Coronavirus is a problem that has affected everyone. There are a lot of people who became affected or have been infected. And there are a lot of people who lost their jobs because of this virus.
How business is being managed around the world has changed since the coronavirus struck. All workplaces have now started to take measures to ensure that no employees get infected with the virus.
“The greatest danger in time of turbulence is not the turbulence, it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”
-Peter Drucker
Human resource managers have been at the center of these pandemic-generated changes from the beginning. They had to steer new health and safety requirements, support managers in the strange routine, reduce headcount in some cases, and keep up with required administrative processes.
Human resources and information technology are two areas essential to the survival of a company. As organizations and HR teams look ahead, it’s important to keep in mind what’s changed and how those changes will impact the future of business and reinvent the role of HR
Strategies for people management that HR can implement to take full advantage during COVID:-
Better Communication:- In crisis situations, communication from leadership is crucial in maintaining employee morale and productivity. Your leadership style can be defined by how you communicate with your employees during this crisis. Be crystal clear about the facts and keep them well updated about the company’s status; this will help to build trust. Remaining positive and realistic will help employees to feel supported and confident.
Involving your staff in brainstorming sessions can help them feel empowered to contribute their ideas for overcoming the situation and minimizing any negative consequences.
You must be flexible and ready to change your plans in response to the changing situation. You can’t predict what will happen in the future, so you must be prepared for anything.
How to communicate?
With COVID 19 around the corner, it’s a good time to think about how this new paradigm of work will change the way you manage your employees. The past few years have seen a major shift in how one operates their business.
Staff are remote or work flexible hours and no longer work in the same building. There is sure that the future of business communication is communication tools. Video Conferencing Through Zoom, Cisco Webex, Skype and other platforms is widely available and accessible for large audiences. It’s essential to collaborate as a team and work together to make sure everyone is on the same page. Do take advantage of internal communications networks such as email, Facebook pages, and company newsletters. Encourage open discussions where employees can ask questions, voice concerns, and offer their opinions. Also, encourage managers to be accessible to all personnel in order to help answer or direct their inquiries.
Avoid Layoff:-
- In this era of pandemic, it’s tempting to lay off staff and reduce your workforce. But before you make that decision, consider a few ways to manage your employees without laying anyone off schedule as many employees as possible on rotating shifts, keep in mind that not all staff members are ideal, they may be more susceptible to COVID-19 given underlying or pre-existing conditions and age. While you cannot employ nearly as many staff members as usual during your temporary closure, several departments can be partially active during your closure.
- Provide Adequate Information:- Since the beginning of the pandemic, human resource leaders have been tasked with staying abreast of evolving health and safety guidelines, understanding the rapidly changing environment and ensuring that policies meet requirements. Employees are overwhelmed by constant COVID-19 updates from local and national news sources. They rely more and more on their HR department as a primary source for information about the pandemic. As companies return to full operation, many employees fear that they will be required to return before it’s safe. Organizations are gradually turning towards the departments of human resource to ensure that employee concerns about health, safety, and wellness are addressed in a rapidly changing physical environment. As COVID-19 vaccines continue to roll out, benefits providers and medical professionals are at the forefront of the conversation. Human resources departments can provide factual information about the vaccines to employees and share documentation from medical experts and organizations. It is also important that human resources departments work with leadership to establish any associated schemes about returning to the workplace, vaccine requirements, and various other health-related policies. Organizations must clearly communicate these policies well in advance so that employees have ample time to prepare and adhere to new policies.
- Adopt New Approaches:- When COVID-19 struck, employers were faced with the challenge of adhering to federal and local government guidelines of leave. Some organizations revised existing time and attendance policies to meet requirements. Others made temporary adjustments, such as allowing compressed workweeks during peak times and permitting staff to work from home. Organizations can benefit from fexible leave policies, allowing staff to take time off as needed while still meeting productivity goals. HR should consider what changes will be made and how they will communicate them to employees. In addition, some companies are concerned about their employees taking time off when there is an outbreak of such communicable diseases that cause people to stay home from work. A recent survey showed that 47% of employees said they had gone without paid time off for a full calendar year; 38% of those surveyed reported that they were hesitant to request PTO during COVID-19.
- Providing Training:- In response to the global pandemic, organizations have recognized the importance of investing in new technology. However, sufficient training is needed to reach full user adoption. The widespread use of teleconferencing, self-service HCM, and biometric technology access control products means that many employees now have to work in ways they hadn’t previously.HR can help by providing an integrated place to learn, acquire new skills and competencies, and interact with their co-workers. In addition, having tools in one place enables organizations to easily analyze data and facilitates future planning.
- Remote Working:- The global pandemic had a signifcant impact on the ways companies have operated since then. Remote working became the norm in many organizations after the pandemic because people no longer needed to physically be at the office and travel was restricted. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft did not hesitate to embrace remote work models and have extended their initial plans for working from home into 2021 and beyond. Zillow has made remote work an ongoing option for its 5,400-person workforce, with 90percent of employees working remotely rather than at a central office. As you think about remote and hybrid work for the future, keep ease of access, security, and impact on your talent strategy in mind. There are grea opportunities to maximize value of remote work such as a larger talent pool and cost reductions for space.
Wrap Up
Covid-19 is going to create a major change in the way HR is approached and worked. Organizations will now have to take into account the people factor as well. There needs to be an HR department that can help an organization realize its human potential.
Excitingly, it looks likely that more and more companies will adopt flexible working arrangements as part of a broader cultural change towards a healthier and more productive workplace. If you’re an HR professional or senior corporate manager, you need to ensure that your organization can continue to benefit from flexible working arrangements well into the future: for example, by streamlining the way that your company tracks non-traditional work hours.
And if you’re in charge of managing the people in your company or department, there are many useful resources on how to effectively manage diverse teams—tools that can be extremely beneficial to ongoing business success.