From March 2020 across the world, we have seen a new protocol towards life due to COVID-19. This protocol not just affect an individual’s life but also has resulted in many organizational challenges. As a result, all businesses and departments are reaching out for clarity to the HR departments and their task lists have gone up. This time demands swift action without knowing the future but also on the other hand maintaining the trust of the employees.
Let’s put down the 3 important ones:
1. Policy Changes:
Every company policy has been affected during this time and now should take extra care in updating the relevant policies for COVID-19 clauses. As HR departments are accountable for the majority of company policies, they suddenly have to preempt so many situations and react accordingly to prepare the document.
Here are some aspects you should consider:
- Communicate Fast: Communicate to all staff when an important immediate policy change is needed due to a change in government or business guidelines
- Business tools: Adopt business tools that can help you scale things faster even when you do not have people inside one or multiple offices.
- Empowering managers: Allow managers to make decisions and own up to those decisions. This is one of the most crucial steps as now you do not have people around you.
2. Communication
During a pandemic, employees are overwhelmed with information. The government is constantly bringing in new protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19. As a result, it is very important for companies to act quickly in reaction to these changes and communicate even quicker.
- Connect with staff regularly: Leaders & managers should connect with their staff on a daily basis and reassure them that the business is reviewing any government’s guidelines and how they plan to comply with them
- Business performance: Leaders should update employees on a weekly or fortnightly basis on how the business is performing and reassure staff on their government compliance as well as employee protection
- Virtual breaks: Employees are able to chat virtually as they could in the office during a coffee break. This distressing time requires breaks and brings stress levels down. Everyone is anxious and curious about multiple things at this time
3. Trust
Many companies have now moved to remote working for various employee sets. Although this wasn’t by choice. It’s a big culture change that has just happened overnight for many businesses.
Working from home requires a lot of trusts. How to increase trust over departments:
- Daily meetups: Managers should discuss daily work priorities for the team and themselves. Enquire from employees if there are any blockers preventing the execution of their work
- KPI driven metrics: All performance should be measured by KPI metrics reported weekly by each team to the CEO
- Honest feedback mechanism: Managers and CEO should facilitate and enable frequent and honest feedback from/to employees
Many acts of kindness have been seen during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It’s very important that we listen to our HR Departments during this time as they are best equipped for protecting employee’s interests.