Manage A Team? Here’s How You Can Look After Them Better In 2021

Feb 09, 2021

Anyone who runs a team has felt a particular burden of responsibility over the past 12 months. Of course, a good team leader will always understand that they have a duty when it comes to the people that they work with, that employees look to a manager as much as a manager depends on them, but the COVID-19 pandemic has put an incredible amount of additional strain on those who manage agroup of people. Not only have we had to keep the work going under incredible circumstances, but we have had to go the extra mile to accommodate the needs of those we work with, covering their absence where needed and making sure that they are staying healthy and safe.

For those who work in the health sector, these demands weigh twice as heavily. Managers and employers not only have their staff to consider, but their patients as well. In times such as these, every little helps when it comes to making things run more smoothly and making everyone’s lives a little easier. Here are a few small things which you can do to help your team, and your practice, keep ticking along in the face of any challenges coming our way in the coming year.

Keep In Touch

Most businesses have found themselves abandoning the office to work at home in 2020, and have been facing the challenge of working remotely since March. In healthcare, remote working hasn’t always been an option, but some practices have found ways for some of their staff to work from home some of the time. As such, they will have found that it can be a little tricky to keep the lines of communication as open as they would normally be, but it’s so important to make sure that you are keeping in touch with your team in these times. We’re not just talking about the daily professional duties, either. We’re all missing those after-work drinks, or gathering for a meal with everyone’s families. Try and find a substitute for that, whether it’s a video call quiz night or some online gaming.

Embrace Management Software

If you’ve been running your practice without the use of management software, it’s time to step up your game. In such chaotic times, it is so easy to lose track of things and to allow ourselves to become overwhelmed. If something gets missed, the results could be disastrous. A management software allows you and your team to stay on the same page, to create smooth, clear workflows to help you track tasks and make the patient journeys considerably more easy. It’s been particularly helpful in Australia, where many have noted a remarkable reticence to embrace cloud working. A search for medical practice management software Australia will bring up several glowing reviews for MedicalDirector, which has helped GPs, specialists, nurses and many more in the healthcare profession to streamline their working practices and find time where there was none previously.

Don’t Discount Mental Health

Many of the longer-term effects of the Coronavirus pandemic have yet to make themselves known, but we are already seeing the impact that the disease has had on mental health around the globe. The statistics look grim, but it is important to take this moment as a reminder of the responsibility that employers have when it comes to taking the mental health of their colleagues, their employees, and themselves seriously. If you’re wondering what you can do to help, think about taking the first step and encouraging your colleagues to talk openly about the things that they are struggling with. Be prepared to listen, and be ready with strategies to allow people to take time when they need it. This past year has asked so much of our health professionals and it can be so easy to push mental health issues to one side when they first surface, but it’s vital that we do not ignore them.

Keep Things Moving Forward

Just as we’ve had to teach our grandparents how to video call to make sure they haven’t felt too alone during the long stretches of lockdown; we have found ourselves adapting to new technology and practices at work too.As we move forward, it’s very important that we all continue to adapt to the new normal in a professional capacity, and what that means for you as a team leader is making sure that your colleagues, and you yourself, continue to hone your technological expertise.

It is not enough to simply get by, as we head into the new year we all need to be pushing ourselves to master these new programmes to ensure that, as unpredictable and unstable as the world can be outside, everyone is comfortable using the tools of their trade at work. Keeping things moving forward isn’t just about tech, however. You should be finding ways to make sure that your employees feel like they have a voice, that they are a part of moving the whole practice forward, and that you are providing the best care possible.