Tips for Crafting a Game Plan to Return to the Office

Keep these few things in mind as a leader helping your team transition back to the office.

Just when you’ve finally adapted your team to working remotely, you’re now facing a whole new challenge: bringing them back to the office. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as opening the doors and turning on the lights.

Transitioning remote teams in-house needs to be done with thoughtfulness, positivity, and persistence. Following safety protocols and reconfiguring the office space are not the only thing leaders need to consider. 

Here are three mistakes leaders should avoid when reacclimating staff to the workplace. 

1. You don’t give enough notice.

The pandemic has forced thousands of companies to shut out down offices, storefronts, restaurants, and more with next to little notice. And while circumstances justified this action, returning to work cannot be met with the same abrupt announcement. 

Many of your staff have had to juggle work, children, homeschooling, and managing the household. Needless to say, they will need ample notice to sort out childcare and other personal matters that affect their day-to-day. We’ve all been left with enough surprises and unknowns. Don’t let returning to the office be one of them.

At my company, we’ve already begun speaking to staff on when we expect to return even though we’re still a few weeks out from giving the green light. This gives everyone the opportunity to start an open dialogue with management so we can address their concerns, and in some cases, make adjustments to our original plan.

2. You expect things to go back to the way they were.

Those first few days (if not weeks) back will be one of the hardest challenges leaders will face as they navigate new social-distancing systems and employee concerns. When reacclimating their remote team back to the office, you can bet there will be looming tension in the air. Everyone will be on high alert. While some people will be glad to be back, others will feel anxious and apprehensive.

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