Four unique ways to check in with your work team in the age of COVID

Posted on 19 April, 2022

Many workplaces in Canberra have transitioned back into the office after a period of remote working during COVID outbreaks.

How is everyone feeling about the change? If you manage a team or department, do you check-in with your team regularly?

Did you read the HerBusiness column from last month, about keeping the team happy, connected and supported? We discussed the daily team huddles, core values, regular time-blocked walking meetings, weekly coffee catch-ups, the bake-off and 2022 COVID-style picnics. Here’s the link.

Our business, Capital Hydrotherapy and Exercise Physiology, is in the medical and wellness space, where, as practitioners, we take on a lot of other people’s energy. We host over 215 sessions a week and see hundreds of important people each day with all sorts of special needs.

There are strategic ways to manage this energy transfer, however, we try to go above and beyond to protect our team from burnout (or commonly known as “empathy exhaustion”)—especially while living through a 2+ year pandemic.

In today’s column, Capital Hydrotherapy and Exercise Physiology will share four strategies we’ve adopted to keep our team happy and engaged, by scheduling regular informal check-ins—and by investing time and money into the teams’ personal and professional development and emotional and physical wellness.

ALIGNMENT CHECK-IN WALKS

Taking a brisk 25-minute daily walk can add seven years to your life. Did you know 67 percent of Australian adults are overweight or obese? At Capital Hydrotherapy, we practice what we preach, and have walking meetings.

Our 30-minute alignment meetings happen every 3-4 months. The team leader catches up with a team member, one on one. It is all about their wellness, their work-life balance, and their feedback on overall energy levels from the team.

Here are some of the questions we address in the alignment check-in:

1. What are your overall energy levels like at the moment, over the past two weeks? (out of 10)
2. How happy and energetic have the rest of the team felt, over the past two weeks? (out of 10)

Performance expectations:

1. I’ve been respectful of clients, team members and the flow of the day by arriving at least 5-10 minutes before my scheduled start time? Circle: Yes/No
2. I contribute on Slack and acknowledge that I have received the message? Yes/no

Action Plan:

1. What was your “one thing” action point from the past catch up, and how is your progress with it?
2. Do you think you have a good work-life balance? If not, how can Capital Hydrotherapy help you?

How often do you address your teams’ work-life balance?

THE HYDRO BUBBLE

The pandemic device addiction is worse than ever—we have had two years of constant media and news breaking announcements thrown in our ears. From bushfires to hailstorms and the pandemic—not to mention what’s happening globally right now—we all think we need to be on our devices, doom scrolling, constantly. We don’t. Now that the world is opening back up, we need to detach from that device, and focus.

Don’t fall off your seat, but we encourage a no-personal-devices policy at our workplace (which will be an interesting process now that we’re diving into the paperless-iPad world!). I’m not strict about many rules—but this one I’m staying strong on. Devices create too much distraction, and lead to a rollercoaster of emotions. I need a stable, consistent, and reliable team.

We call it the “hydro bubble”—it’s nice to be focussed on just one thing: your patient, the person right in front of you.

BREKKY MANAGEMENT CHECK-IN MEETING

Building a positive and fun team culture takes time. It takes egg and bacon rolls. Smashed avo. Coffee and chai lattes, in a non-work environment. The last point is the important point (away from the tech—no phone, no computer, no pinging email and no to-do-list).

Our brekky management meeting happens every two months. It’s a time-blocked ritual.

I like to take the fun casual approach (what’s the point in being in business if you can’t have fun with your team?!). We order food, in a relaxed environment—with an agenda. There’s always a purpose, and we make decisions on the spot, and decide together WHO is following up on the points of the agenda.

FUNKY SHORTS FRIDAY

Three words: Light-hearted, fun, engaging (as pictured in the feature image).

Do you have a day of the week where the entire team connects on a relaxed level (it might be fun sock Saturday or Blue Tie Tuesday, or a bright shirt/skirt day)? Being a part of something is everything.

Do you have a daily, weekly, monthly check-in with your team around fun and food (engagement) at work? Do you create moments to encourage banter and laughter?