Summary: Organizations are facing a multitude of challenges during this pandemic, including how to recruit and retain new talent, and effectively managing that talent remotely. HR departments must implement policies and strategies to address employee engagement and productivity, and to coach managers on how to approach these challenges effectively. With the right strategies, HR professionals have an opportunity to assert an approach that develops a better understanding of HR’s value to the organization and how it impacts customers, influences choices, and puts the right people in the right places at the right time.
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic, now going on for over a year, has been far reaching. It has disrupted many industries and left organizations — and their Human Resources departments — struggling to adapt to the new landscape. The need to digitize, to implement sustainable remote work solutions, and to be able to adapt to adapt to an ever-changing workforce was already present prior to the pandemic. What COVID-19 did was accelerate many of these changes that were already happening. These restrictions and shutdowns forced a very real need for innovative solutions to address the gap between remote work situations and company deliverables expectations.
To prevent and curb the spread of the coronavirus, most non-essential organizations have had to adopt a remote work model at a speed and scale previously unseen, with most woefully unprepared to implement such a drastic change. Many leaders turned to their companies’ HR managers to help develop communication procedures, management strategies and overall work policies to make this rapid transition. At the same time, HR managers have had to cope with an unprecedented and complex challenge: trying to advocate for employees’ health and well-being, while working to maintain an engaged, productive, and motivated workforce.
HR managers must collaborate with employees at every level, with a mindset that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer good enough, and that complex problems don’t necessarily require complicated solutions. At the leadership level, HR managers must act like coaches to best advise on how leaders can address these challenges in a positive and impactful way. This forward-thinking approach serves another unforeseen purpose; it illustrates the value HR brings to an organization, demonstrating how HR impacts customers, influences choices, and puts the right people in the right places at the right time.
To address employees’ mental and physical health, more is needed than social distancing and remote work.
Here is where company culture is most essential, because it shapes the work environment wherever it is, it guides choices and actions, and it has a real impact on companies’ teams. HR can and should take the lead in shaping a company culture that works for this “new normal” and works along all other major changes many organizations are facing to survive and reinvent themselves. Never before have I seen corporate leadership as engaged and receptive to HR managers’ input and solutions as they are now. This is an exceptional moment to prove how much impact a good HR strategy can have on overall company performance.
One of my clients has offices in a few different countries. Moving people around for face-to-face events has always been a challenge. But now, with virtually its entire workforce working remotely, in five different countries, a new opportunity has emerged to get different teams and contributors engaged and also help alleviate some of the boredom and loneliness that the pandemic and several shutdowns have caused: virtual parties and happy-hour. These are very laid-back events where employees and their managers are encouraged to attend, share a drink, tell stories and have an opportunity to meet people they might not get to spend time with on a regular basis, under normal circumstances. For new hires, this may be their first opportunity to meet most of their co-workers.
HR has regular “coffee breaks” with managers too. Here, HR professionals have an opportunity to offer support, to engage, and to share ideas and solutions. However, it’s also a great chance to have informal conversations without the pressure of a deadline or formal presentation. Pre-COVID 19, the equivalent would be when someone would stop by HR to talk about something without having an appointment. If no one is in the office, employees don’t have that opportunity anymore. The “coffee break” approach provides a friendlier alternative to the formal “HR Meeting.”
Hiring, training, and retaining talent is always a challenge. Doing so remotely has added another layer to it. For me, this has required me to work with CEOs and department heads in a much more hands-on — but still socially distanced way — than ever before. Recruiting new talent has become especially challenging, because many people are not looking to add any more stress or uncertainty during this pandemic. Starting a new job or making a career move is not the first thing in their minds. This means that companies need to offer more than just a generous pay to attract top talent.
The hiring process has definitely shifted, and I get asked more in-depth questions from candidates. They want to know more about the company, its culture, how the leadership works, if it is expanding, what changes have they made due to the pandemic, whether any changes are permanent, and what the company’s outlook is for the near future. Basically, the typical “where do you see yourself in five years” interview question now goes both ways. Recruiters and hiring managers need to be given real data on how well their organizations are handling the challenges created by the pandemic, so they can articulate it in a positive and effective way to any potential new hire.
On the opposite end, HR also has to deliver bad news to employees, and virtual layoffs are an unfortunate reality for many HR departments right now. There are a host of challenges in terminating an employee’s tenure virtually, and I unfortunately have had to do this more than once. I try to approach it in as much the same way as I would when meeting the employee in person. This means delivering the news right away; there is no need to create suspense or prolong angst. Compared to before, I now provide more comprehensive unemployment and insurance information. Whenever possible and where appropriate, I conduct a virtual exit interview. Like before, I always send a written follow up, via email, with the call summary, and any important notices and instructions for the terminated employee.
I hope that you are able to use some of these tips and tricks to navigate your company’s HR strategy in the age of COVID-19. Think of these challenges as opportunities rather than hurdles to position your company to ride out the pandemic and be ready for what’s next.
By George Wentworth