The Flocksy Blog

• An inbound approach helps encourage people to trust your company and make purchases.
• Digital tools can empower innovative marketing strategies such as virtual experiences.
• Combining these innovations can help boost sales even during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected businesses of all sizes and types around the world.

As doors shutter and many businesses expand (or launch) their online counterparts, marketers need to find new ways to reach consumers while optimizing their operations. Is your business struggling in the face of the novel coronavirus? Let’s take a deep dive into some strategies and re- sources that can help.

Marketing Strategies for the New Normal

As more shopping and services become online-only, digital marketing is poised to become ever more important to businesses. While digital marketing is nothing new, the way that marketers go about it needs to change as they attempt to reach homebound consumers. The difference comes down to the basic approach. In traditional marketing, outbound strategies such as ads and emails attempt to convince consumers to make a purchase. Now, as people are sheltered at home and trying to minimize their spending, is not the time to push sales. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make sales. The key is to build interest in your brand through an inbound approach. Few people are willing to take risks in an already risky world, so they’re going to more suspicious of “sales-y” content that comes their way. Let customers come to you and encourage them to trust your brand. Here are a couple of ways to do this:

User-Generated Content (UGC)

Ask your audience to share their content on social media and tag you. It could be a selfie with your product or an activity that’s tangentially related to your brand. As people are bored in quarantine, they’re more likely to do this. The key to a successful UGC campaign is to invite people to participate in a virtual event. Generic requests for content won’t cut. Make the request part of a larger conversation and offer incentives for people to participate. For example, you could offer a discount code to people who participate, which encourages them to make purchases.

Virtual Experiences

Experiential marketing was just starting to take off when shelter-in-place orders swept the world. Thankfully, you can still create special events for your customers. Just do it virtually! Many businesses are offering free online classes, seminars, concerts, and other virtual events for people. This tactic is a great way to get people fired up about your brand. Use these events as a way to build interest in what you offer, then seal the deal with ticketed virtual events to create a new income stream.

Resources to Help Boost Your Business

Whether you had a robust digital presence or you’re in the process of building one, the right tools can help save you time and money. Now more than ever, it’s crucial to use automation, social media, and other digital tools to streamline your operations. It’s important to reevaluate some of your existing campaigns. For example, campaigns that focus on gatherings or real-world experiences won’t resonate. You may also need to ramp up your content to connect with people who are spending more time online. After you’ve re-envisioned your marketing strategy, draw upon the resources you need to cost-effectively put it into action.

Social Media Managers

HootSuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, and other social media managers can help you level up your content marketing. It’s easy enough to post three times per week and check the notifications once per day. But once you start posting more often, your numbers will rise — and so will your hours spent managing comments and replies. One or more of these tools can help you do this more efficiently.

Email Marketing Providers

Email marketing is the bread-and-butter of digital marketing, and MailChimp, Constant Contact, and other providers have been around for years. Even though emails are an outbound approach, it’s still important to maintain contact with your audience. What’s

neat about these tools is that they also offer landing page, social media integration, and other tools that are crucial to an inbound approach. It’s well worth your time and investment to expand your email strategy.

Livestream Platforms

Remember those virtual events we talked about? They’re often done through livestreams. The good news is that you usually don’t need expensive livestream software to do them. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all offer “live post” functionalities, and you can also do a live video via YouTube. For private events, you can use Zoom or other teleconferencing platforms. Just be sure to face your camera the right way!

Wrapping Up

Businesses are nervous about their future should look for ways to expand their marketing strategy into new digital realms. Carving out innovative virtual spaces might be the key to connecting with otherwise absent customers. However, developing a new market- ing strategy with an inbound approach is only part of the equation. Virtual communication/automation tools are essential to putting these new strategies into action and helping businesses boost their sales during the pandemic.

•  Team members will seek out answers, so make sure that you’re sending out accurate, honest information.
• Keeping lines of communication open is not enough; you must cultivate conversations.
• Always answer questions, and always answer honestly.

Now that more employees are working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies are facing new challenges in remote work. Latent problems in communication and coordination bubble to the surface, while the overall strain on resources makes it hard to be productive. Meanwhile, many people are experiencing stress or fear during these troubled times, and it can be hard to avoid carrying that over into work. How can managers and leaders help their team members become less stressed and more productive? The key is to put the principles of crisis communication into action. Here’s how to communicate with and support your team during difficult times, especially when you are not in the same room.

