Alex Seiler is Head of HR, Americas at Control Risks, the global risk consulting firm.
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As the economic and societal effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to reshape the nature of work, many HR leaders are managing a multifaceted crisis of this scale and magnitude for the first time in our careers. Employees are operating under tremendous stress and anxiety as they face ongoing uncertainty about the future, risks to their physical health and that of their families, grief and loss, financial pressures, social isolation and the massive disruption of routine responsibilities around child care, transportation and access to goods and services.
To ensure the well-being of their workforce and build organizations that are resilient in the current environment, it’s critical that leaders stay close to the needs of their employees and are relentlessly adaptive when it comes to their people strategy. Here are three nonnegotiables for HR professionals supporting businesses through this prolonged and evolving crisis.
1. Tap into cross-functional expertise within your organization.
The current operating environment is rife with uncertainty, and HR practitioners must be comfortable knowing that we don’t have all the answers. We live in change, but we haven’t encountered this before (and may not in our lifetime again). By coming together with our peers across departments, we’re able to take a holistic approach to people management that the current crisis demands.
As a regional head of HR at a global risk consulting firm, I’ve had the opportunity to partner with a team of colleagues who specialize in helping organizations mitigate workplace threats and navigate mental health issues. Being able to leverage their unique expertise as psychologists, behavioral analysts and crisis responders has been extremely valuable as we continuously develop our own protocols for people management throughout the pandemic. It has been a competitive and unique advantage to have this team to tap into.
Consider the various skill sets and expertise that exist within your own organization, and how those might serve to inform your people strategy. Can the internal communications function help set the tone and content of the company’s messaging to employees throughout the crisis and collaborate on effective ways to engage amid social distancing? Do your technology or operations experts have creative ideas for managing remote teamwork? What information can the finance department provide to ensure a lockstep understanding of the financial and human capital implications of the developing situation? What counsel can the legal team provide when it comes to return-to-work planning?
Formally establishing a crisis management team composed of senior leaders from across functions is key to business resilience and to shaping the employee experience in this challenging time.
2. Prioritize health and wellness in the workplace.
More than ever before, the mental health and well-being of a company’s employees should be central to its business strategy and culture. As a head of HR, I consider my role to be that of “chief wellness officer.” Supporting the personal resilience of employees is a key facet of the job; if leaders aren’t looking at their employee experience from the angle of health and wellness, they’re not doing their jobs correctly.
This is a pivotal time in which to take stock of the mental health resources available to employees. Perform a gap analysis to determine what your program currently offers and what you need to support the workforce in this moment. Conduct pulse surveys of employees to understand their feelings on issues such as returning to the office.
Take the opportunity to educate staff about the mental health services available to them via their insurance provider, which not only increases awareness about necessary resources, but further reinforces a corporate culture that encourages colleagues to seek help. This is particularly beneficial for those employees in locales where mental health issues are considered taboo.
A Pew Research Center study found that a third of Americans have experienced high levels of mental health distress as a result of social distancing. Consider methods for keeping employees engaged, connected and motivated, such as:
• Developing channels for nonbusiness-related communications via Microsoft Teams, Slack, etc.
• Encouraging informal social meetings, such as virtual coffee chats and happy hours.
• Offering trainings on mindfulness and emphasizing the importance of self-care and utilizing vacation days to avoid burnout.
Throughout this prolonged crisis, creating a culture of wellness is vital in protecting an organization’s most important asset: its people.
3. Be prepared to pivot.
A cookie-cutter approach to people management is not an option in the context of Covid-19. The people strategy that your organization relied on prior to the pandemic is no longer relevant, and in a highly charged operating environment that continues to rapidly evolve, it’s critical that HR leaders are prepared to pivot and change course at any point.
Ongoing repercussions at the global and organizational levels will demand that your people strategy be regularly reconsidered and redesigned.
Be of a learning and listening mindset, and remain adaptable in the face of unforeseen circumstances that are sure to arise as you support your organization through this prolonged crisis.
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