Coronavirus has changed so much of our lives. It has shone a light on all the things we’ve taken for granted and made us question.

We thought we were coping with the pace of change pretty well, didn’t we? Then along comes COVID-19 and the pace of change suddenly accelerated. The impact is nowhere more noticeable than at work. Suddenly many of us are working from home and quite possibly, this will become part of the norm.

As I’ve said before, this pandemic has emphasised how much companies rely on their people, rather than their systems or machines. It’s people who get the work done. Companies with an eye to the future would do well to invest in their people – their most important asset.

Leaders need help right now. Even the best leaders are now trying to find their way through a changed world. The habits they’ve developed like an open-door policy or Friday night catch ups won’t work in their present format. in their present format. How do they build positive and engaged teams when they aren’t face to face? An investment in leadership training is an investment in a safe future for your business. Remember, your people are struggling right now. They are worried about job security, worried about finances, adjusting to new technology and trying to work despite the interruptions of family life which is now going on around them. You need strong leaders to pull those people together and focus them on the positives instead of the challenges.

Employees need help. Stress and worry can overwhelm even the best employees and they’ll need help to settle into remote work. More than anything, they need to feel they’re not forgotten. Microsoft created a guide to working from home designed to help their employees set up a workspace and cope with the new way of working.   (You can download a customisable version here to use with your teams.)

Invest in learning opportunities. The way we access learning has changed. We’ve had to move to online training tools and video-based training. However, it’s not enough just to design and schedule courses because remote workers work to their own timetables.

The future of learning will be built around the concept of continuous learning. It will be always available and delivered in bite-sized pieces which people can complete as they need it. You will need to offer virtual programs, and these are quite cost-effective once they’ve been created. Face-to-face learning will retain its importance because that’s still the best way for many people to learn.

Having continuous learning in place through the various formats lends itself to self-driven learning, where your people assess their own needs and seek training as and when they need it.

Look beyond internal programs. The cost-effective and timely training choice will often be programs which have been designed by external providers. Rather than typing up the valuable resources on your HR team, a well-chosen external program will deliver exactly what your people need, and it’s ready to go when it’s needed. For example, the award-winning Athena Leadership Academy is a leadership program which is tailored to the needs of the individual. It offers a personalised form of training, saving your HR team a fortune in time and money.

Now is the time to invest in your people. They recognise the need for development and they’re looking for help. This is the ideal time to protect your business future by looking after the needs of your people.

If you’d like to learn more about the programs offered by Athena Leadership Academy, call Linda on 0405 322 005 or email [email protected].