Expand Lines of Communication

It is not enough to “keep lines of communication open.” To help their remote teams perform their best, leaders must carve out con- versational spaces where there were none before. Being a remote team, especially if you weren’t before, means that you not only have to make a concerted effort to keep in touch, but also create additional channels for coordination. For example, many teams use Slack as a cheap in-office messaging app. Slack is too robust for this simple use. It permits highly customized chat spaces and project management integration. Those features can help teams do more than “check-in”: They can forge new feedback channels and promote higher-level organization of messages and file-sharing. In a time when clear communica- tion is crucial, a remote team’s messaging app must be able to facilitate this.

Be Authentic

The worst thing you can do in a time of crisis is to say “check back later.” People are hungry for answers and will easily spread mis- information if you are not sending official communiques. The chief principle of crisis communication is that you speak the truth — even if you don’t have all the answers. When communicating with your team, ensure that you are keeping them updated. In terms of the current pandemic, this might in- clude any changes to paid sick leave, layoffs or furloughs, remote work procedures, and so on. A strong crisis communications plan anticipates questions and prepares an honest response to each one.

Acknowledge Your Mistakes

During unprecedented and devastating events, it’s normal to not know exactly how to keep your team on track. You might have a mix of team members who are working from home or furloughed. Adjustments to remote work compound existing issues you had with workflow or accountability. You may experience pushback from team members who are upset by disruptions to their work life. During all this, it’s important to own up to your shortcomings. Think of this crisis as an opportunity to refine your management skills. This might include leveraging cloud-based collaboration tools to eliminate project bloat. You can also improve communication among your team through screen sharing, conversation logging, and other techniques of virtual collaboration. Let your team know that you’ve identified these issues and are looking for ways to make things easier.

Keep Your Virtual Door Open

If you had an open-door policy at your office, you need an open-door policy in your virtual workspace. Expect to have a lot of questions and concerns from newly remote workers — and expect to have your own concerns about team members who aren’t adjust- ing well. While you may not be able to immediately solve all these problems, it’s crucial that you indicate you hear these concerns. Consider creating a private chat channel for you and each of your team members, or schedule regular times to check in on their progress and answer any questions. During these uncertain times, silence can easily be read as bad news. By cultivating these conversations with team members, you can relieve their stress and help boost their trust in you.

Wrapping Up

Even as businesses are forced to work remotely and their employees experience confusion and stress, there is an important opportunity facing them. A combination of crisis communication principles and virtual collaboration tools can help remote workplace leaders better manage their teams. It’s critical that they develop and implement a robust crisis strategy and response to help team members feel less worried and more secure. By leveraging these tools, managers can help their teams be more resilient in the face of the pandemic.

The first Netflix logo was an unassuming swirl of film reel around the words “Net,” right before the word “Flix”. The font was a fairly normal-looking font with serifs. It’s thin and pretty nice for the 1990s.

It makes a lot of sense considering that the company began in 1997.

The Netflix logo that is best remembered is the second one. It was originally done in the Graphique font. It’s a bold, tall typeface that screams pop culture. There have been a few iterations of the logo since then.

Great things can’t last forever, but the iconic second logo is one for the history books.

Rebranding

The third logo is a change in style that is quite dramatic. The red background and outline of the letters was removed to make way for a stark, sans-serif font in straight red.

The logo lends a nod to the era of video games and HD streaming. It’s got a dramatic arch formed by the bottom of the letters and reminds everyone how strong the brand has become.

Capitals Only

The brand is so well-known that Netflix now shoots its own movies with major stars. They are doing quite well in this new venture.

Due to its importance in the video sector, Netflix now has an alternative logo of the capital “N”. Following the graphic trend of flat design, it seems to be formed by a folded red tape (or ribbon, depending on how you view it). There is a bit of shading on the ribbon to show what part is folded over what, but it’s notably flat. It still holds a lot of drama and stands up well for the brand.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in all of us. Now is the time to rise as leaders. Whatever shortcomings people may have in the face of a crisis, they can still overcome challenges successfully as a team.

COVID-19 has forced many unprepared people to work from home, and it has caused pre-existing work relationships to fray as people worry about their future. Leading in the face of this crisis means tackling complex issues and working with psychology.

People need strong leadership in order to achieve when times are tough. Already, people are comparing the economic fallout of the pandemic to the Great Depression. Standout leaders in this situation will draw upon the strengths of their teams to tackle obstacles.

