Tackling your Team’s Re-Entry Process
Re-entry. That term is quite the hot topic around the office this summer! While we recognize some of you went back to “in-person” activities long ago and others have become permanent remote workers, this summer seems to be when many are grappling with back-to-work policies, procedures, and practices. At Sharp Insight, our month for tackling our re-entry process was June, so we thought we’d share how we approached this tricky topic as a team.
As may know, the Sharp Insight team has always operated virtually, but with frequent in-person client events, trainings, and team meetings. With all of us newly vaccinated, we were excited at the thought of our team meeting in person again, but we knew there were some key questions we needed to ask ourselves.
So how did we, as evaluators, approach this process? Below are 5 steps we followed for tackling this tricky topic as a team, with the hope that it can inform your team’s re-entry process moving forward.
Step 1: Gauge general sentiment
We first raised the topic informally at a staff meeting and then followed-up in one-on-one meetings. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but staff requested clear guidance for the team moving forward.
Step 2: Develop a COVID-19 re-entry policy
We developed a COVID-19 re-entry policy based on strong samples from the field and with our attorney’s review to ensure it included appropriate language with respect to the new requirements we were establishing. We shared this with our team, with a review period for questions and feedback.
Step 3: Launch an anonymous survey
Even with a policy in place, we wanted to be highly respectful of our team’s wishes for the practices we followed at our first staff event. Prior to this initial in-person gathering, we surveyed our team so that we could plan an event that met the needs of as many team members as possible. We opted for an anonymous online survey so that individuals would feel comfortable being honest. The brief survey focused on three key topics related to staff comfort with:
1) Meeting Space: Indoor vs. outdoor? Private vs. public space?
2) Food: Food vs. no food? If yes to food, shared vs. individually packaged?
3) Masks: Masked vs. unmasked?
Step 4: Break the Ice!
We used our survey data to plan our event. Based on unanimous feedback, we planned a mask-free, outdoor staff event with individual boxed lunches and access to indoors, as needed. (Ironically, a team member had a cold and opted to wear a mask, but that was unrelated to COVID-19!) It was SO fun to be together – some of us meeting for the very first time in person!
Step 5: Reflect and Revise, as Needed
At our next staff meeting, we reflected on the event, asked about the team’s comfort level, and got feedback on what we might change for our late summer meeting. Of course, we all know that COVID-19 is a constantly changing virus that has certainly kept us on our toes, forcing us to constantly change with it! For example, the Delta variant has us already thinking about potential revisions to how and when we meet in person. So we’ll be checking in with our team regularly to see how everyone is doing and adjust as necessary to keep the team feeling safe and comfortable.
As your team re-enters the workplace OR continues to adjust its in-person procedures, we hope these steps will support a healthy and smooth transition.