible than ever before. Such, extra resource is crucial in the current circumstances all business find themselves in with the challenge of the coronavirus lockdown.

Our support can cover a range of business needs such as:

• Sales and marketing plans

• Leadership and management development

• Business change or new processes

• Planning and business development

Examples of recent Know+Do projects include:

• A strategic review of a manufacturing company’s sales plans which included analysis of current and new markets, development of staff skills and knowledge and an 18 month action plan for growth.

• A in-depth process of support to the founders of a small design business wanting to review their plans and expectations for their company, including a competitor analysis, skills mapping of their team and a series of 3 month sprint plans to set and sustain the changes.

Know+Do’s approach to consultancy is to work WITH a client, ensuring we build the capabilities and knowledge within the company’s team to leave a sustainable plan. All our models and resources are shared without restriction so they can be re-used and adopted by the client during and after our support. We appoint experienced consultants to each contract and agree timelines, outcomes and fees in advance.

To be eligible* for this grant companies must:

• Be based in the East Cheshire, Cheshire West and Chester, or Warrington areas of England

• Employ less than 250 people

• Be wanting to see business growth in the next 24 months

• Need to claim a grant between £2k and £15k

Know+Do can support a business to check full eligibility and apply for the grant, so you can choose the right support for your business at a significantly reduced cost. Contact bernard@knowanddo.com or call 0161 2804567 to discuss your options.

*Please note the grant is funded through resources from the European Regional Development Fund and the appointed agency (Blue Orchid Ltd) retain final control over awarding grants.

Keep Your Edge While On Furlough

Furlough is a new experience which has appeared in the past few weeks of the covid-19 adjusting world we now live in. It is when a company can keep employees on the payroll but receive a partial subsidy for their wages from the government. This has partially reduced the impact of millions of companies losing customers and clients overnight in lock down.

But being on furlough has a people price as well as economic one.

For many it is a strange limbo experience, being employed in name only but having to wait with uncertainty about how or when they return to a productive daily routine of going to work. Plus our workplaces and employment habits will have drastically changed when we do return.

One thing everyone on furlough can do is training.

So, to help people keep that edge of work readiness and to give employers a method of supporting their people Know+Do has created the Furloughed Staff Support Programme. It is a 4 week online course for groups of up to 8 people that helps them maintain and develop work readiness in skills, knowledge, attitude and routines.

A video and leaflet explaining more can be found here and bookings - by employers for a group at only £499+VAT, or individuals for just £99pp+VAT - can be made by contacting andrew@knowanddo.com or calling 0161 2804567.

Managing Remotely

Over the past few months organisations across the world have had to adjust to working remotely. It does not matter about the size of company, industry or sector; everyone has been impacted. However, one particular role will feel this pressure more acutely - managers.

If you lead a team that until mid-March worked together, maybe sat together in the same room, your team dynamic and culture has radically changed. Not only do you now all know more about each other’s taste in home decor but all ‘normal’ modes of communication have been altered.

From our interactions with business during the coronavirus crisis we’ve compiled 5 pieces of advice for managers to help with the adjustment:

1.Understand the different Pressures

Pressure still exists, such as the demands to get things done faster or take on more work. After the initial shock, usual service in organisational needs have begun to resume. This time you are feeling pressure whilst working remotely which means your colleagues are feeling work pressure inside their home space. Home is now not the sanctuary from work it once was for your team. So, ask your team individually how they are managing the pressures of work and what is working well or not for them. Concern is a powerful communication tool, and even when you cannot change the forces pressuring your team they will understand more about the respect you have for them.

2. Screen fatigue is rising

Screens are tiring to look at for hours on end. In our rush to embrace remote working people are starting to get video call fatigue. So ask yourself, does every contact need to be by video? Could some online calls be planned as audio only so you can still share screens or documents but give each other privacy? Maybe even plan ‘old fashioned’ phone calls; as the participants can move on the phone (pace about, make a drink) rather than sit still staring at a screen. So, ask your team what type of contact works for them and when; this gives them control and a stake in supporting good communication.

3. Work is invading homes

There is a home all around your colleagues webcam. What you see on the screen may look calm and nice but behind the camera childcare, schooling, pet feeding, family squabbling, washing up chaos and much more may be happening. A colleague working from home with 3 children will have a very different experience than a person living in a flat alone. Both have positives and negatives, both are managing lock down restrictions, but one of those colleagues may find it much easier to get a calm and quiet place to work than another. So, make sure you understand the home-life your business is entering; practical ways about timing contact or adjusting working hours could drastically increase your colleagues performance and improve their well-being.

