HUMAN RESOURCE IN THE POST-COVID ENVIRONMENT
In this COVID era, we are facing a lot of difficulties in the form of Unemployment, Employment and Workforce Engagement to sustain during this scenario. Where many companies are being shutdown and new startups are trying to survive. HR need to play an important role both during this COVID phase as well as post COVID.
Most of the organizations have
started to focus on scenarios for planning and taking necessary operational
responses to ensure business continuity post-COVID-19. Organizations need to
focus on building Communication, Trust & Transparency related to the
coronavirus pandemic to restore productivity and deliver on employee
experience.
As the economy enters a new
phase, post-Covid, the role of HR will also expand substantially. With the
lockdown affecting various sectors, increments and promotions are being
deferred and HR must step up to ensure employee understanding and satisfaction.
Employees will need up-skilling and re-skilling to ensure they are prepared for
the current scenario. Critical hiring will continue to be in focus, with more
focus on digital medium of hiring and onboarding.
Utmost importance will be placed
on hiring and maintaining talent with the appropriate attitude. Ensuring that
the new joiners share the organization’s values and have a culture match will
be necessary to boost productivity and satisfaction.
As the role of HR becomes extremely critical in the post-Covid era, it is
imperative that the Human Resource teams possess in-depth and expansive
knowledge of the function, remain agile and aligned with the organization’s
culture, and are willing to go the extra mile at this time for the employee.
Most important, this is the time when HR managers will need to keep themselves
aligned across the industry and stay motivated themselves to enable the organization
to come back to some sort of normalcy soon.
The biggest change or trigger for
change that the entire world is experiencing right now is the Covid-19 crisis.
It has certainly affected the way we live and work. There is literally 180
degrees turn.
No organization has been left untouched
by the impact of Covid-19. Organizations have to make a lot of adjustments to
their business plans and the way of working post-COVID-19. They need engaged
employees more than ever to get through this challenging period. The employees
might struggle with feelings of uncertainty, isolation, not being in the know,
and more. Thus, the Role of Change Agents that is of the HR professionals
becomes crucial in this scenario. With social distancing being implemented and
practiced, it is difficult to have standard methods of process, policies &
engagements leading to a new challenge for HR professionals.
Considering all these challenges
into account, the human resources are going to be the lifeline of any
organization and they need to handle this post-Covid situation with utmost care
and diligence. Above all, these challenges revolve mostly around People Aspect
of this Global Pandemic and we can see a transformational shift in HR role
post-Covid.
The need for remote working would
grow the demand for automation and collaboration tools and increase the shift
to cloud computing. It is imperative to keep employees motivated and enthused
to achieve this future together. In these times, human resources (HR)
department is tasked with ensuring adequate enablement and engagement of teams
while also preparing for some hard decisions.
The organizations which were
prepared for the work from home were better equipped to deal with the
nationwide situation without any significant impact on productivity. The HR
department of every organization has been in the frontline, leading the efforts
to facilitate employees. In situations like these, HR, in addition to handling
the business requirements, is also responsible for managing concerns and
apprehensions of their employees.
As the initial chaos settles, HR
has to step up and support their employees and prioritize their mental and
emotional wellbeing. These unprecedented times can induce anxiety and raise the
stress levels of a person, and the onus is on the employers to channel these emotions
in order to keep their employees safe, motivated, and productive.
HR has so far been more of a
service delivery function. Going forward the role of HR will need to be more
agile so as to respond to employee needs quickly, communicate fast-changing HR
policies clearly, and become an enabler of efficient two-way communication
between employees and management.
HR will need to balance the human
side and the digital side of the workforce. There will definitely be an
increase in employees preferring remote working and virtual business
interactions are going to become the new normal. As a result, the role of HR as
an enabler will become even more prominent – this includes upskilling the WFH
employees so that they work as or perhaps more efficiently than before,
designing and implementing policies that ensure business continuity, keeping
employees motivated when working from home. In addition, they will have to be
provided flexibility in work hours as employees take care of children taking
classes online as schools may not open immediately, or have to look after aging
parents, yet another vulnerable age group.
Apart from managing WFH
employees, HR will also face the challenge of building robust and integrated teams
remotely. It will be HR’s added responsibility to make sure the teams remain
engaged without meeting face-to-face or resorting to team building activities
in the physical office space.
Many HR activities will be done
remotely – recruitment, onboarding, training, and development, etc.
Yes! Remote work culture is
here to stay
Now the organizations are
realizing the fact that they can function through this model as well. This kind
of culture will be followed in many organizations post covid-19 crisis as well.
And there’s no harm in doing so, as gig economy is already on a rise.
The new ways of doing work will
pose new challenges for the HR department.
Certain questions that need to be
addressed are:
1) How
to monitor and enforce attendance?
2) How
will the job descriptions change to accommodate the part-time or full-time
remote work?
