Nobody expected what 2020 presented us, but as HR professionals we are trying our best to keep everything in perspective, minimize the stress for our clients during this uncertain time and offer the best possible HR software available.
The sudden shift in work culture has brought new challenges for HR. The top priority for HR professionals is now crisis response and how to keep the employees engaged, provide the right communication channels and tools for remote work, and more.
1. Mental Health and Wellbeing
The sudden shift in work culture took a toll on overall employee health and wellbeing. Stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues have always been there, and it is no new story. When you have your workers working in an office work environment, you at least understand their pulse and sensitivity, and that helps you immensely to tackle the issues. But employees going remote, communication routes have been significantly compromised, leaving the managers clueless or at least less conscious.
2. Managing Remote Work
Transitioning to remote work culture is not that simple. Before COVID-19, less than 50% of companies had a remote work program. Banks, regulated industries and financial industries did not encourage remote working. Now, many if not all, are rushing to build remote working systems with varying degrees of online and offline work. This has led to many undiscovered problems. HR managers are trying to build seamless routes and strategies to overcome the challenges that it brings. Strategies are no more designed periodically or in advance but in real-time. The focus on employee productivity and engagement has shifted to immediate responses and diagnosis. To provide employees with the right remote working tools and also gather real-time updates from them from time to time to untangle the intricacies and offer support.
3. Lack of Agility
Many HR teams are not designed for agility. And this affects the HR industry in a big way. In this crisis, it is critical to respond fast and move quickly. But traditional HR models aren’t built for this. This slows down the process of collecting data and takes immediate measures that a crisis demands. To become more agile in their approach and re-prioritizing company goals and to have the right communication and alignment among middle management and executives is the need of the hour now. Our software at Makai HR provides this flexibility and is a valuable resource for your clients and their employees.
4. Employee Communication
Communication is another major challenge that is on the priority list. Communication, in itself, is a critical aspect that needs to be taken into account whether or not the workforce is working remotely. Without the right communication channels, it becomes difficult to manage a workforce. The COVID-19 crisis had the HR professionals on toes and kept them looking for the right remote working tools that suit their culture. Though tools like Zoom or Slack are commonly used to meet the needs of the workforce, it certainly is not enough to get everyone on the same page. To ensure that there aren’t any HR inconsistencies, we offer transparent HR protocols and system with our software for both employers and employees.
5. Uncertainty
The daunting feeling of not knowing what the future holds or what measures to take to sustain organizational operations is a huge challenge. We all are more or less affected by uncertainty. Employees are affected mentally, not knowing what the future holds for them, and the HR teams are struggling to put everything in alignment.
6. Employee Engagement
The ultimate company goal is the productivity of its employees. It becomes challenging to keep the employees engaged when they are working remotely and that too, in a crisis. The internal communication is compromised, and keeping everyone on the same page becomes tough. With remote working, it is difficult to follow a routine and even except a systematic workflow. When the teams are cross-functional, you have little power to manage them. Not updating them regularly or not arranging meetings/ sessions can impact their morale to a great extent.
Overcoming Obstacles
As you can see, this article is not on the common HR challenges that are related to recruitment, training, and development, performance appraisal, or keeping a balance between the management and employees. It’s on the current crisis that we all are dealing with. We are constantly updating and refining our software and support to help our clients with the issues listed above. The software Makai HR provides, is just part of the solution – our expertise and experience is also part of the package when choosing us as your provider.