Over the last 12 months HR has been at the forefront of an employers' response to the Covid-19 Crisis.
The crisis made nearly every business immediately develop, adapt or improve on remote working policies & procedures. And many businesses quickly found they did not have the policies and infrastructure in place to remotely manage their business & no contingency plans in place to manage their people as they had never needed this previously. Businesses needed to re-start their thinking, collaborating closely with HR, Finance, IT, and other departments to develop and implement new systems and policies. Some of the challenges that needed to be addressed included:
How will managers adapt to new ways of communicating with their staff to ensure business continuity, and meeting management? Who will pay for remote workers’ connectivity and any required equipment, like printers, monitors, headsets, etc.? How will you replace an employee should they leave the business? How must job descriptions and roles change to accommodate flexible remote working needs for employees, impacted with other considerations like caring responsibilities? Did the Terms & Conditions of employees need to change? How would they monitor and manage attendance? How would they continue to develop their people, talent pipeline and trainees? How would they manage their employee relations matters like long term sickness, disciplinary, grievance and maternity leave? How would they phase their people back into the work environment whilst maintaining safe working? How could they support the physical and mental needs of their employees? Thankfully we were able to help with the solutions to these challenges for our clients. But what other challenges has this pandemic brought for employees? The pandemic has also created higher levels of mental and physical issues for employees which has left many people feeling anxious, worried, and uncertain about their future. Helping employees get through this is critical to their personal recovery as well as business recovery. The solutions for these matters include providing equipment following DSE assessments, mental health first aid training, regular communication and providing someone they can talk to through either an employee assistance helpline, or by having an HR professional on hand for them to converse with. What other business challenges will need a solution? We, along with many of our clients have also become much more reliant on technology during lockdown which has enabled employees to work at home much more effectively. This has inevitably led to a surge in the demand for laptops, monitors and video conferencing platforms so that employees can continue to communicate and collaborate. It will also become clear over the coming months what jobs cannot be done effectively from home meaning businesses will need to start planning a return to the office, which may not be possible for some. This will bring other challenges to consider. Reviewing employee structures internally will also be key to the ongoing success and survival of a business. Sadly, redundancies will be an inevitable part of this review. But sticking to redundancy legislation will help the process to run as smoothly as possible and keep employers out of employment tribunals. What are the key priorities to your recovery? Deal with people in a compassionate and understanding manner Take the time to listen to your employees concerns Understand how to spot the warning signs of an employee who is struggling Plan ahead and phase your employees return to the “new normal” Ensure the people structure will still continue to work for your business Review and implement changes to your business environment to ensure your employees are as safe as possible whilst at work Review contracts of employment and employee handbooks to ensure they are up to date and in line with recent legislation changes Be prepared to adapt and change Keep your employees informed and involved, communication is key. Make your employee welfare and health a priority Be prepared to consider flexible working and ensure a fair process is followed in line with legislation on these requests
Support the morale and engagement of your employees
Getting these things right might take more time than you think and also brings a higher level of stress and anxiety for business owners, and senior management teams. Some of the most valuable lessons we shared in 2020 was how to keep employees safe, engaged and productive even when they were working remotely. It is also clear that employees physical and emotional wellbeing is a real priority for businesses as people start to return to what will be a “new normal” for many. The one thing we are certain of is that HR has been critical over the last year to the survival of many businesses and will also be critical to business recovery in the months to come.
However, not every business will have the money to employ a team of HR experts or employment solicitors to help them recover and survive which is why many employers now turn to outsourced HR companies like ourselves, that are able to offer all of this support at a fraction of the cost.
Here at Inspired HR, we continue to break the mould within our sector with the support we offer and the value we bring to our clients on these matters.
