Lessons Learned from the Pandemic: Part I
As the pandemic and the disruptions it has caused in our lives, our work, and our mission enter the second month, I have found it useful to reflect on some of the lessons that we can learn as individuals and organizations that can help us run more effectively and efficiently. Hopefully we can learn some things to help us more effectively weather the next storm – whether a virus, economic downturn or actual weather event.
As I brainstormed my list of lessons nonprofits can learn from this experience, it grew too long for one post so I have cut it in two and will run the second part in my next Nonprofit Tips and Tidbits, scheduled for April 28 – if things don’t change markedly between now and then. I know that is not necessarily a safe assumption these days! Think of it like a cliffhanger … but you don’t have to wait until September to see how it turns out!
These first lessons deal with our most important asset: our people.
1. The pandemic allowed us to examine assumptions about work, both from the employer and employee perspective. A lot of organizations have resisted allowing staff to work from home while a lot of staff viewed working from home as a great perk. I would guess that both sides got a more realistic view of the trials and tribulations of working from home. Organizations learned that many staff and functions can produce high quality, collaborative work somewhere other than sitting at their desk. At the same time, I bet staff realized that working from home can get really, really old fairly quickly and that they miss their workplace! After the pandemic, organizations might consider examining their experiences with remote work and adjust their policies accordingly to allow staff to better balance home and work responsibilities.
2. The pandemic allowed us to explore ways to better use technology. Through technology, we can effectively meet “face-to-face” without actually traveling across town or across the country. We can also effectively deliver some of our mission and professional development in ways that don’t require in-person contact. While I for one do not advocate replacing human connections with technology-mediated communication, I recommend that organizations explore how some of the creative ways that they used technology to deliver their mission and message might continue into the post-pandemic world to help staff work more effectively and efficiently.
3. The pandemic also demonstrated the critical importance of relationships and the social capital that we have built with others within our organization and around the community. Social capital goes beyond just having relationships to the active connections among people that allow cooperative work to occur. It comes from the trust that you create over time with another person. We and our organizations accomplished what we did during the pandemic because of the social capital we built before we all retreated to our homes or empty offices. That social capital exists with the donors we called upon for an emergency gift, with the colleagues who helped us identify emergency funding, with the organization that helped your clients when their needs exceeded your capacity, and with your banker and accountant who helped you submit an application for an emergency assistance loan.
Building these relationships takes time, attention, trust, and, dare I say, face-to-face communication that goes beyond the superficial to the essence of what makes each human. I saw some of this during the pandemic as we invited people into our homes and lives, albeit virtually, during video conferences. I know more about people’s kids, spouses, pets, and home spaces than I did before. I also found that more people genuinely asked about each other’s physical and mental health, not in the perfunctory “how are you?” way, but they genuinely cared. I recommend that organizations review their social capital and strategically develop relationships to help them more effectively carryout their mission. Did you have enough social capital, or do you need more? Did you find that you needed more relationships or did people come through for you as you had hoped? How can you build on your existing social capital to fill these gaps?
My next blog post will look at more organizationally-focused lessons that directors and board members in particular might take away from this pandemic.
