Key aspects that HR departments need to work on in post-COVID-19 period

Key aspects that HR departments need to work on in post-COVID-19 period

Most of the organisations stared remote working over the past few months. Social gatherings like weddings, entertainment events and graduations have been cancelled because of the impact of COVID -19. Most people feel desperate for normalcy again but post-COVID is not completely over yet. Since the pandemic is spreading across the globe, the number of cases are increasing daily. However, some countries are trying to adopt a new normal situation and attempt to reopen the businesses. We are still in the middle of the pandemic and still we cannot predict the outcomes, which will occur in future. Therefore, businesses need to identify the new normal situation and change their business plans accordingly. Especially HR departments must take necessary action to provide employees with a good working culture under a ‘New Normal’ environment. Since some of the employees are coming to work, it is necessary to ensure the safety of the employees providing necessary precautions at the workplace. HR departments can work on below-mentioned areas to improve the work-life balance and wellness of their employees. 

 

Improve remote working culture 

At the beginning of the pandemic, most of the offices transformed into a virtual working environment. Still, Facebook and Google asked most of their workforce to work from home. According to recent studies in the US, half of the workforce is now working as remote employees. Besides, they have found that 80% of the employees are agreeing that they are more productive in a remote working environment. The physical workplace may not disappear because some workers prefer working in the physical environment. More companies are going to offer remote working options for their employees to improve productivity in the workplace. Since most of the organisations are financially impacted, cutting down the number of expensive office spaces will be an easy way of reducing cost.

 

Improve company culture 

Companies need to improve their culture to raise organisational performance and employee engagement. Managing the culture within the physical environment is easy when comparing to the virtual environment. When employees are working virtual, the gaps between the organisation’s image and identity are more visible. Society is looking at the way the organisations are helping the society and how they handle their workforce to see whether their corporate values are real. Therefore, it is important to bridge those gaps to maintain the corporate reputation in the society. 

 

Adjusting sick leave policies 

After the pandemic, being healthy becomes the biggest concern among society. Because of that majority of the companies, adjust their sick-leave policies. If employees having enough sick leaves, they can stay home when they feel sick. This will ensure their safety and co-workers safety. Companies can think more on employees’ perspective to adjust and modify the sick leave policies to improve employee wellbeing. 

 

Improve wellness programmes

A recent study from Mercer found that 19% of the companies are now planning to increase financial wealth support and 24% of them are planning to expand their mental health support. Since so many areas were lockdown, it is important to take measures to increase employee mental health by assisting. Helping employees to increase their wellness will help the organisation to create a positive vibe between the workforce and society. 

Since pandemic has affected the business in different ways, organisations need to overcome from the impact by initiating ethical initiatives, which are mentioned above. HR departments must try to transform the working culture in the organisation to increase the productivity to achieve the company goals. Therefore, implementing the above activities will help organisations to improve their employees’ wellbeing and corporate reputation in society. 

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