6 priorities of HR leaders in the pandemic?

The new coronavirus pandemic interrupted the pace of organizations and encouraged the reorganization of HR leaders in the pandemic. As they adjusted corporate policies to the practices of social distancing, many faced human and technological dilemmas that, until then, had not been presented.

Covid-19 functioned, in a way, as the fuel needed to accelerate transformations in the workplace. This required that many organizations, which did not even consider home office or give employees more autonomy and invest in remote technologies, had to review their people management plans. Not by chance, many point out that the real digital transformation of the corporate world is due to the pandemic.

After that moment of adjustment, what are the concerns of people management leaders in the post-coronavirus world? How will this transformation impact the workplace and human relationships? And how to prepare for what is to come?

In this article, we will expose the main points of the Future of Work addressed by HR leaders in the pandemic and how their roles have gained relevance in this “new normal”.

People management in evidence

Social isolation and its consequences exposed the importance of HR leaders in the pandemic. Within days, they led the workforce reorganization, adjusting possible errors and accelerating measures that proved to be fruitful.

This agile way of acting in chaos has put the HR function on the radar of importance, visibility and influence within companies. People management functions have become the most sought after for their ability to control damage, develop contingency plans and oversee the complexity of people management; all this without affecting the organization’s culture.

“Our human role was more valued. We got closer to everyone and took part in the rounds of discussions in the most varied spheres within the companies ”, observes Antonio Augusto Araujo, talent acquisition coordinator for the non-financial companies of the Alfa conglomerate. In the executive’s view, HR showed the organization that, for the Future of Work, people and management must go together. “There is no business without people and, in our view, the crisis has strengthened this maxim”, he emphasizes.

Challenges for HR leaders in the pandemic

Within this perspective, to remain at the forefront of organizations, people management leaders will have to rethink the work environment and support their employees for this resumption, also called by some specialists of a new era of resilience.

At first, the HR function will need to focus its knowledge on the critical business realities, specific to the recovery period, such as compensation, stimulating the company’s culture, performance management and promotion and the employee’s mental and physical health. HR leaders must ensure an understanding of the complex legal requirements of work and changes in tax rules around the world.

Nevertheless, the people management area must think about the future, creating a work environment in which people have more control over how they work and a better balance between professional and personal life, deciding to choose projects motivated by passion and purpose.

Resumption program should focus on people

The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we live and do business and is accelerating the Fourth Industrial Revolution, fueled by smart technologies. Paradoxically, it also showed how human relations are as important to the progress of organizations as machines. For this reason, the focus on the organizations’ resumption program is on people. This is what reports the talent acquisition coordinator for the non-financial companies of the Alfa conglomerate, Antonio Augusto Araujo.

“Firstly, the concern is with the health of employees, as we know that, even with the necessary precautions, there are risks of mass contamination”, he explains. The people manager analyzes that this more human look also makes sense for the finances of companies, after all “productivity can be affected with several employees on leave” as a result of the disease.

The executive still ponders that, depending on the business activities, reopening may mean loss. “The costs of the operation may not be covered in the first months due to the low number of customers”, he highlights.

Health x Finance

For Araujo, there is a financial need for a quick resumption. On the other hand, there is also a fear of a high rate of contamination among employees suddenly. Leaders need to make difficult choices between balancing people’s health and that of their economies.

And the Talent Acquisition leader knows how difficult that decision is. He is sure that Covid-19 is not a common flu, as he suffered the consequences of the virus on his skin. “Seeing the isolated world is terrible and the disease, in itself, isolates us more. I felt that only together are we stronger ”, he emphasizes.

Araujo’s statement may seem dichotomous in quarantine times, but it makes perfect sense from the point of view of people management. There needs to be dialogue and unity of all to make decisions.

“Before we ‘create’ a policy to meet an X or Y need, we must understand what the problem is from the perspective of those who experience it,” analyzes the manager. He believes that it is the mission of HR to help businesses get closer to people, whether they are customers, internal or external.

Often, a single policy that encompasses all employees is not the best answer to the problem. Today, for example, there are employees who still feel insecure about returning to work, while others do not.

It is necessary to ensure the safe return of those who can return to face-to-face work, but it is also necessary to ensure tranquility to those who, perhaps, are at risk or still have children to care for and have no one to leave them with.

Priorities for HR leaders in the pandemic

Even dealing with the challenges of the here and now – some HR leaders in the pandemic are already implementing plans for the recovery of organizations in the post-coronavirus. Transforming your talent models, caring for people and digitizing the processes of all HR ecosystems are post-pandemic priorities.

The rapid response of the people management area will focus on four important areas:

• Physical health and well-being;
• Remote work;
• Issues related to employment and continuity of work;
• Digital transformation.

We highlight, below, some critical points that should be on the radar of people management leaders related to the four topics mentioned above:

Mental health will surface

Staying constantly at home has its price on quarantined mental health. With a potential increase in psychological problems, there is a growing appreciation of their importance and how organizations can provide solutions, employment benefits and programming to help employees in this regard.

Use of technology

Learning how to use a new system, communication software or tool can be challenging, and it gets worse when you can’t get immediate support in person. But isolation has taught us to find a way to deal with these challenges.

HR leaders are confident that most employees will expand their comfort, capacity and confidence with cutting edge technology. Which will help in the implementation, in fact, of digital transformation in organizations.

Diversity will be seen in a new light

Before the pandemic, organizations started to see that diversity is a key element for the company’s success. The social isolation and racial debates that followed the quarantine further reinforced this concept. Soon, most companies will realize that including plural perspectives and having people with different abilities will contribute a lot to the organization.

As a result, we will see an improved perception of how people can bring the best to work – through inclusive design, new policies and practices, as well as different approaches to teamwork.

Work will become more flexible

The companies have implemented systems and technological supports to facilitate remote work. Teams are discovering how to collaborate at a distance, improving their ability to manage based on results and objectives, rather than with physical presence.

This experience, good for some and bad for others, will accelerate the debate on more flexible home office policies and work-life balance. And companies will use these weapons in the talent war, as highlighted in a story from Exam.com.

Your company’s approach will change

Conducting tasks exclusively in a virtual way was new to many until March this year. Today, this is the new normal. We don’t know how long we will have to work remotely. Therefore, the best alternative will be to learn efficient ways to connect with team members.

This improved efficiency will have a direct impact on the speed with which things are done. This will also reduce bureaucracy, because leaders will delegate decision-making to increase agility – resulting in greater employee empowerment.

In both HR systems and customer response, development or manufacturing systems, this readiness response capability will have a positive effect on tomorrow’s workforce.

Learning and hiring will be radically transformed

This new normal at work will boost other ways of teaching and hiring staff in the virtual environment. We already see the movement of companies investing in e-learning formats and in the acquisition of tools for a completely digital selection process.

Did you like the report? Do you want to know more about the challenges of the “new normal”? So be sure to also read content on what the post-coronavirus skills are.