4. Leading online meetings is a new skill

Online meetings are not the same as being in the same room. You may have been great at engaging people when they are sat 4 feet from you but now you are reduced to the size of a small toy on their computer screen your presence has changed! Online meetings should involve communication not just information sharing, otherwise you could send an email. Remember, your team can also now mute you if they want to, a magic power many an employee has dreamed about when actually in a meeting room! Therefore, what strategies are you planning to get feedback from your colleagues throughout a meeting, or to ensure they are participating and that they are comfortable? You need to re-learn the art of leading meetings for the online world, so read about other people’s approaches, watch the online ‘how to’ videos and ask your team what they need. This is a new skill you will need to learn it quickly.

5. Explain the impact of change

Uncertainty is now a constant. When your team is allowed to come back to the workplace (which may still be many months away) the working world will not be the same. How we get to work, where we work, when we work and who we have contact with will alter radically. However, one thing as managers we do know is how resistant to change colleagues can be, yet change will be thrust upon us all as we adjust. What do you know about how someone processes change (indeed how you deal with it) and what tools can you give them to understand how to embrace and move with change? We’ve written several articles on this (as have many others) and you could share this understanding with your colleagues so they are better skilled to manage their own response to change. When we notice how people respond to change we can then anticipate as managers practical actions that mitigate the disruption and ease the process.

This is a subject that deserves more than 5 tips but the list above is a start to helping you as a manager lead your team in a new way, in new patterns and with new skills.

and if you want to share feedback on this topic or ask more questions, the Know+Do team would welcome a call (online or by phone!) to share ideas.

Being Forced To Change

Sometimes we chose to change our environment, sometime our environment decides to change us. Right now, the impact of Covid-19 means we are all being forced to change. If you lead a business you are not only dealing with your own changed world but also how it changes the worlds of your colleagues, your company and your customers.

One thing I have had to wrestle with in this situation is feeling like work is being unfairly taken away from me. I know it is insignificant compared to the pain and fatalities the virus is causing but being honest it is still hard to take.

Just a few weeks ago we celebrated 10 years of our company, that’s 3,650 days of graft, of constant plans, thinking, strategising and all topped off with a lot of worry and plenty of success. It is emotional to run a business – however big or small – and I’ve invested my reputation and character in it too. So, to lose work, and good work at that, work I and others had strived to find, secure and then start is painful.

As I have often shared with clients, I decided to take my own recommendation. I went back to one of the models we’ve used over the years about change: the Kubler Ross Change Curve. Using a model like this to review the situation gives an objectivity to my thoughts, and starts to remove the emotive reaction bubbling within me.

I can see in the change curve how in my conversations and emails and I moved from shock “Can the government really order businesses to stop overnight?”) to denial (“This is just temporary, an overreaction”). Then onto frustration and anger (“How will any company survive this?”) to resignation (“What can we salvage from this?”).

I know my character and that journey would have taken a long time on my own. Fortunately, I have a business partner (Andrew Ramwell) who excels at re-framing discussions and positive thinking. My few days of responding negatively quickly shifted to talking about opportunities, making a plan and the re-making it again (so far about 7 times in two weeks!). Now I’m into a new rhythm of work, communication and strategies; now I am ready for ideas, fresh thinking and for learning more. My mind set is back to 'growth' again and not 'fixed' on wallowing in just one place.

From my experience thus far I'd say to any business owner grappling with this complex time to:

1. Stay safe, listen to and follow the government’s advice to protect you, your loved ones and your community.

2. Check out where you are on the change curve. Are you moving through it and out the other side or are you stuck somewhere repeating patterns?

3. Who helps you? I had an Andrew Ramwell, so who is yours? Family, friends, colleagues? This unprecedented situation is not one to face alone, no one person has all the answers. Seek out quality support.

I'd be interested to know other people's responses:

• What strategies are others deploying?

• How are you finding a way through this changing environment?

• When did you move from the negative to positive response?

• Who are you helping to find a way forward?

And finally, if you want a way of structuring support you give others inside or outside your business, then to be productive at Know+Do we have shared a free template and how to video to encourage people to form practical, focused Virtual Mastermind Groups of their own.