BOB HOLT OBE MAINTAINS VITAL SERVICE TO THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES DURING COVID19 CRISIS
During the COVID19 global pause, there has been much discussion on leadership and survival. Mostly management issues and uninformed individuals amongst businesses worldwide.
However Bob Holt, who is based in the UK, has maintained a vital service by providing his thousands of employees with a transparent and open daily communication.
From day 1, his message has and continues to be one of thanks and praise for every individual, whatever their rank. Bob has extensive experience in leadership roles and has used these tools to combat anxiety, doubt and uncertainty amongst his workforce.
Besides his own workforce, Bob has been available to outside businesses to answer questions, reassure and generally motivate by appearing on a number of webinars, podcasts and virtual conferences.
A recent example opened up interesting discussions about productivity and effectiveness during this work-at-home period. He said that this situation will change the future for individuals at work and for the organisations themselves. He stressed that companies must adjust to every aspect of this situation and change their expectations of staff.
Bob illustrated positivity by confirming that he is more widely effective now during these times. He went on to talk about his own benefits including his personal ‘call to actions’ regarding his health and well-being. There was a majority agreement to many of Bob’s illustrations, in this respect. He also emphasised the importance of a working strategy by demonstrating his own detailed methods.
He spoke about the importance of management and how messages must be communicated to staff by using carefully chosen words so as to prevent causing alarm. Also how management must keep everyone aware of being in the moment and not to create scope, as these are not the times to predict even two weeks ahead.
As always, Bob tends to be very personable which naturally opens up more personalized discussions. Whilst not forgetting, for one moment, the sheer terror of this pandemic, there was a lot of talk about the positive outcomes from COVID19 and whether or not a ‘normal’ return to work is what everyone actually wants.
Some workers felt there was a greater sense of trust, from the management, with regards to working from home as it is obligatory rather than a choice. All the attendees at this podcast easily accepted that this was a different way of working and one which bought many benefits.
Several said that being a remote worker left them feeling so much more connected to the business itself by joining in on meetings that, in normal circumstances, they might be excluded from. In turn, this arouses motivation and good morale which inevitably leads to a stronger focus on the goal.
There was further discussion about how travel time is now being put to excellent use by focussing on staying healthy; exercising and eating and sleeping well, therefore resulting in less stress. The tools for staying stress free included the reliance on mindfulness, finding activities for break times and importantly keeping up social engagements such as on-line pursuits including wine-tasting and quiz nights amongst colleagues and friends.
“Sometimes even the obvious thoughts in our minds are worth hearing from others to enforce the positivity we all strive for and survive by”. ~ Bob Holt OBE