Here are a few things leaders can do to bring out the best in their people.

Be Clear, Kind, and Consistent

Stress makes every instruction more difficult to absorb for many people. The chaos of the pandemic doesn’t help. Remember the 10X10X10 rule here, and keep a kind tone.

Kind can mean a lot of things. But in a difficult pandemic where efforts go overlooked, it often means sharing people’s stories and highlighting their hard work. Taking care not to show too much favoritism and to share the praise, make sure to detail how your teams overcome.

Keeping the Goal in Mind, Set Clear Boundaries

People need structure when it comes time to tackle chaos. It’s just not very organized working in a pandemic, and there’s no way around it. Make sure that you clearly define your goals and schedules for your teams during this stressful time.

Unknowns increase anxiety and can waste valuable time. People who are working during this pandemic are under very strict time constraints in many cases. You can help your team as a leader by staying the course when it comes to schedules and protocols.

This is helpful because in the long run, these things promote efficiency. Even if it takes a little more time to get everyone up to speed at first, everyone achieves more when structure prevails during a crisis.

Keep the Mission in Mind

Whatever business you’re in, keep your reason for being there front and center. Employees need a focus on well-being during times of crisis, and part of that is knowing why they are there.

Reminding people that they have a purpose that matters is key to promoting a sense of calm and well-being when disease ravages an economy.

Lead with Empathy

Everyone needs a little help on the mental wellness front during scares like this. Being a strong leader doesn’t always mean playing the tough guy. Although some toughness doesn’t hurt when pandemic hits, try not to make too big a point of it.

You can model the values of your team by sharing concern for your employees. When they see how you are acting, they will know that it’s okay to care during this stressful time. The support keeps teams communicating well and working toward a common goal.

Be a Strong Communicator

Beyond being clear and consistent, you need to be one of the top communicators on your team. Don’t just give instructions and then check out while people struggle for time. Communicate more than others. Your example will help keep team members in sync with each other.

The name “Amazon” has become synonymous with the ability to buy pretty much anything. This appropriately named company started as an online bookstore, but now sells everything from food and baby supplies to computers and electronics. Founded by Jeff Bezos as “Cadabra” in 1994, Amazon is now a worldwide sensation with a highly recognizable brand and logo. However, it wasn’t always that way.

The Early Version

After Bezos renamed the company to “Amazon,” he pulled appropriate, if not-so-compelling, imagery that evoked the massive river of the same name. The first logo was an “A” with a river shape cut into it, set against a watery blue background with the name “Amazon.com” and tagline “Earth’s biggest bookstore” printed below. It resembled something that a third-grader might make in Mi- crosoft Paint. At this time, the brand was still clinging to the “dot-com” part of its name.

1997–1998

In 1997, Amazon abandoned the river imagery and adopted a simple wordmark, accompanied by its tagline. This clearly didn’t per- form well, because only a year later, Amazon changed the typeface yet again to a vaguely National Geographic-type design with a large orange “O.”

1998-2000

Still not satisfied, Amazon changed the typeface a third time to a lowercase serif and abandoned the orange “O” in favor of a curved orange underline. Some think that the curve is meant to represent forward momentum or innovation, while others believe it repre- sents the curvature of the Earth.

The Turn of the Millennium

It was designer Turner Duckworth who finally solidified Amazon’s logo into the friendly version we see today. Duckworth inverted the orange curve, shortened it, and added an arrow. The new design, which vaguely resembles a smile, now has a line pointing from the A to the Z. Duckworth made this choice to mirror the company’s expansive selection of products.

2012

Finally, Amazon dropped the “dot-com” from its logo, and effectively from its brand as well. Amazon now has brick-and-mortar sto- ries and technology that extends beyond the World Wide Web. The new logo retains the orange arrow but simply reads, “Amazon,” a name that symbolizes the brand’s promise to sell you anything you might desire, from A to Z.

You’ve probably heard that many businesses are shifting their marketing focus due to the pandemic. Instead of pushing sales, they’re leveraging the power of inbound marketing to build a resilient community around their brand. If you’re a startup or new business, you might be wondering how you can grow your community quickly, especially when people are cooped up inside. One key technique to do this is growth hacking. Let’s take a look at some different themes of these unconventional strategies and how to put them into action.

Use Influencers in a Creative Way

Classic influencer marketing involves a tradeoff: The influencer shares your product in exchange for a post on your page. This typi- cally only works if both of you already have established communities. If you don’t, it’s time for a growth hack.

