When the pandemic Covid-19 first hit the world two years ago, it triggered a wave of upheaval followed by another. Taking up countless businesses, jobs and lives, the pandemic has changed all aspects of work forever.
There’s no way but to go back to find a new normal over the next. HR leaders around the world were stressed on the frontline and tasked with training employees on remote work, helping them meet the challenges as everyone worked from home, company-wide take-aways. off and adopt never before seen technology.
State of crisis
even in times of crisisHR teams propel their organizations through uncertainties, disruptions and roadblocks. The practices adopted and lessons learned during the pandemic are sure to carry over to the post-pandemic world and highlight the unclear path ahead.
As the dust settles and we continue to forge new paths in an ever-changing world, here are some key lessons HR teams have learned during the two pandemic-stricken years.
Remote work possible, profitable
Organizations quickly transitioned to work from home or remote work to ensure business continuity, when the global pandemic led to the shutdown of work almost overnight. The initial apprehensions and hesitations gave way to trust and confidence in the employees and, eventually, increased productivity.
With about 95 percent of the workforce working remotely, organizations develop policies for employees to work remotely and familiarize themselves with virtual meeting and communication tools. Now, two years later, employees and employers are profiting from remote and flexible working models with enhanced productivity, performance and work-life balance. Employees no longer want to be tied to offices and want to work with autonomy and flexibility.
continuity, contingency planning
After barely recovering from the pandemic, many organizations are making contingency plans to protect their business against any Black Swan event in future. Millions of businesses around the world have had to shut down operations due to the pandemic.
To prevent any business closure in future, organizations are focusing not only on growth strategies but also business continuity and contingency planning. By investing in risk analysis and management, companies can devise strategies to respond to unforeseen crises that could threaten the survival of the business in the future.
right technology
Perhaps the biggest lesson from this pandemic is to adopt the right technology to avoid sudden disasters. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology and digitization as businesses realized their transformative effects.
With the right investment in technology, many businesses were able to scale up business operations and innovate at a time when others were struggling to survive. AI and automation helped organizations streamline complex business operations and eliminate unnecessary tasks. And cloud-based tech tools helped employees collaborate, reduce paperwork, and improve performance.
lead pipeline
Business leaders around the world learned how important it was to build a leadership pipeline to ensure business continuity and improve organizational resilience. Fostering flexibility among employees and preparing them for future roles and responsibilities suddenly became the need of the hour.
Leadership training alone by future leaders is no longer enough, must be scouted, groomed, groomed and tested over time. By identifying linchpin positions, integrating succession planning with leadership development, and regularly measuring progress, organizations can build an army of tomorrow’s leaders who are ready to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Talent Acquisition Strategies
While in the first year of the pandemic, employees held onto their jobs for dear life, lest they lose them, the second year saw a reverse of roles. With the increasing demand for technical talent around the world, employees started leaving existing jobs for better roles.
The ‘Great Resignation’ taught employers how difficult it can be to retain employees and why they should build strong talent acquisition strategies. To win the war for talent, many organizations have partnered with online recruitment platforms to take advantage of their abundant resources, advanced technologies, rapid recruitment velocity and vast geographic footprint.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how we work, rent and live. HR teams around the world have learned countless lessons that no playbook could have taught them. Organizations have come up with new and innovative strategies that no business could have imagined two years ago. Many of the previous strategies have been abandoned and organizations have accepted continuous and continuous learning and change is the only way forward. What the next year will bring is not yet known, but the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic have taught every business innumerable valuable lessons that can help them tide over future crises.
(The author is Yogita Tulsiyani MD-C, Founder, IXSeed Solutions.)
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