Staying the course | Eagle Hill Consulting

Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

We are still adjusting to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, working out details such as physically coming back to work, continuing to work remotely or creating a hybrid model.

As uncertainty continues in some areas, leaders will navigate true by creating organizational cultures that support employees during times of crisis and bypass burnout whether faced with an emergency or not.

As Eagle Hill worked through its own COVID-19 response, we drew on the strength of our award-winning culture and change management expertise to support employees through many challenges. Keeping our people connected and engaged kept them secure in our ability to weather the crisis (and keep them OK) in the long term.

45 percent of employees are experiencing burnout. 1 in 4 attribute their burnout to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only 1 in 3 say that their employers are increasing flexibility while just 1 in 4 say communications are improving.

Not surprisingly, about half of employees say they feel less connected to colleagues and less productive.

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting

5 steps for reaching long-term employee engagement

Follow your true north

Early in the pandemic, Eagle Hill made the commitment to our core values to shape our every action in response to the crisis, and to do so in a way that stays true to what we as a company have always held dear. We started by creating a vision, to stay our constant guide throughout the crisis. Amid the uncertainty of COVID-19, the vision cut through “the fog” and allowed us to navigate unforeseen shoals.

The vision shaped how we organize and communicate information so employees who may have felt adrift got solid direction.

One of our core values is family. Our vision for navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic included clear direction that family comes first.

Our CEO and leadership team sent videos to all staff while on walks and with family—modeling Eagle Hill’s values of family and fun.

Team leads reinforced that understanding by modeling the frank openness leadership has shown within their own teams.

Keep your eyes on the horizon

At Eagle Hill, we’re practical optimists. We hope for the best, but we plan for the worst. Weeks before official orders came to shut offices down, we looked far out—and then planned even further. Eagle Hill anticipated very long closures and planned accordingly. Of course, we also considered how we eventually would ramp up again when normalcy returned.

Our crisis team walked through each project, mapping out the current state and built—not just a worst-case scenario—but an every-case scenario for each.

We then scenario-planned by visualizing the impacts on our business and people, then worked through the steps we would take to weather numerous scenarios.

We developed plans for potential intermittent start/stops and for hotspot flares in one geographic area that do would not affect other offices.

Moreover, we keep kept all our employees and clients abreast of our plans as they evolved.

Monitor morale

Eagle Hill recognized COVID-19 for what it was--the mother of all change management challenges. And we knew that to see our way through successfully, we had to bring our people along. Central to our success was an emphasis on protecting our interpersonal connections and a commitment to honesty and authenticity, from the top down.

Where we used to connect as an entire company once a week for an open conversation with leadership, we doubled the frequency of our engagement.

We took anonymous questions from staff throughout the week and our chief addressed every single one (even the sticky ones about finances and job security) at our virtual companywide weekly meetings.

We admitted when we didn’t have complete answers and gave at least point-in-time picture of our solutions or plans.

We pulsed employees to get a sense of their ongoing experiences and mindsets, then created word clouds to inform what we discussed in our meetings.

Captain your ship

As with any monumental change challenge, leadership knew to keep a firm hand at the helm. That’s why Eagle Hill leadership has taken such a high-touch approach in communicating the impacts of the transitions the organization is going through. We want our employees to see consistency in how they are treated and genuine care for their well-being.

Throughout the pandemic, our leadership team communicated their steadfast beliefs that this is a challenge, but Eagle Hill, as a whole, was in it together.

We emphasized the expectation that while no one could operate as normal during the pandemic—everyone could work toward the priorities laid out in the vision.

We kept our people involved by asking what they could do to help us come out ok.

Our leadership communicated their expectation from the first that a 9-5 schedule would not work for everyone during these times.

We asked what supports our employees needed and provided a central repository of resources, including: physical and mental health, emotional wellness, operating procedures, IT support, a community for working parents, and even birthdays, projects spotlights, and links to how to help in the community.

Stow the wisdom of your experience.

After all was said and done, our corporate ship has returned to more becalmed waters – and new challenges. Rather than simply picking up after COVID-19, Eagle Hill has took inventory of what we don’t want to leave behind from this experience. We have codified what actions have made us stronger and what has tested us further.

Maintaining connections

To maintain a cohesive culture, we worked on a series of short, informal videos with positive messages from leadership.

Building camaraderie

Daily team stand-ups, no matter how brief, helped build a stronger sense of team for many employees than they had even before the crisis.

Learning together

To get people up to speed quickly on a new collaboration tool, we hosted a series of light-hearted competitions that required employees to learn features of the platform in order to compete.

Reinforcing our values

Above all, through it all, we held tight to the lessons we've learned about empathy for each other. For Eagle Hill, weathering this crisis together was an opportunity to reinforce our culture and our values. In that regard, Eagle Hill feels stronger than ever, and better prepared for whatever future winds blow.