For example, just a few years ago, Unsplash was a relatively unknown stock-image provider. They started asking micro-influencers to curate a collection of photos. Then, they both promote that collection. What makes this different from traditional influencer mar- keting is that it involves the influencer creating something with the service rather than just giving a shoutout. Now, Unsplash is widely regarded as a premium provider of free stock images.

Crash a Party

Ahrefs is a well-known SEO tool. While you’d think that they used their own strategies for their success, they actually used a growth hack to splash onto the market. They debuted a custom coffee cup design at the Brighton SEO Conference that parodied a Nutri- tion Facts panel with a list of SEO facts e.g “keyword difficulty” and “return rate.” A link to their website appeared at the bottom. This clever approach garnered them name recognition among the coffee-chugging conference attendees.

Similarly, HubSpot released a free tool to check your website’s SEO tool, then ensured that people could easily share the tool to their social networks. This helped HubSpot gain valuable exposure in established circles — without spending a dime on advertising.

Tap into FOMO

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is well known among marketers for its ability to get people overly excited about a brand. People not only like to feel “in the know,” but they also like to feel like they’re influencing others. That’s why referral techniques work so way. Think about Gmail, which used to be invite-only. Google was able to quickly grow Gmail because it made having a Gmail account an exclusive club. Dropbox used a similar technique by rewarding users with more storage if they were able to get friends to sign up.

Similarly, the microinvesting app Stash grew its following with referral links that invested $5 for both the friend and the referrer. This technique worked better than traditional referrals, in which only the referrer gains the benefits, and Stash is now a robust financial platform.

Write Unconventional Copy

Phrases such as “Thank you for your order” and “We appreciate your business” are so overused that people simply don’t read them when they appear on websites and emails. To grow your startup quickly, inject a little personality into your copy. For example, you can take inspiration from CD Baby, which allows independent music artists to distribute their work. Their copy is famously quirky, such as “Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CDs into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.” CD Baby is now the largest indie music distributor in the work. Another startup, Mint Mobile, offered mo- bile plans and phones at a steep discount. Using a whimsical fox-based brand and conversational, witty copy. For example, their FAQ section is titled, “You’re adorable when you’re confused.” Mint Mobile caught the attention of famously quirky actor Ryan Reynolds, who bought an ownership stake in the company. That’s the power of whimsical words.

Solve a Problem

We mentioned Mint Mobile above. Its unique selling proposition was that they would “fix everything wrong with mobile.” Similarly, the Dollar Shave Club aimed to fix everything wrong with razors. In their provocative ads, they take a brash approach to reaching their customers. It comes off as though they’re chiding the people spending $20 on a name-brand razor, but it works because those customers don’t want to be doing that. This tactic allowed Dollar Shave Club to splash onto the market as one of the more popular subscription services.

Growth Hacking Samples

Need inspiration? Here’s how some major companies got started with growth hacking:

AirBnB allowed people renting out rooms to cross-post the listing to Craigslist with one click. They essentially approximated the Craigslist platform for their own purposes. Very clever.

Groupon takes referral marketing to the extreme by offering deals only if enough people register for the coupon. If you can’t get enough friends to buy in, you lose the deal. Now that’s how you put FOMO into action.

Shazam grew via word-of-mouth by encouraging people to hold up their phones to speakers. Eventually, “Shazamming” became a thing, and Shazam became an essential app on people’s phones.

Uber offered free rides to their early adopters, which helped build a loyal customer base that would provide Uber with word-of- mouth advertising. By providing cheap, convenient rides, Uber quickly began to supplant the taxi companies.

Wrapping Up

If you’re launching a new enterprise during COVID-19, you probably want to grow your following quickly and start bringing in income. Try one or more of these strategies to help you stand out from the crowd and get people excited about your brand. Growth hacking is just that: hacking. Find established spaces and promote your product or service with unconventional techniques. If done well, you might just become a superstar in your industry.

Iconic Brand

The Target Company started out as Dayton Dry Goods Company in 1903. In the early 60’s, Target, as we know it today was introduced in Minnesota. Target’s easily recognizable logo can be identified by over 90% of the people in the United States.

Attracting the Eyes

The first Target logo was revealed in 1962. A red and white bullseye with the word Target written across it in black script font. The bullseye logo was meant to grab the attention of customers with its contrasting colors. In 1969, the red and white colors were changed to black and white, but the resulting logo was not as memorable.

