Remember when you were a child on a road trip with your parents, or you were driving with your children, and the constant, repeated question, was “are we there yet”? Well, it feels that way with COVID-19. At times it feels like we are emerging and be able to physically interact in the work and social environment, only to find the journey still has a way to go.

We are all feeling the frustration and fatigue from 18 months of dealing with the implications of this pandemic in our personal lives and our businesses. The positive news is that many countries with advanced vaccination rates are slowly returning to a new normal, with increasing face-to-face interactions and meetings with larger groups.

Research shows that, on average, it takes 66 days to create a habit. Given COVID-19 has endured for around eight times that long, many negative, but some positive, habits are now embedded in our lives and our business activities.

Regardless of where your country is in terms of restrictions, it’s time for fresh perspectives and a reboot of those culture-enhancing activities that used to be normal in our businesses. Teams must reflect to remember the most impactful cultural initiatives, and combine them with some of the few positives that have emerged as a consequence of WFH and lockdowns.

The first step to achieve this reboot is to have an agenda at your next Leadership Team meeting, to reflect on previous culture-enhancing initiatives that have been lost that could be re-instated in some form. As a reminder, some activities that have ceased are:

• Large in person Townhall or All-Hands meetings (with free food as this is the best way to attract people to an event!).
• Group recognition events and celebrations, including simple birthday celebrations.
• Introducing new staff members.  Remember that some of these people joined during COVID-19 and have no sense of the “office environment”. These people have had few face-to-face interactions with their team. Some trust-building activities would also assist here.
• Team bonding/building activities. Remember how the team enjoyed going bowling, and the buzz as people got to know each other through a fun and competitive event.
• Visiting customers. Assign and schedule your senior leaders to visit all key customers; spending time with the customer and your team, if they are on-site.

It is important to acknowledge and retain some of the positive COVID-19 habits that have emerged. With your team, identify these habits and be deliberate about what you plan to keep, like:

• Hybrid working with home and office. This will remain, so your challenge through scheduling is how to ensure collaborative face-to-face time with all staff physically in the office, on a regular basis.
• Less travel. The key question is – what policies need to be put in place so the “right travel” still occurs? Create a template of what does/does not make sense, given how comfortable we all are now on Zoom. An example is to consider whether or not you will meet, or how hard will you push back, if a customer requests a face-to-face meeting – even if they are a four-hour flight away.
• Frequent virtual meetings connecting with ALL team members across the globe. Prior to the pandemic, this was quite rare. These meetings should remain and could become hybrid.
• Punctuality. In virtual meetings it is crystal clear when you join a meeting and whether you are on time. This awareness of being on time would be a great new habit to keep.

It is time to reflect and identify what culture-enhancing habits have been forgotten and how you will reboot those habits in this new normal. Impactful Leadership can assist you on your cultural journey.