CSOs urged to adopt flexible policies compatible with COVID-19

Civic Society Organisations have been urged to adopt flexible working policies in order to adapt to the work environment changes, that have come about as a result of COVID-19.

This emerged during a virtual meeting conducted by Zimbabwe Institute under the theme: “CSO Strengthening on Digital Technologies.”

Dr.Bheki Moyo said many organisations need to change their policies in order to adjust to the drastic changes in the work environment.

“Most organisations are going to close because they did not prepare for such a calamity. Organisation leaders should change certain policies and leadership styles in order to stay afloat,” he said.

Dr Moyo added: “Organisations should come up with communication mechanisms that will complement the idea of working from home. Office mode will most likely not be the case in future, for many organisations,” said Moyo.

He urged CSOs to adopt technology, ‘the new normal’ as working from the office was going to be fazed off eventually.

Another participant Sanele Bhala concurred by stating that there is need for leaders to understand the dynamics associated with working from home in order to work efficiently.

“Our leaders need to be patient with their workers and understand the dynamics that come with working from home,” she said.

Participants were also trained on resource mobilization and emphasis was on using the internet to attract donor-funding. Dr. Bheki Moyo implored organisation leaders to create online pages meant for resource mobilizations.

Other components of the meeting emphasized on the use of digital tools for communication, in order to survive challenges presented by COVID-19 and develop more resilient ways of working.