In the early 80’s, an updated logo featured a slightly new design. The bullseye was smaller with only a single white ring on a red circle. The colors, still red and white, were adjusted to be brighter and more noticeable from cars passing by. Moving the Target name off the bullseye also made the logo more eye- catching.

No Need for Words

The company name has moved around the logo since its inception. The original design had the name directly on top of the bullseye. By 1975, the company name was written in black capital letters to the right of the bullseye. In 1989, Target experimented with an unsuccessful red text-only logo. It was a flop and did not last a year. Customers associated the bullseye with Target, and the text was not the necessary feature. The company name has also been below the bullseye, but the main take-away is that even without the name, customers will still know the Target brand by the symbol.

Small Changes

The 2006 logo resembled the previous iterations, still with the red and white target symbol, but the name was smaller. The most current logo, revealed in 2018, has the Target name in lowercase letters instead of capital letters, underneath the bullseye. It is possible the change in lettering was hardly notice because the bullseye target remained the same. Target’s color scheme has always been red, white, and sometimes black. For almost 50 years, the Target brand has had a mostly consistent logo, giving customers a sense of dependability from the retail giant.

If you’re a small business owner, you’re likely feeling the strain caused by the pandemic — especially if you have a brick-and-mortar store that’s been subject to closure. Customers are staying home and not buying as much. Small businesses of all sizes, from mom-and-pop shops to startups to formerly thriving franchises, are affected by both social distancing and an economic downturn. It’s natural to feel alarmed and anxious about your business’s future. During these difficult times, it’s crucial to stay calm and strategic. Here’s how you can keep your small business alive during the pandemic.

Build Your Community

Just because customers aren’t buying or visiting doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested. In fact, many of them are looking for a sense of familiarity and appreciation from the businesses they care about. Take this time to focus on your marketing. How can you cultivate a community around your brand?

For example, you can share personal messages from yourself or your team on social media, or invite your followers to share selfies or personal photos. Focus on how you can promote a sense of connection among your customers. Both your loyal customers and prospective ones will appreciate your compassion.

This is also a great time to share your knowledge. If you haven’t started a company blog in which you publish valuable articles, now is the perfect time. This content will draw in prospective customers, even those who would not otherwise encounter your business. This tactic is an essential part of inbound marketing, and it can help keep your audience engaged even during the pandemic.

Relief Programs

The CARES Act, recently passed by Congress, greatly expands the business loans that are backed by the Small Business Administration. Now, loans of up to $10 million are available for small businesses. These loans, provided through the new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), help your business keeps its staff and venue. Loans are forgivable if you do not lay off any programs.

A PPP loan provides up to 2.5 times the average cost of your monthly payroll, as calculated for an 8-week period. This program is intended to help you keep your workers on staff and a roof over your head. You can typically take out these loans through your exist- ing financial provider. If you’re concerned about your ability to pay your bills, a PPP loan is worth looking into.

Upskill Your Team

Whether your team is working from home or unable to perform their basic tasks, now is a great time to help them expand their skills. After you’ve used a PPP loan to keep them on staff, get them started on upskilling. For example, to obtain their help with your new marketing efforts, have them take a digital marketing course.

It’s important to help your team feel supported and valued, especially if they’ve helped build your business and its reputation. While many big businesses are laying off employees, you need to keep your team at your side. Investing in courses or training — many of which are quite affordable — is a great way to demonstrate your support and grow your business at the same time.

Reflect and Reevaluate

You likely have some downtime during the pandemic. Take that time to reflect on your business’s progress and goals. If you’ve truly been struggling, evaluate what steps you can take to be more resilient. Can you expand your business to include an e-commerce store? Are there online courses or virtual services you can provide to your customers? If these aren’t feasible now, are they some- thing to think about the future?

It’s also essential to take time for your own self-care. Running a business is hard work, and even harder these days. Taking care of yourself is the first step toward caring for your business. Your team looks to you for leadership, so it’s crucial that you remain focused and collected. Preserve your brand with a calm, compassionate approach.

Wrapping Up

Keep an eye on what your business needs to survive, but don’t lose sight of the human needs at the core of your business. It’s important to adjust your pandemic strategy to make your team and customers feel appreciated and supported. By following the practices described above, you can build your small business’s resilience and weather the COVID-19 storm.

