Many months may have passed since you last saw your favourite clients and your staff in person. What are the new rules of engagement? People who were up close and personal may no longer be huggers or hand-shakers, greetings and goodbyes may be fraught with awkwardness, and meetings might need to happen outdoors. There are things we may want to save from our seemingly endless WFH days, and things we want to quickly toss out the window. Here’s how to navigate the new normal.
Rule number one when welcoming anyone back into the office or meeting in person: make it safe. Consult the government website for the latest health and safety recommendations where you’re doing business – and then communicate out the safety protocols you’ve instituted to staff and clients alike.
Tip: Do a quick Google survey with staff to learn what they would feel comfortable with in the office and how they want to engage. Some may want to remain remote for a percentage of the workweek, others may want to return full time. Make accommodations for staff who want to distance their workspace from others, or those who want to be near a window they can open. Collaboration is the key here, so gather your info and have an all-hands-on-deck Zoom meeting before re-entering the office. Buy-in is important, and you want everyone to feel they have input and will be completely safe coming to the office, even if it’s just for a meeting once a week.
Tip: A direct email to clients announcing you’re reopening the office, with bullet points of all the safety steps you have taken, will go miles in assuring them they will feel comfortable coming into the office. Offer digital or hybrid options for those who still don’t feel comfortable.
We’re all bound to be more than a little awkward when coming face-to-face again. Stick with the tried and true – be genuine, look people in the eye, ask questions, stay off your phone and focus on the interaction at hand. Catch up on latest achievements, wins and life events, and ask about people’s priorities now that the pandemic has shifted.
Do staff want to keep some of their pandemic work schedules going? Many of us have learned new things in the past year and are placing value on different areas of our lives as a result – find out more about changing values or new norms from those you serve and work with.
Tip: Communicate your safety preferences up front and ask what theirs are so you can set the stage for a comfortable interaction.
Tip: Get people to open up with three simple words – tell me more. These words can open up conversations you never knew you’d have.
Tip: If you started obsessively baking homemade sourdough bread during the pandemic, share that with your staff or your clients. Ask what habits they developed and even swap recipes.
As the days get longer and warmer, meeting and working outdoors may become a standard. Many restaurants have doubled their seating outdoors, a trend that will continue through the autumn. And with more people enjoying being outside, consider new ways to connect with your staff. Instead of indoor meetings to set strategy for the next year, why not try an outdoor activity? Can client meetings be moved to outdoor venues as well?
Tip: Explore walking meetings – these have been proven to not just get the ideas flowing, but may even extend your lifespan.
The pandemic changed a lot about the way we do business, the way we interact and even the way we dress – WFH joggers, anyone? We had to adapt, and quickly, to new technologies, new protocols and new ways of being. Digital everything propelled to the forefront at lightning speed. Pickup and delivery replaced in-person shopping. The challenge is to identify the habits we want to keep and to throw out the ones we don’t.
Tip: Make a list of all the things that made life better or worked well during the pandemic. Contactless pickup? The ability to get more delivered? Share your list with your staff – which pandemic working and living habits would they like to keep, and which would they like to throw away?
As we return to life in the office and in-person client meetings, tune in to those you are interacting with, eliminate awkwardness by genuinely connecting, and continue to build those all-important client and staff relationships.
Next steps
– Consider making your next staff meeting a walking meeting – plot a short course around the office as a test run
– Establish a safety protocol for your office following government guidelines
– Think about new places to connect with clients, and consider outdoor meetings
Sources: pwc.com; crainsdetroit.com; shrm.org; esquire.com; cnet.com; huffpost.com; youtube.com
Black MondayOn 19 October 1987, the stock markets experienced a dramatic plunge that prompted many firms to shut down their trading desks and turn off their phones to minimize internal losses. Raymond James refused to do the same. Our desks stayed open to help meet clients’ needs, resulting in our first and only unprofitable quarter since the firm went public in 1983. |
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Who was Raymond James?The Raymond in our name is actually from Edward Raymond, owner of a 15-employee mutual fund sales group, Raymond and Associates, along Florida’s west coast. He sold his company to Bob James on 15 July 1964, on condition that the surviving firm be called Raymond, James & Associates. Three days after the sale, Ed Raymond was involved in a near-fatal automobile accident and never joined the firm. Nonetheless, even after Raymond had passed away, Bob James insisted that his name remain on the door – ahead of James’ own. That was a promise he made to Ed Raymond three days before the accident, and Bob James was a man who kept his promises. |
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Bear Market of 1974The severe bear market of 1974 threatened the existence of Raymond James, which was bleeding capital by the day. Tom James, his father and other leaders took extreme measures to keep the firm afloat, slashing costs, foregoing paychecks and even attempting to sell the firm for just enough capital to protect client assets and retain as many associates as possible. The story could have ended very differently if not for a sharp upturn and continued rebound in the stock markets late in the year. |
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Taking Raymond James PublicWhen consideration was being given to taking Raymond James public, Tom James penned a letter to shareholders (largely employees at the time). ” … the public offering should be considered as a statement of our independence. While this is a psychological rather than an economic rationale, it is nonetheless very important. We have asserted for some time that we are not interested in becoming a small part of a very large corporation. That assertion results mainly from the inclinations of management rather than the economic benefits associated with either alternative. The public stock offering affords us the opportunity to enjoy a little bit of the best of both worlds. While shareholders will be given liquidity at fair market value, we will still have the ability to control our own destiny.” After 40+ years of Tom’s leadership, upon becoming CEO, Paul Reilly was often questioned about whether the company might ultimately surrender its cherished independence and be acquired by some larger entity. His response: “Not while I’m around.” It’s a theme that continues today. |
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