3) How
to keep a check on the productivity of employees?
4) How
the whole performance management will be impacted?
5) What
about those jobs which cannot be done in a work-from-home setting?
Apart from these, HR now needs to
be more focused on the well-being of the employees. It will become an important
aspect of HR functions. Checking on the employees if they are under stress or
facing any other issues which is hampering their productivity will definitely
be a part of the priority list even after things return to a new normal.
Maintaining the Culture of the
organization
It is the culture of an
organization which attracts us to it and choosing one organization over the
other. Leadership is the most important aspect of any business that drives its
culture.
Culture is what binds the entire
organizations together and gives its employees a sense of purpose in their
work.
But maintaining the
organization’s culture in the time of crisis is a big challenge. With the
dispersed workforce, this becomes even more challenging.
Leaders along with the HR is
required to keep in touch with the employees to boost their morale. Regular communication,
engagement and commitment towards the culture is something which needs to be
done to deal effectively with the crisis situation.
Paying attention to the
organization’s culture and instilling the same in the employees will help the
organization in the long run.
Acquiring and retaining talent
Laying off huge number of
employees due to onset of pandemic and low profits is a pain area for many
organizations.
Once the situation is somewhat
normal, hiring will be resumed but it would be mostly contract hiring and
temporary workers, since the organizations will be continuing with remote
working. HR needs to figure out a way to attract more and more such candidates
who are willing to work temporarily.
Another aspect which is important
is way the employees are being treated during the crisis. This can impact the
image of the organization in the society. For instance, Uber laid-off huge
number of employees over a short zoom call, which was very harsh on their part.
Now this will create uncertainty in the minds of existing employees as well as
the prospective candidates.
What HR can do in such a
situation is to maintain a pool of talent, so that as and when the situation is
likely they can immediately start getting the new employees onboard and push
the performance of the organization.
Engaging a remote workforce
Workforce engagement
of workforce is one of the crucial roles of HR. various studies prove that a
highly engaged workforce is necessary for the survival and growth of the
organization. Without that, the organization will incur huge costs and will
eventually fall.
In the situation of remote
working, it becomes even more important for the HR to take care of the
well-being of the employees. HR can devise new policies to take of the health,
both mental and physical of the employees.
Certain benefits that can be
considered are daily pay, subsidized loans and free access to financial
education webinars to reduce the financial stress of the employees.
Also, rewarding the employees for
their consistent performance even while working remotely can go a long way to
keep them motivated and engaged with the entire team and leaders.
Effective use of Technology
for Business Continuity
HR will need to aggressively
bring in next-generation enterprise CRM and Human Capital Management solutions
to facilitate the transition to the new normal. HR will need to put in place a
work culture that will help restore the operational health of businesses as the
lockdown is lifted. The aim will be to not only recover from this crisis but
also make the organization resilient to future disruptions.
Communication and Engagement
In these times of uncertainty, HR
needs to communicate transparently and frequently to ensure a smooth
transition. Employees returning to work will look to HR for providing
direction, motivating teams, and keep morale high. HR will need to use multiple
channels of communication to synchronize the activities of employees working on
different platforms and ensure communication between employees working remotely
takes place regularly.
The pandemic has not just
affected the economy, it has thrown into disarray the community at large and it
is left to HR leaders to instill confidence in their employees and make them
feel valued.
Upskilling employees for new
roles
As new work norms are put in
place, employees will need to learn new skills, engage in cross-training to
fill lacunae in knowledge, and ensure the organization functions effectively.
Apart from enhancing efficiency, this will also have the added benefit of the
employee feel valued by the company.
Employee Health and Well-being
HR leaders are the custodians of
talent and their priority is to focus on employees. One of the biggest
contributors of stress will be the constant concern for job security. Social
distancing will have to be practiced for a prolonged period leading to
potential mental health issues as a result of isolation and loneliness.
Physical and financial fitness too contribute to employee productivity. Earlier
these were “nice to have” perks provided by “evolved” employers. But going
forward comprehensive well-being programs will become a necessity to ensure
high employee productivity and engagement. A company providing holistic
wellness benefits can expect greater loyalty from employees.
The uptick in the Advocacy
Role
HR leaders will also have to step
up their advocacy role and work with the government to help put in place labor
laws that support the new normal, for example, laws on layoffs, employees
working from home, employees in the gig economy, etc.
As in previous disruptions,
companies that evolve and adapt fast will succeed, and HR will be right there
paving the way.
Counseling and collaboration - To
ensure communication efforts help engagement, HR Managers must have a two-way
dialogue with employees. Offering proper counseling sessions with employees to
help them offload their isolation anxiety, vent their fears, or just de-stress.
Sense employees’ need for
support – Employees don’t want to be viewed as faceless cogs in a larger
machine—they want to be recognized for the unique value each brings to the
company. This uniqueness is something employers are beginning to embrace too.
