Neither organizations nor employees anticipated such a swift move to remote work in early 2020. Now, more than two years down the road, it’s clear that some version of remote work is here to stay. The burden of choreographing the performance of team members, now increasingly dispersed — at home, at the office, and in different time zones — has left many managers unsure about how to best get work done. Not surprisingly, many managers prefer their staff to return to the office, only to face resistance and even rebellion.
We have compiled a list of some helpful tips to guide you and your team through this new and challenging landscape.

Here are the top 10 tips for attracting and retaining talent post pandemic:

1. Pay People With Time

Paying employees with time is a great tactic among employers who can’t, or don’t want to, compete on compensation alone. In the past two plus years it has become increasingly apparent to employees that the additional time spent outside the four walls of their cubicle is precious time. Flexibility is the key word here. Flexibility to throw a load of wash in before their next meeting, to make lunch at home so they don’t have to waste an hour fighting traffic to eat a quick and unhealthy meal in 10 minutes, and flexibility to see their loved ones more for than the two measly weekend days spent both recovering from the work week and trying to stay present.

2. Avoid Micromanaging Your People

We’ve heard this a thousand times. However, unless you have been on the receiving end of both types of managers you can’t understand how big of a difference it makes. To clear things up, avoiding micromanaging does not mean we need to let employees run free without check-ins.

A good model for employee management could mean:

• Weekly check-ins rather than daily
• Teaching rather than taking the reins on deliverables
• Trusting your employees to manage regular client contact, and urgent situations
• Respecting employee PTO days, holidays, and off hours

3. Be Clear on Priorities

A remote work environment calls for ruthless prioritization. Using a platform to track tasks online so you can see your employees checking off tasks and duties (i.e. Asana) can be a game changer for both employees and managers. This is also where weekly team meetings can be useful to review assigned tasks and projects to ensure the team knows where everything sits and who is up next for taking the ball on the projects. Having a detail oriented manager or utilizing another team member who is strong in this area can make all the difference to the overall success of the team.

In conclusion, there are many ways to make this new climate work for both the organization and the employees. Finding the right person who respects both positions is key, but equally important is how their managers and the company treats them once they’ve begun their work. Be clear on what each of your positions require, stick to your end of the bargain as employers, and you will be headed in the right direction.