Meeting Notes

Prioritize people through work-life balance

A silver lining this year has been the acknowledgment that companies must provide a more sustainable work-life balance. The fact that leaders are opening up about this need is a seismic shift and welcome change. 

Many companies will not return to work as usual — schedules will be different, video meetings are here to stay and priorities have shifted. Just as companies have worked hard to build personalized experiences for their customers, they’re using that methodology to create tailored experiences for their employees. Instead of using perks like snacks and ping-pong tables to keep workers at the office, small businesses are offering greater flexibility and benefits for a better work-life balance. How has your mentality shifted in terms of work life balance?

Review your investment in technology

Aside from Covid, the past year has brought hurricanes, tornados, floods, wildfires, murder hornets and more. What’s next? Who knows, but your small business must be ready for anything and implementing the right technology to ensure continuity is the first step. 

If you think back to the beginning of the pandemic, businesses without the right technology in place struggled to stay afloat while the businesses with digital tools and services in place were able to pivot and continue to run. Leaders are already preparing for this future, and it’s important you do so as well. According to SMB Group, 54 percent of small and midsize businesses have made changes to their technology strategies, and 44 percent plan to increase tech spending this year. What investments in tech have you or will you make in 2021?

Empathy is not a sometimes thing

Empathy has been critical this year, but let’s not forget it once we’re past the pandemic. You never know what someone’s dealing with outside of work, like breakups, family stress and health challenges. Your colleagues want to feel seen and heard, even when they’re not staring down disaster. 

You’ve gotten this far by coming up with unique ways to stay connected and build relationships virtually; be sure to continue those efforts and create a culture of empathy. That means you’ve got to engage meaningfully, schedule regular check-ins with your team and make the effort to build real relationships. As Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says, today’s leaders must hear “the voices of their employees – they are key stakeholders in a company’s success.” What team building strategies have you put in place since the pandemic began?