Communicating with Furloughed Employees

10.04.2020, 15:16

Communicating with Furloughed Employees

Magenta Associates has created a guide to communicating with furloughed employees.

Following the launch of the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme, thousands of employers across the country are taking advantage of the opportunity to place some of their people – including a large chunk of front-line facilities workers, on temporary leave with the Government funding a proportion of their salary.

With the built environment sector massively impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, the Magenta team has put together a short guide to communicating with furloughed teams. It offers top tips and practical advice on what you should – and shouldn’t – do as an employer while also ensuring your furloughed teams are kept engaged and motivated.

Most of these employees will return to their old jobs once the Coronavirus pandemic has passed, lockdowns are lifted and the economy starts recovering. So it’s essential that employers maintain a good relationship with their teams during this uncertain period.

Tips include:

1. Explain what furlough leave is and isn’t through a Do’s and Don’ts guide
2. Don’t use people’s work emails, but ask them for their personal emails to keep in touch
3. Keep people updated about what’s happening in the organisation so they feel connected
4. Set up informal check-in calls with individuals to catch up on how they’re feeling
5. Maintain a social bond between teams through social video calls, extracurricular clubs and virtual meet-ups. Request culture champions
6. Suggest other things furloughed employees can do from training and volunteering to a reading list, podcast list or even working elsewhere
7. Provide advice and support during lockdown as you would to working employees
8. Encourage self-care through a self-care guide
9. Understand that everyone is different and tailor your communication accordingly
10. Create a safe psychological environment so that everyone feels comfortable contributing to discussions

The guide is available for download at https://bit.ly/39SXymP.