PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
often refer to improvements in processes and systems or employing new technologies that will make how we work more efficient and productive. However, technology and processes won’t get us anywhere if we don’t have intelligent and talented people doing the work to bring new treatments to those in need. Over the past 19 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, our people have been quite resilient and have been able to adapt how they work and develop and employ new technologies to keep our research moving forward. However, the pandemic has had a substantial impact on people’s well-being, and it is critical that we make the time to look after ourselves and each other so we can make it through the current crisis and remain successful as we continue to settle in to the ‘new normal’.
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The impact of COVID-19 has been deep and widespread. On top of the staggering death toll and impacts to long-term health that are still being defined (the rising number of cases of long COVID), the pandemic has hobbled economies with widespread unemployment, reduced consumer spending and even recession. Furthermore, with restrictions on travel and in-person contact, people have become more socially isolated and subject to misinformation and radicalised thinking. At the same time, we have been able to do remarkable things like: • accelerate the development and distribution of vaccines at an amazing pace
• adapt our businesses to perform and deliver through restrictions
• adjust our family life to support working, learning, and playing from home
• learned to go without personal contact while discovering new ways to maintain connections (drive-by concerts, video gatherings)
“Your colleague’s experience of the pandemic may be different from your own. Recognising this will allow us to tailor the way we strengthen our connections.”
8 | Outsourcing in Clinical Trials Handbook
hen discussing how to improve the way we outsource and conduct clinical research activities, we
Even though we have been able to adapt and
keep moving forward, the effort we are exerting now is not sustainable. The ongoing stress and uncertainty of the pandemic that is still not finished with us is having – and will continue to have – a long-lasting effect. For us to keep moving forward positively through to the end of the pandemic and into the ‘new normal’, it is important that we make a conscious effort to build, maintain and strengthen our relationships, both personally and in the workplace.
We are all not in the same boat
It has often been said that ‘we are all in the same boat’ when referring to our collective experience of the pandemic. Saying this ignores the impact our personal upbringing has on our interpretation and experience of present events, as well as the dramatic regional differences in how our governments and communities have responded to the COVID-19 crisis. Without going into the details of Bayesian integration, or the regional differences in COVID response by governments, it is important to note that your colleague’s experience of the pandemic may be fundamentally different from your own. Recognising that we have had different experiences and perspectives will allow us to tailor the way we strengthen our connections with our colleagues and partners.
Where are you at?
Before considering how we relate to others, we should first look inward. Just as airlines instruct us to ‘please ensure your mask is secured before assisting others’ in times of crisis, we need to look after ourselves so we can give our best to supporting others. Recognise what you have gone through, that you have also been impacted, and that you may not be performing at your (pre- COVID) best. In times of increased stress, many of us rely on ‘default’ behaviour patterns that may not serve us or our relationships. Make time to check-in with yourself to see where you are at. This may also mean reaching out to friends and/ or mentors to get an objective assessment of where you are at, or taking time for self-reflection. Give yourself permission to do this so that you can be in a positive place to support others.
Check-in with others
Our teams, projects and organisations have changed since the start of the pandemic. Working
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