HR departments across industries are facing mounting challenges while managing employees amid the COVID-19 lockdowns. More organizations are now looking for HR management software to deal with the operational disruptions. As the pandemic makes remote working widespread and popular, the need for technology-based HR management will grow. The most significant problem that HR managers face today is to manage the employees who are still working on site.
Employees delivering essential services cannot work from home. These workers include people in sectors like healthcare, financial services, and mass media. This group of employees comprises 30-40% of the total workforce, according to Gartner Research. Working on-site could be extremely stressful when the world around is shut down by a pandemic. That’s why the role of HR departments becomes more crucial than ever. It’s not just about managing them. HR professionals also need to engage them through motivating conversations. Here are some tried-and-tested ways to manage employees during the time of such crises.
Tips to Manage Employees During Coronavirus Lockdowns
Long story short: You need to ensure the safety of employees while maintaining regular communication and providing equal benefits to all. Also, don’t forget to use tech solutions to your advantage.
1.A safety-first approach to HR management
Employee safety is more crucial than ever during crises like a pandemic. For organizations that still have employees reporting in person, should do temperature screening for every individual before letting them in in the office premises. HR managers and leaders should constantly encourage workers to stay home if they are having flu symptoms.
Gartner Research suggests amending policies, if needed, to ensure that sick employees can stay home without losing pay. Also, limit on-site teams as much as possible. Businesses and organizations delivering essential services would need to have some workers deployed on-site despite lockdowns. But shouldn’t make you any less concerned about lockdowns and social distancing.
2.Regular & effective communication is pivotal
Communication makes a great difference when it comes to maintaining safety. It’s also crucial to keeping a high morale among employees. The coronavirus pandemic would affect different employees differently, depending on their psychological traits. So, HR departments need to address their concerns and motivate them.
Maintaining regular and clear communication is the key to achieving that. A growing number of organizations are using internal communication software, like group chat apps, and team collaboration tool. Besides, leaders need to know their commitment to safety. Leaders should, more than anyone else, stay updated about the pandemic. They ought to regularly share relevant updates across the organization.
3.Equal employee benefits for all
The virus outbreak and situations like these have a heavy toll on workers across industries. The effects are psychological, financial, and physical. HR departments, therefore, must review and alter company policies if the arises. The goal should be to ensure that every employee has equal access to employee benefits and healthcare offerings. HR managers should ensure that employees coming to work during the pandemic have access to sick leave. They also must ensure make sure that people working from home have their usual leave benefits intact.
4.Walking an extra mile to support employees
HR departments can support employees in many ways during such crises. For instance, you can divide employees into teams to work on alternate days. Create a roster of employees and assign them specific days of the week. Besides, you can also provide free healthy food and snacks to employees coming to work in the office. These are crucial times and being a personnel management professional, you should do everything possible to keep employees happy and motivated. Take special care of people like pregnant women, the ones with weak immunity, and the elderly people.
5.Use tech solutions extensively
A diverse range of tech solutions are available to make your HR management work easier. Look for efficient HR management software if you already don’t have one. Team collaborations tools are popular now than ever. Organizations are also acquiring online ERP software to boost streamline their operations and management. By strategically using these software solutions you’ll not just improve efficiency but will also make employees more engaged.
Conclusion
Managing human resources during a crisis like this is challenging. But that doesn’t mean it has to be disorganized and inefficient. With the right steps and the right technology, HR departments can maintain a seamless process throughout the lockout. Besides, the measures we discussed would make your HR management process more resilient and employee focused.
At OrangeMantra, we have the experience of working with HR departments from across industries. We have delivered a diverse range of HR management solutions, ranging from payroll management systems to gamification software. Follow our blogs to stay informed about the pandemic is changing the way people work and do business.
FAQs
Q. What software do HR use?
Software solutions that HR departments use are called human resource management systems (HRMS), human capital management (HCM), and Human resources information systems (HRIS). These software tools refer to the system an organization uses to effectively manage employees.
Q. What is an employee leave management system?
A leave management system enables employees to apply for leaves, check leave balance, approved leaves, holiday lists, etc. using a software. It tracks leave data accurately. The date is used for automated payroll processing.
Q. What is online ERP?
Cloud ERP or Online ERP is Software-as-a-Service that allows users to access Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software over the Internet. These solutions usually have comparatively lower costs since computing resources are leased by the month rather than purchased outright and maintained on premises.