The COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic is altering the future of business. Unsurprisingly, 80% of people interviewed by SEEK found their working situation impacted by COVID-19. A new operational paradigm is emerging. As the world of business changes, it’s important that you do too.
The only effective response to a rapidly changing world is to evolve with it and the best way to do that is to upskill. When many of us perhaps feel we have more time on our hands, now is a perfect opportunity to learn new skills.
At Pesel & Carr we offer guidance for doing exactly this. Adaptability to change is essential and this requires awareness of how the workforce is changing, and the ability to respond effectively to those changes.
Concretisation of remote systems
“The workplaces that we left are not going to be the workplaces that we go back to,” said Joanna Daly, vice president of compensation, benefits and HR business development at International Business Machines.
“We’re going to have to learn a new way of interacting with each other that was not the way we were interacting a few months ago.”
Aided by video conferencing platforms, we’ve seen that working remotely is achievable and while some of our old ways will return, businesses must expect elements of the new remote normal to remain intact beyond the pandemic. Being able to effectively communicate within these parameters is essential.
Media and presentation training
While traditional presenting skills are transferable, they need adapting to suit a video setting. Cognitive science teaches us the importance not just of the message but also of the messenger. Your employees, your customers, your clients all subconsciously react to your messenger characteristics. Audiences will respond best to a balance between the hard messenger (authoritative, knowledgeable) and the soft messenger (empathetic and authentic). Now would be a good time to develop this skill, when the pandemic still has months to play out.
This goes for media training too. For leaders in industries that attract forensic attention from the media when a crisis hits, you don’t want to be going out to bat questions away unprepared.
You can build social capital now by learning how to effectively communicate. That capital can influence your survival through the worst of this pandemic and the speed of your recovery as we come out.
Consider external help
There are activities that can guide your business towards effective media and presentation procedures in an online and offline world. When targeted for each business and issue, this kind of training can play an integral role in business continuity and recovery.
– Webinar rehearsals
– Virtual staff presentations
– Interview simulation
– Development and communication of key messages
Pesel & Carr offers customised media training (both live and virtual), to help businesses operate within this space.
Contact us for more information on media and presentation training or visit our website for more info.
Final word from our Culture Manager
The difference between me and a lot of other animals is I’m domesticated. Barbara feeds me, provides my water and in return, I take her for walks, making sure skateboarders stay well away. It’s a good deal, an ancient partnership that my species has enjoyed for thousands of years.
Though it sets us apart from wild animals. I’ve always found wild animals a little intimidating. When they want to walk they don’t wait until mum puts their harness on, they walk. When they want a snack, they don’t whine for a treat, they HUNT! And at the end of the day instead of cuddling up indoors on their doggy blanket they sleep in hovels, or on trees or in fields…outside!
Now, with COVID-19 lockdowns, there have been numerous reports of emboldened wildlife edging closer, as less human interference pushes them to test boundaries.
Cameras set up by a film crew in northwestern Spain recently captured a brown bear for what they say is the first time in 150 years.
Over in Venice, the canals have cleared so much that the fish are visible and swans have returned.
Back home in Melbourne, wild animals are coming closer too. There have been wombats sighted in Ivanhoe, kangaroos hopping around suburban running tracks and dolphins frolicking along the bay in Mordialloc.
‘Nature is healing’ is the phrase we’re seeing used on social media. I for one, welcome it, although I don’t intend on sharing my doggy blanket with any wombats anytime soon.