A logo rooted in its history

The sports apparel giant Adidas formed its enduring brand from the combination of Karhu Sports and Dassler Shoes in post-WWII Germany. Their logo has gained international recognition thanks to its consistenty, even through its various iterations. As a manufacturer of shoes, clothing, and other essentials for athletes, Adidas has always relied upon a decidedly German symbolism to promote their company.

The Early Years

Initially, Adidas placed three parallel black lines on all of their products. Original owner Adi Dassler obtained this visual concept from Karhu and liked it so much that he consistently referred to Adidas as the “three stripe company.” In time, those stripes came to symbolize the three continents in which Adidas products were available: Europe, North America, and Asia.

The Trefoil

In the early 1970s, Adidas debuted the trefoil, a leaf-like shape with the three lines intersecting it. Using the plant imagery reflected the company’s growth and expansion from shoes into apparel. The new logo was so visually appealing that it help solidify the brand and catapult it into international success.

The Mountain

Mountain symbolism has had a huge impact on German pop culture, and Adidas is no exception. They decided to add some moun- tainous imagery to their logo, and so in 1997, they swapped out the leaf shape for an upward slope. The new shape retained the three lines, but they were placed them at an angle to signify the challenges that Adidas products help athletes overcome.

The Wordmark

Eventually, Adidas decided to minimize its logo and let its name do the talking. They removed all except the three stripes and placed them next to the word “Adidas,” famously rendered in the Avant Garde font. The stack of three lines symbolizes the upward momen- tum and multiple companies of what is now an international athletic wear conglomerate.

Every day is uncharted territory as we all cope to live with the looming threat of the coronavirus. People across the globe have had to make major adjustments to their day to day activities. Working remotely is one of the greatest ways technology has allowed us to continue with some sense of normalcy. But, working remotely can also have some challenges. On the plus side, you can wear your pajamas to work! But on the downside, it can certainly become difficult to keep your team functioning and productive outside of the office.

Working from home doesn’t have to be riddled with challenges and isolation. Here are a few ways you can help your team stay productive while you work remotely during this global pandemic.

• Check-In Daily

One of the major perks of working remotely is having generous flexibility. This is also one of the biggest issues. Ask your employees to check-in daily. This will help keep them on some sort of a routine and keep communication flowing. Doing a daily check-in also allows everyone to relay any important information for the day and stay up to date.

• Encourage A Schedule

Working remotely means you can work in your pajamas. You can literally roll out of bed, pour a cup of coffee and hop on a conference call in a matter of minutes. It sounds great, and it can be great, but it can also slow down productivity. Encourage your team to maintain a schedule just as if they were going into the office every morning. Going to bed at a decent time, waking up to an alarm, showering and changing into a fresh pair of work clothes will help keep employees’ minds sharp and get them revitalized to tackle their day.

• Celebrate Outcomes Rather Than Activity

When employees work from home, they become their own bosses to some degree. There is no one there to monitor them and make sure they are on task. This is a good thing! So often (probably more often than you think) employees who work in an office are there simply filling a seat until it’s time to punch the timeclock. Since employees are most often paid by the hour, and required to work a certain number of hours per week, this means they may be caught up on work and simply staying to fulfill their time requirements.

On the other hand, when employees work remotely, they have the freedom to move about their house and tend to their own needs within reason. They may even be able to get their work done in 30 hours instead of using the entire 40. Celebrate this! You have an excellent employee who is both proficient and efficient at their job. Celebrate the outcomes or the end result of their work, not the amount of time it took them to complete it. As long as employees are fulfilling their work, it’s a win.

• Use Multiple Methods Of Communication

Communication is key in personal relationships, friends and the workplace. Luckily, today’s technology allows for many ways to communicate. Email, instant messaging and texting can get old and overwhelming. It’s also impersonal. Take advantage of video chatting through services like Zoom or Skype. This will give your team the ability to see each other face to face. This is especially important because it gives you the ability to see facial expressions and body language that are vital to communication. Plus it gives you a bit of socialization and who doesn’t want that?

• Be Reasonable And Patient

When your employees are working from home, it’s important for you to understand that it won’t be exactly the same as working from an office. Family may be present and distractions should be expected. Don’t forget that people still get sick when working from home and may need a break from time to time too. Employees are still human and still have needs to take care of outside of work. Working remotely also comes with learning curves for some people. Be patient through the bumps in the road and work together to overcome obstacles.

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