HR professionals need to recognize this aspect and provide the required support
and communication. To enable regular conversations between the Line managers
and employees, HR should provide managers with the necessary guidance on how
best to approach sensitive subjects arising post-COVID-19 pandemic, including
job security, alternative work models, impact to staffing, and prospects
tension in the workplace.
Reinforcing Organizational
values - Work well-being has the greatest impact on feelings of
psychological safety — an unpleasant employee experience can negatively impact
psychological safety by up to 35%. To make matters worse, during periods of
uncertainty, employee misconduct increases by as much as 33%. Apart from
modeling the right behaviors, HR managers should encourage whistleblowers to
call out unethical behaviors, remind staff of the channels for reporting
misconduct, and highlight punitive measures for non-compliance, post-Covid.
Recognizing employee efforts
- As COVID-19 generates significant disruption, and undercuts employee
engagement, HR managers need to redouble their recognition initiatives &
efforts. Effective recognition motivates the recipient and the same time serves
as a strong signal to other employees of behaviors they should emulate.
Recognition can take many forms other than monetary rewards such as public
acknowledgment, tokens of appreciation, development opportunities and low-cost
perks. This reinforces the organization’s commitment to the long-term success
of the employee.
Driving engagement through
innovation – Present unprecedented time of change and disruption
demands innovation and risk-taking becoming more important for employee
engagement and organizational success. The disengaging effect of constraints on
innovation and risk-taking are particularly severe for high-potential (HIPO)
employees who can feel demotivated. Even when the organization has constraints
on new investments, HR managers need to emphasize the need and provide
opportunities for process improvements or incremental innovation.
Educating and equipping the
workforce - Educating and equipping the workforce with the right
information on COVID-19, safety tips, nutrition information and so on are
crucial and jobs for HR Professionals. The HR needs to communicate measures
taken by the company during this situation. HR can create interesting posts
about escalating events and topics around this issue on the activity feed.
Focus on Employee Wellness - After
understanding the anxiety and stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, HR will need to
put more focus on the mental health and overall wellness of the employees.
Holistic benefits are a common way of introducing wellness to a company. These
benefits address all aspects of well-being, including mental health and
financial security. While these plans will differ in offerings, the idea is to
provide employees with benefits that help improve their well-being beyond
standard health coverage.
Employee upskilling - As
the employee personalization trend illustrates, employees want to be
appreciated on an individual level. One-way employers are showing their
appreciation is through upskilling, Learning and development initiatives. Not
only does this help employees feel valued, but it also helps fill knowledge
gaps within the company. According to a report by Deloitte, the “inability to
learn and grow” is the top reason why employees leave their companies.
Framing New Age Policies
- Considering the business continuity plan to deal with such
exigencies, Post COVID-19, organizations need to have system, procedure and
policy in place. Organizations need to review policies on workplace flexibility,
remote working & contractual staffing and should review and clarify polices
around pay and benefits if an office or factory is closed or impacted.
Looking forward
While these initiatives have
become the new roles of an HR Professional, all these might not necessarily
work for every company. However, in a post-COVID-19 environment, where
employees have had to adjust how they work, all the HR should shift towards a more
human-focused approach.
An HR professional, collectively,
these initiatives can go a long way to reinforce employees’ trust for the
organization and improve their impressions based on how the HR professionals
react or respond in the face of crisis and uncertainty.
How do the Future
Organizations look like?
• Working hours, locations, and
even the work arrangements to become more fluid
• Remote working to be an
integral part of every organization
• The popularity of contractual
jobs and freelancers to grow
• Workforce to constantly upgrade
and work on capability enhancement to remain competitive
• Focus on learning and
development to increase to make employees future-ready
New Normal will not be without its Challenges
Data suggests that employees are
working longer hours and have experienced a significant drop in absenteeism
during the crisis. Organizations feel that the employees have showcased
commendable agility and resilience to adapt to the new ways of working.
However, the ability to sustain this momentum poses an immediate challenge to
organizations. This enthusiasm could be short-lived as job security is a
driving force for most employees in the current situation. As the market sees
an improvement, productivity may roll back to pre-Covid levels.
The new way of work may create a need for some new roles, render some roles
redundant, or require upskilling of existing resources.
Digital is a savior in times like these when the only way to operate is in a
remotely distributed environment. This crisis has presented the IT industry
with an opportunity to empower businesses with technology, and further
emphasized the focus on innovation to survive and thrive. It is heartening to
see the commitment of our workforce during these trying times. Striking a
balance at this time will be the key to effectively forge a path towards the
future of work.
Thus, the new role of HR can
include the following few activities, though, it can go manifolds looking at
the impact of the Global Pandemic.
Reference:
http://bwpeople.businessworld.in/article/Role-of-HR-in-Post-COVID-19-Workplace/02-09-2020-315968/
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