If you ran your publishing enterprise (whether online or print) in-person/in-house, well, things probably have changed for you – big time – and you’re now managing most, if not all, of your employees remotely.
This shouldn’t be hard. Truly. Many of your workers probably already did work from home: writers, graphic artists, salespeople.
But some of them may have been working on-site with you: your admins, your human resources folks, your accountants. They certainly have the capacity to work from home; they just may not have done so before.
More problematic, of course – if you’re a large publisher of a print publication – is your print shop workers. If you printed on-site, they still may have to do so. The same goes for your distribution crew: they still need to deliver your magazine to subscribers, the post office, supermarkets, etc.
We’d tell you to remain calm as a first step, but you probably already are
By the time you read this, the country already has been in work-from-home mode for several weeks. Chances are great you may have already figured out many of the ins and outs of managing your employees.
Still, many of your folks may be new to remote work, so it’s up to you as their manager to make sure you communicate regularly and offer support (and maybe even a sympathetic ear).
Also: understand that your employees/contractors may still be nervous, worried about their jobs. They also may be trying to wrangle children who also are home.
Workers also may be missing their in-person interactions with their colleagues. If you haven’t already, this would be a great time to hold all-hands video conferences. Encourage your department heads to hold these virtual get-togethers with their team members regularly, at least once a week. Daily is better, if possible.
Provide daily or weekly to-do lists/deliverables to each worker
Having weekly or daily to-do lists helps workers stay focused and on task. Structure can help people stay calm and reduces stress.
For example, for employees, ask everyone to check in with you between 8 and 8:30 in the morning (if that was your start time before). Doing so helps them to think of their new work location to be – in fact – their place of work. Ask contractors to say hi at least weekly.
Check on your workers daily
This needn’t be by video chat: a quick email or phone call is all that’s necessary. Ask them how they’re doing and if there’s anything you can help them with. At least weekly, have a longer chat to see how they’re coping with their new normal.
Above all, be honest
Thousands of businesses across the country have shuttered and your employees – and even your contractors – are no doubt worried that your publication may, too.
It’s imperative that you provide regular updates regarding your business’ health to your team members and answer their questions as best and honestly as you can.
Focus only on controlling what you can control and encourage your workers to do the same
Your sales people, for example, may be quite stressed that they no longer can hold prospect meetings in person. This could especially be so for your experienced sales reps who may be new to video meetings. Remind them that getting up to speed on video chatting will be easy. Let them know they can still court their prospects pretty much as before: their appointments now will be video only.
The idea is to “let go” of stressing over things beyond one’s control. Sales reps may not be able to meet in person, but they sure can ask for virtual meetings. And they are in complete control each week over how many prospects they ask for a (video) meeting.
Your new normal can be made even more efficient and even enjoyable with MagHub
MagHub is a cloud-based CRM/ERP and workflow tool made specifically for the publishing industry. We offer your publishing enterprise the chance to operate fully (except for printing) via one portal. Your editorial, sales, administration/finance, HR, graphics, and contract workers one spot from which to operate. It’s really the only tool any media business needs – from sales to production.
