Employee wellbeing critical to WFH success

Focus on engagement and experiences to keep individuals productive. 

In 2020, during the initial stages of the global pandemic when just about everyone was forced to go home to work, activities such as video coffee breaks, lunches and happy hours brought team members together to check in with each other much like they would experience in office settings. However, for many, these initial virtual connections soon gave way to feelings of isolation and burnout.

These scenarios unfolded even as employers adjusted by responding to the ever-changing needs of employees working from home by implementing flexible schedules and deadlines, as well as tools and secure technology to streamline work processes. One of the challenges for managers has been to keep in constant communication with individual team members. Employers are responding with a variety of initiatives to ensure team members feel heard and “seen” when working from home.

In a Gallup study of seven workplace insights from 2020, No. 7 states employee wellbeing is an essential factor in business survival. It all comes down to managers who support teams and each individual. Communication — how much, how often, etc.— is vital to employee engagement and productivity. And this communication must go two-ways in that employees need a way to send messages back to managers and others, notes Julie Develin, HCM Strategic Advisor at the Ultimate Kronos Group. “With the rapidly changing employment landscape, this has become more important than ever,” she adds.

Managers should have a firm grasp on what is working and where challenges exist and seek to “decrease virtual distance,” according to ROI Talent Development’s How to Keep Your Team Engaged When Working Remotely. Learn who is struggling and requires additional feedback. Leaders need to make decisions based on data but also be people centric, says Leanne Legasse, co-founder, ROI Talent Development LLC. Meeting the individual needs of team members ensures the company’s goals are met and allows you to better serve customers. Find out who needs more points of connection and if you need to assist in starting conversations between team members. The more data managers collect the more prepared they will be to meet an individual’s needs so they can carry out the company’s goals. 

Another measure to consider when collecting data is employee experiences. Qualtrics encourages managers to focus broadly on employee experiences and not just employee engagement where you can gather data on the entire employee life cycle. “Crucially, this approach puts a heavier emphasis on the perspectives and experiences of the employees themselves, a critical issue that impacts the likelihood that employees will provide candid and actionable feedback,” according to Qualtrics’ Experience Management: The HR Imperative. 

In 2021, work from home will continue to be the normal method of operations for companies, and in fact, will extend deep into the year as COVID-19 infections continue to rise and challenges remain with the distribution of vaccines to combat the virus. Focusing on an individual team member’s wellbeing as well as their experiences will go a long way in meeting your company’s goals and keeping your customers happy. 

To learn more about how Currance and its solutions can assist your company in work from home success, visit www.currance.com. 

About Currance

Formed by revenue cycle industry leaders, Currance is a Rev-Cycle Performance solutions company focused on empowering community providers, physician practices and healthcare systems to achieve and sustain yield performance improvement. Currance’s strategy of Performance Partnering supports your own team by offering everything needed to drive yield performance: an intelligent technology platform that integrates with existing systems, tailored solutions, and professional services for operationalizing the technology and sustaining exceptional results.

The Currance approach encompasses best-in-class knowledge of revenue cycle management, proprietary technologies, and the proven ability to engage, train, and mentor employees, adding value to clients’ organizations. We embrace a mindset rooted in science and operational experience, enabling highly efficient processes and precise workflow design that improve profitability and help build patient-centered, high-performing organizations. For complete details, visit www.currance.com.