Since March 2020, business owners and organisations around the world have had to deal with change on a scale never before experienced or anticipated. According to management consulting firm McKinsey, one of the most tangible changes was the speed of decision-making, which placed a huge burden on workers. The now famous ‘pivot’ left workers reeling from the accelerated pace and scale of innovation required to help their employers weather the pandemic storm.

Some companies launched new business models, others redeployed talent and developed new products, and many downsized, resulting in leaner teams that had to do more with less – all this while getting used to life under lockdown in the midst of a pandemic. It’s no wonder so many people are feeling lethargic and tired.

The emotional cost of downsizing

‘When a company has to let staff go, the emotions experienced by remaining team members are tantamount to losing a good friend, partner or loved one. It is important to deal with the emotional loss first and then start again as a completely new team,’ says executive business coach Jeff Lomey, who is also the founder of Jeff Lomey Associates.

Lomey hits on a critical area since the emotional impact of downsizing is often a lesser agenda point when there are deadlines and targets to reach that affect the bottom line. ‘Make time to listen and empathise,’ suggests Lomey. ‘Team leaders can set up one-on-one sessions or meet as a team with an experienced facilitator so that everyone feels heard.’

The need for speed

In many companies, the message to staff has been to get the job done fast and well, and technology has been key to fulfilling that mandate. An organisation structured for speed will see powerful outcomes, which is a view supported by executive business and leadership coach Brian Mhlanga. ‘Getting the infrastructure right is important, but leaders also need to guide staff around the changing world of work. The key here is engagement around how volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity have a direct impact on your bottom line and productivity. Managers will have to display a great deal of empathy for the team, demonstrate collective responsibility and inspire positivity,’ he says.

Inc.com, a magazine and website dedicated to growing businesses, writes that while change was thrust on many organisations, thinking quickly and readily about what was working and what wasn’t immediately yielded positive results. CEOs and business owners from a wide range of industries removed boundaries, ensured that resources were widely shared instead of held by a select few, broke down silos, streamlined decision-making, empowered frontline managers, did away with slow-moving hierarchies and bureaucracies and gave leaner teams more autonomy. Lomey adds that leaders as well as teams require high emotional intelligence at times of extreme change so that feedback is non-judgmental, and focus remains on the work.

5 Tips for managing lean teams (and keeping everyone happy)

As companies and employees learn to adapt to leaner teams, they will need strategies that support individual employees’ professional goals as well as company objectives while also prioritising mental wellbeing – all factors listed among the top reasons why employees disengage before ultimately deciding to resign in Remchannel’s April 2021 Salary and Wage Movement Survey.

Lomey (JL) and Mhlanga (BM) have this advice:

1. Prioritise employee wellness

‘This should be at the top of all leaders’ agendas. Managers need to rethink employee support as a productivity lever. Regular check-ins, once a week, are vital as are “connecting days”, which could be a morning or afternoon during which everyone is encouraged to exercise, learn something new or do something enriching and then share it with the team. This demonstrates a holistic approach to nurturing staff. I am also a fan of designated meeting-free days, especially when everyone has so much to do and so little time.’ (BM)

2. Find ways to reward staff that don’t involve money

‘If you can’t pay staff more for working longer hours and taking on more responsibility, offer short courses or a deeper exposure to the business. Introduce a revolving seat on your EXCO so that staff are made aware of the big picture and become fully invested in your long-term goals.’ (BM)

3. Be flexible

‘An important shift in organisational culture is allowing flexible work practices. This is not just about adjusting working hours, but constantly looking for efficiencies which create an environment for learning and deliver customer value.’ (BM)

4. Tap into all the available skills

‘Draw up a comprehensive matrix of skills in the team. Are there skills the staff hasn’t revealed or used recently? Conduct an exercise in which the team matches skills to the outputs required. Make learning goals part of this conversation. Determine which outputs individual staff members want to work on to increase their skill levels.’ (JL)

5. Manage conflict proactively

‘Disagreement can rear its head as jobs are assigned and members get a sense of who has control and power. Educate teams about conflict resolution through reading material, bringing in a speaker and showing them how conflict affects output. Finally, take stock of the healthy compromises and solutions that emerged from the conflict.’ (JL)

Discover more articles with advice and news that are relevant for running a successful business in the Business Insights section of our content hub.