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How to lead remote teams during COVID-19

  • Written by Seven Communications



The spread of COVID-2019 has led to travel restrictions, school closures, and cities around the world moving towards lockdowns. Amid these new conditions, most of us still need to continue our day to day work. But the way we do this is rapidly changing, with many organisations implementing new social distancing guidelines including working from home measures. 


Management consultant and CEO at ASPL, Kris Grant says, “Over the past few weeks several clients are reaching out with challenges around travel restrictions and leading remote employees. For many businesses, this is the first time their entire workforce is working from home and given how quickly these changes have come into place, many managers are finding themselves unprepared to lead a fully remote team.”


To help business leaders adjust to this new normal, Kris has shared her top tips on managing newly remote teams


Ensure the right tools are available

One of the biggest considerations for most companies when implementing remote work is technology. At the most basic level, this means everyone needs access to a computer and reliable internet connection. For teams who need to connect to remote servers, ensure your IT infrastructure can handle everyone joining at the same. Since you can’t yell out across the room to each other, try using platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack or Asana to streamline communication and help with project management. Most of these collaboration tools are also free depending on how many employees you have.


Organise a daily catch up

When everyone is in the office, it’s easy to walk to someone’s desk if you have a question, ask the team for updates, or chat through any problems. With everyone working remotely, set up a daily team catch up so you can check in with the team, discuss any issues and make sure everyone knows what they are doing. It’s best to do this in the morning, but you can also organise a quick call in the afternoon before everyone signs off. This gives everyone an opportunity to save up any non-urgent questions for the meeting and concentrate on getting important tasks done for the day. Daily catch ups should also include five minutes to chat about the weekend and anything else non-work related, helping ease the mood and relieve stress. 


Be available and supportive 

Since your employees aren’t seeing your face everyday, it can lead to the impression you aren’t as accessible as usual. Ensure that your team knows when you’re available and on which channels e.g. text, call, Slack or emails. Letting them know you are free and willing to chat through any concerns or issues will make them feel supported, particularly as they seek guidance and assurance during these uncertain times.


Keep communicating 

We’re currently undergoing one of the most uncertain economic periods in our lifetime so far. This can lead to anxiety among your employees regarding budgets, timelines, clients and even their jobs. Be honest with them about what is going on, whether that means reassuring them that their jobs are safe, or being open about the reality of potential job losses. Keeping everyone informed will alleviate any sense of loneliness, and help the team unite towards a common cause. 

These are the tough times when everyone is facing one or the other issue. We are not able to physically meet our loved ones and it creates more frustration. There are sites like Camsurf these days where you can make friends with strangers and share your emotions.


Be flexible and trust your team

When you can’t physically see your team working hard at their desks, it can be tempting to micromanage. But it’s more important than ever to be flexible and trust your team as they try to navigate this new way of working. With schools closing and increased social distancing, families are increasingly at home together, so employees may need to shift around their working hours to suit. Focus on outcomes rather than work hours, and trust your team to get their work done when they can. Not only does this reduce stress, particularly for parents trying to wrangle kids while they work, it will improve productivity in the long run.  

Adina urges support of small businesses with reminder that there is no better feeling than Australian made

  • Written by Red Havas


With international manufacturing markets being thrown into uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, General Manager of Adina Watches, Grant Menzies, believes there has never been a better time to shine a spotlight on the capabilities of Australian businesses than right now. 

As one of the nation’s oldest watchmakers, Adina have always been advocates for home-soil manufacturing and with Australian manufacturing employment rates falling by 5.4% over the past year due to a shortage of skills alonei, Mr Menzies believes there lies a golden opportunity for Australia to reconsider foreign outsourcing when the time comes to nurse our economy back to health. 

“It will be a tough few months for Australian small businesses, our Prime Minister has made that clear. However, I think the silver lining in all of this is the need to highlight the importance of creating more Australian jobs and upskilling our workers,” says Mr Menzies. 

“Aside from being able to ensure the highest quality, the future of Australian trade skills is one of the reasons why we have kept our manufacturing on home-soil for so long. It would be very easy to have all our components shipped to an assembly house in China, negating the training and employment we provide the community – and that has never resonated stronger than today.” 

Mr Menzies says building Adina from the foundation of this ethos is the saving grace that has allowed the brand to ride through multiple financial crises over the decades. 

“My Dad, Bob Menzies, founded Adina back in 1971 and was inspired to do so by the imports that were being brought into the country during the Vietnam War,” says Mr Menzies. 

“He would speak with the retailers back then and found out that a lot of soldiers were coming home and selling hundreds of affordable and reliable Japanese watches they had bought overseas with their duty pay checks.” 

Mr Menzies says that while their business still battles against the influx of foreign watch brands, more than two thirds of Australian consumers (69.9 per cent) will still opt for Australian-made when given the choiceii

“We constantly have customers telling us that they have previously owned a foreign watch, but it doesn’t withstand the test of time and meet the rigour of the Australian lifestyle,” Mr Menzies says. 

“There are many industries and individuals for which we have crafted an Australian made, practical watch that goes above and beyond, from nursing, to mining and corporate - all are designed with an Aussie mindset. 

“It’s the biggest, if not sole reason, why we have held strength over the years; because we are a product that is made for Australians. You would be hard pressed to find a farmer that does not own at least one of our timepieces.” 

Mr Menzies says that in these tough times, it’s all about helping each other out, and looking for viable solutions that could revive our economy without having to rely so heavily on foreign manufacturing, should a crisis like this ever come around again. 

“The most beautiful part of it all, is the feeling of unity that comes about from Australians doing the hard yards at home to make sure we can all benefit from this beautiful country – Australian made is that feeling personified. 

“It’s the feeling you get when you see the Qantas tail at an international airport, or when you see a pair of RM William boots being worn by a wanderluster overseas – Australian made reflects pride in who we are, our unique heritage and how far we’ve come.” 

About Adina Watches: Adina was founded in 1971 by Australian watchmaker and current managing director Robert ‘Bob’ Menzies. A determined businessman, Bob had a dream to create a watch capable of withstanding the adversity of the Australian lifestyle. 

In a small storeroom in his family home, he designed and crafted each watch by hand, through an ever-fixed eyeglass, using internationally sourced, premium components and advanced technology. 

This attention to detail and culture of hard work remains at the core of Adina’s business today as it remains to be the only company to design and assemble its complete watch collection in Australia. 

Today, Adina has grown from one dedicated man to a staff of twenty, including Bob’s son Grant, building the craft of quality Australian watchmaking throughout generations. Each year Adina produces over 40,000 artisan watches from its Brisbane factory, available in over 300 retail outlets across the country. 

Adina remains a company founded on integrity and dependability and continues to set the standard in design and technological innovation, while remaining true to its Australian roots. 

i Australian Manufacturing in 2019 Local and Global Opportunities. (2019, May). Retrieved March 2020, from https://cdn.aigroup.com.au/Economic_Indicators/Economic_Outlook/Australian_Manufacturing_in_2019.pdf 

ii Campaign, T. A. M. (n.d.). New Research Says Consumers Want Aussie Made. Retrieved from https://www.australianmade.com.au/latest-news/2017/new-research-says-consumers-want-aussie-made/ 

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