Quarter 4 Skills

With most people working from home for the last six months and no sign of a return to full-time office-based week in sight between now and the end of the year, it is time to refocus and consider the fast-approaching final quarter.

It is hard to believe that quarter 4 is almost upon us. With that in mind, it is time to prepare and set organisational goals for the business as a whole and consider how these goals and objectives will be met.

One way to ensure a productive and goal-smashing final quarter is to think about employees. They have been working from home for 6 months. For many this has been their first experience of working from home and combined with the challenges of families and the fact that we are living through a global pandemic, staff had to exercise new skills.

Now is the time to brush up on the skills needed for working from home that will help your organisation have the best quarter of the year.

Communication skills are probably the most important to brush up on. At this stage, most organisations have their channels of communication well established for working from home, but it is important to reemphasise what needs to be communicated, who to highlight that information to and to log it in the correct place.

It is also essential that all team members listen attentively and keep up to date with the team as a whole to encourage collaboration and idea-sharing.

Time management skills are also something that will help everything run more efficiently. It is important to note that staff members and employees may have to adapt their schedules when working from home and that is okay.

Setting small daily goals and targets to meet will allow for a much more productive day. While working from home, zoom calls and team catch-ups may take longer and this is something that needs to be incorporated into daily plans.

It is also important to be flexible and learn how to meet targets and goals differently. The skill to be open and ready for change can be grown by encouraging a change-focused organisational culture.

Train your employees to be open and encourage them to share their ideas. Remember that during this time training will allow staff to reconsider their role and realise that different things may now be expected of them, but in the long term they will benefit from being critical thinkers and flexible individuals.

Management and leaders should also consider training staff on how to manage their anxieties and how to manage stress while working from home.

In the long term when staff manage their stress, they will engage with clients in a much better fashion maintaining positive client relationships and negotiating better deals. Staff will also respond better to feedback and be ready to face any challenge thrown at them.

For any training needs for quarter 4, feel free to contact us using the form below.