Millions of jobs are going to be lost or, to phrase it more accurately, millions of people are going to lose their employment.

Are all of these redundancies, dismissals and un-renewed contracts absolutely necessary? Almost certainly not, and this may be an opportune moment to re-think staffing levels, release certain people and re-balance skills.

Most managers are relatively compassionate people, so why don’t many of them offer outplacement? Possibly because:

• They have never heard of it
• They don’t understand it
• They think it is expensive
• They believe to pay for it will make it look like they have money and could have kept people
• They genuinely have no money
• The people are leaving, so why worry about them?

At its core, our outplacement offering is the Work Horizons membership website. This gives 24/7 access to content for job hunting but a great deal besides. Lockdown has been a time for reflection for many people and they want to find employment which will give a much greater sense of purpose; the first section of the website takes members through the thought processes to establish for themselves what that might be.

A very positive impact of not attending work is the improvement for some people in their health, both physical and mental.

It seems that because the Government said we could only walk/ run once a day, lots of us interpreted it as being mandatory! Certainly, it was our one chance to get out of the house. Those of us who walk our dog daily found many more walkers to pass in a socially distant manner.

Perhaps more significantly has been the effects on mental wellbeing; no commute, less micro-management, fewer specious targets, less office politics and gossiping, more time at home, greater connection with the family and a great working environment. How many lessons are in this one sentence?

Of course, there are many stories which show it has been very difficult for some people. Again, we can learn from them and adapt the ways we work, and the what a great workplace looks and feels like.

‘The people when rightly and fully trusted will return the trust’ – Abraham Lincoln

Everything in business is based on relationships and all relationships are based on trust. Most managers demand their staff trust them, even there is no evidence it is founded, or even there is proof that they can’t be. Authority and trust are not always happy bedfellows.

These same ‘leaders’ then micro-manage because of the obsession people will only perform when they are being watched.

If one thing has been demonstrated during lockdown, it is those working from home were, generally, at least as productive as when they are at the workplace. There are a number of pieces of research, but it seems there is an average of 13% increase in personal productivity for these people:

• No commute
• Fewer distractions (we know many kids have been home schooling)
• Fewer meetings and phone calls
• ‘Zoom’ meetings are crisper
• Comfortable surroundings
• Choice of background music

And yet, managers are keen to get them back to the office.

There are very good reasons to get the team together. Steve Jobs didn’t want people to work from home generally because more ideas emerge when people spark off one another. Some staff unfortunately become lonely, passing beyond a sense of isolation. Extreme extroverts struggle without human interaction, without the constant connectivity.

But consider this; all teamwork is predicated on a high level of trust, not just confidence but vulnerability trust. As we Reboot the team, re-establishing trust is critical.

Can we identify any positives to come out of the Covid-19 lockdown?

For many of us this has been a time of reflection:

• What do we want from work?
• Does our organisation have great values?
• Does the organisation meet its values or are they ‘optional’, depending upon circumstances and the immediate needs?
• Do we really need to spend as much money on stuff?
• How has the company treated us whilst we have been off?
• Have we been more productive working from home?
• Are there better ways of working?
• Can we avoid ‘rush hour’?

These, and so many other questions, are not just for members of staff. Company managers and owners are questioning their roles and the ways to live life, whether the organisation is focused on broader issues rather than just making money, and if the transition back to work will be a good experience for everyone?

For many of us, any issue with a computer means switching if off and back on, hoping it then works as we assume it always will. This simple process is called rebooting. It is analogous for getting our organisations up and running again; to have kit that functions, processes which are effective and staff who are productive.

It doesn’t just happen! This is a time, more than ever before for leadership. To support leaders with these challenges, we have created a programme entitled REBOOT:

• Reflect and learn from the experiences
• Examine Emotions. The key motivator is how people feel and how you have made them feel during lockdown
• Behaviours; do they reflect the organisations values?
• Objectify the Future, what is the intelligence and how are we going to react?
• Overcome Obstacles, whether real or perceived
• Teamwork is THE differentiator

The words are easy. Delivery is complex and difficult.

Are you prepared? Have you done the thinking? Can you create the space to make the most of the situation or are the ‘alligators biting’? Do you have the in-house capability to see and grab the opportunities?