To survive COIV19, startups must fix this!
Everyone’s working from home these days. Some may be used to it, while others only heard the term, a couple of weeks back. Regardless, I think it’s safe to assume that the initial excitement is dying. Productivity is depleting, and employee engagement is becoming harder. In one hand, our mind and body are getting used to a slower pace of life. On the other, there could be multiple distractions based on your civil status and responsibilities at home. Of course, those who have been WFH for a while or have a working environment at home might be finding it otherwise.
These are not only unprecedented times, but they’re also revolutionary. Revenue streams are disappearing, and everyone’s scrambling their resources to pivot & innovate to stay afloat. If you’re a startup, your primary goal is to extend your runway (if it’s not, it should be!). You should be planning for several scenarios and take a long-term view. One particular strategy of achieving this is salary reductions and staff layoffs. There’s been multiple discussion on this topic, and some companies have already announced their plans. All these lead to more stress and anxiety for everyone involved amidst an impending economic recession. But rest assured, we will come out of this, slowly but surely. However, we will be different. Different in the way we do business and as individuals.
I earlier spoke of ten survival tips for startups amidst COVID19. Since then, we have progressed, and new hurdles have emerged. I took some time to deconstruct and dig deep into some of the above challenges. We’re all preparing and getting used to this ‘New Norm’ yet, the new norm is still dynamic. We don’t have visibility into its form, function or nature. But we’re changing everything; working hours, communication, priorities etc. Yet, we haven’t changed the single most critical aspect of a startup; it’s culture.
Culture is the glue that binds everything together. It’s the reason why most employees get out of bed and burn the midnight oil. It’s part of the foundation for most startups as well as corporates. I believe changing the culture is much harder than changing the business model. Especially when your team is WFH, and you have no visibility into their personal challenges & limitations.
So, how do you go about pivoting your culture? Well, a paper that was published more than 75 years ago may have the answer.
I need not explain Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; it’s one of the first modules in any management lesson. However, I would like to focus on the ‘Esteem’ layer.
I believe all founders and CXOs should spend time implementing a recognition program. Employee recognition is the first step toward pivoting your startup culture. Everyone is hustling, but that hustle is invisible at this point. Some employees might be working long hours due to the prevailing conditions. Below are five strategies that I have shared with the startups I actively support.
- Internal recognition is weekly or once a week, depending on the size of your startup. You can do a weekly email about the good/bad & the ugly the company experienced. Here you can include each employees contribution and how they made the situation better.
- Openly recognise employee efforts via SM posts. Be sincere and tell a story so that customer can connect with our brand the people behind it. Tell people why you consider him/her to be an MVP.
LinkedIn is a great platform to give recommendations and recognise their efforts & contributions. You have a couple of ways to do so; ‘Celebrate a teammate’ option from the post section & “Recommendation”
- If you’re planning on salary reductions or layoffs, give them something valuable. Most startups don’t provide health insurance for their employees. You can speak to an agency and sponsor an insurance cover.
- Encourage them to learn new skills and upgrade their knowledge. Most e-learning platforms are providing their course material for free or at a discount. This link will give you access to over 450 free Ivy League university courses.
At this point, health, safety & wellbeing are the main priorities. Integrate them make them part of the foundation of your startup culture. It will allow you to ride the COVID19 riptide and beyond. Dan Price, CEO of Gravity, has become the gold standard in recent times. Founders are recognised based on their strategy & tactics. The Post-COVID world will remember those who led with emotional intelligence.
