HRD investigates how to navigate constant disruption while boosting employees' morale
In 2020, organisations have endured forced disruption and accelerated change, with almost 75% of Australian businesses operating under modified conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The question for many HR leaders now is: how to best set up businesses and people for success in an unpredictable and remote environment?
For HR professionals, the key challenge has been how to juggle multiple priorities while they’ve been run off their feet, according to Joy Adan, content journalist at Reward Gateway.
“A lot of HR leaders have had their teams downsized or they don’t have the number of hours they need to get everything done, especially at a time where work conditions are changing and new policies are in place,” Adan told HRD.
“Their resources are thin, their budgets are thin and when you have so many people who need your mental energy, all that comes down to doing more with less.”
Read more: How to offer ‘real recognition’
And the hybrid workforce has only made the challenge more difficult, as people who are working offsite can miss out on important information.
Adan said that those working in an office can turn to their colleagues to have a conversation and will learn so much more when they are around their team.
“For people who don’t get that interaction, they might inadvertently overlook opportunities to participate simply because they are not physically present,” she said.
“The big challenge for HR is making sure they build that sense of inclusion. I think there is a tendency as we are working towards the end of the year to forget how much our people have been through in the last six months or more.
“This is especially the case for businesses who had to let people go - the people who are remaining need that reinforcing of how important they are to keep the organisation going, the impact it’s making and the value they have created. That’s where recognition plays such an important role.”
She said that taking time out to single out a person for what they have done is such an important and impactful way to create a sense of connection.
Indeed, one Gallup survey found that even a small amount of time a senior leader takes to show appreciation can yield a significant positive impression on an employee.
Read more: Time to throw out the recognition rule book?
The second piece of advice Adan offers is to look for creative ways to use resources that you already have.
“I think a lot of organisations are mourning the fact they will not be able to have an office Christmas party. That is usually something a lot of employees are looking forward to,” she said.
“But with that budget there are different ways that you can recognise your people and get them reinvigorated for 2021,” she said.
She added that the most exciting aspect about HR transitioning and changing is that it is getting “a bigger seat at the table”.
“A lot of businesses are turning to HR, saying what do we do next? That’s a really great place to be and it’s exciting because we have an opportunity to help people not just in their jobs but with what they bring home with them. These are opportunities to impact not just somebody’s work day, but their whole life too.”
Joy Adan will be featuring on an upcoming webinar Transforming the Employee Experience: How to strengthen connection, culture and productivity with a hybrid workforce. To register, click here.
