Living and operating any business in the post-COVID era, we have to think about health threats, as well as workforce metamorphosis that happened due to these threats. As owners or managers of any business in the world, this is something of extreme importance.
The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies, as well as small businesses, to reduce their workforce. This change pushed people to think about freelancing, more than ever before. Because of it, companies are relying on freelance workers and outsourced firms to complete lots of different tasks.
Is this good in the long run? How can a serious company be sure that they will always find available freelancers, if everybody is hiring them and their power becomes stronger every day? Or should employers think about how can they make their own workforce happy to stay where they are? Let us explore some options which could help keep the employees, as well as freelancers, satisfied and doing their jobs better than ever.
Work on your employee’s engagement
Employee engagement involves the degree to which a worker is passionate about the things they do for your company as well as the commitment they show and the effort they apply.
When an employee knows their exact role inside a business venture and the company and if they are well-driven as well as determined to do good, then their performance will go sky-high. On the other hand, if your employees are not engaged enough, their performance will go down and, eventually, the rest of your business will follow down that path.
Well-being of every worker is crucial
When so many people are deciding that they can be their own boss and still do quite well, then there is not much that can stop them from quitting the job where they are not appreciated and their health is disregarded as unimportant.
We are currently operating in different conditions than ever before because of what happened during the recent pandemic. So, any serious CEO will take care of their workforce’s needs when it comes to health insurance, health code in the work facilities, crisis measures and precautions, as well as mental health of the employees.
With the COVID vaccines being easier to get, people are starting to feel safer but there are still different kinds of concerns to have and you must always be sure to keep your employees’ health in mind. There is, of course, an option to work remotely, we will talk about it in one of the next tips.
Keep the company/freelancer relationship firm and legal
Along the way, you will surely do business with outside workers and companies, depending on them to deal with all the workload your own employees cannot handle at this point. However, you must always have the state regulations in mind.
Many companies engage some freelancers for multiple tasks but they don’t report those expenses to the government, which can lead to all kinds of trouble. Tax evasion was maybe easier before but it was never a safe choice, nor recommended. Now, with new regulations, and the IR35 compliance being introduced in 2021, be sure to always include your freelance workers when calculating your taxes and hire a competent consultant for the IR35, in order to have all papers clean and your company and workforce safe and sound.
Support your remote workforce
While lots of company owners and CEOs continue to nurture hope for a return to close-to-normal as soon as possible, it is important to explore the “new normal” as well. The anxiety that happens when returning to regular working conditions after the pandemic of COVID-19 can be a huge burden for both the workforce and the management.
Considering this and the growth of freelance opportunities, a huge percentage of workers are asking for benefits like working from a remote location and flexibility concerning working hours. This, of course, initially comes from the desire for a somewhat flexible work-life balance but also from the fear for one’s health.
Therefore, it’s wise to examine the possibilities of making the right conditions for remote work happen as well as make a plan of how that could benefit your business in the future years. With the help of the latest technology, we can now operate through video calls, emails, text app correspondence, etc. We are also able to have fast, secure, international money transfers. So, obstacles that were once slowing down the work process are now hugely diminished through these simple sidesteps.
Always think about inclusivity and diversity
While diversity and inclusion are pretty much normalized when employing new people and in the treatment of the workforce, there is always space to work on it more. With international actions like the Black Lives Matter movement, this topic is at the top of many CEOs’ minds, of course, for good reason. The work on equality in the workplace seems to be a never-ending endeavor but it can be done.
Of course, an employer must never forget that the work doesn’t stop there and that they must try to work on inclusion as well. Ensure that every worker has what they need for a safe work environment and if a person has a disability, help them feel included and able to finish tasks fast.
Follow these pieces of advice, keep your workforce happy, and you will be sure to see good results in this new era that’s not so easy to adapt to.
