Covid-19 era is surely going to churn the mind of the HR professionals. It may appear to be scaring but the fact remains that it took little over three years for the world community to recover from ‘Spanish flu’ (1918–1921), the previous pandemic.
The true impact of ‘Spanish flu’ on world economy could not be ascertained as it confounded with the effects of World War I (1914 –18). COVID–19 will, however, singularly bear the blame of the cracks in world economy, and an impending recession. The magnitude of damage to economy, and subsequent recovery time, are issues that largely remain in the realms of speculation at present.
On a closer examination it would appear that nothing in the work environment would change substantially except rules and regulations relating to workforce management. It is expected of HR, therefore, to hold the rudder tightly and sail through the turbulent times to come up to the expectations of the business needs.
It would be an invalid assumption that all impacts of COVID –19 at the workplace turns out to be negative. There are definitely some positive spill–overs. It has helped HR function to identify and list ‘non–essential activities’ in the business with very minute precision. It has restricted the time loss on socialisation at the workplace which will add to productive time and output. It has illustrated benefits of ‘work from home’ and ‘flexi–hours’in a bigger way enabling employees to give quality time to home and for social volunteering. All this happens without compromising with the output. However, it must be admitted that ‘flexi–time’ and ‘work from home’ cannot be extended to all functions. Nevertheless, the practice is bound to pick–up in areas where it can be extended to. Theonus lies on HR to boldly implement such practices to get rid of the culture of hanging around in the office adding only to related costs.
On a very similar note HR can list down jobs that exist in a permanent nature which can be converted into contract jobs. Similarly, some of the jobs can be converted to reduce hours per week instead of existing full-time on a permanent basis. All this adds to cost-reduction for the company. The professionals, in turn, get time to hone their skills and augment their professional knowledge on continuous basis with the extra time that they get. This may also reduce training commitments for the company and the related cost.
During COVID-19 period training will be limited to some critical observable needs. It must be carried forward in future in the same manner. Training efforts will get more respect and administration when it will directly contribute to business needs. The practice of presenting training man-hours data without corresponding impact on the business must be done away with and COVID-19 has provided a good platform for that. Focus of the training must shift to obvious skill-gap needs, cadre training, and developing a distinct organizational culture conducive for the employees to enjoy work and stay in the company.
The challenges before the HR are manifolds. The balancing act of implementing cuts in employee cost and maintaining employee morale and motivation requires profound professional jugglery. It is advisable that performance appraisal exercise must be carried forward.
‘Dry promotions’ are capable of raising the hope and aspiration of white color employees even if the inflated new title compares with an empty ‘Khan Bahadur’ or ‘RaiSaheb’ bestowed by shrewd British administrators. Employees will be satisfied with the hope of getting the corresponding benefits at a later date, if not the arrears. Other methods of introducing non- monetary rewards must be explored to keep the morale and motivation high.
An opposite equation to keep the zeal of the blue color employees would be to least muddle with their finances. Long Term Agreement with the unions must be respected, and change should only be effected with new agreements with the assurance to restore the gains when business picks up momentum. Frequent communication with workmen, and their representative would help the HR representative in banking their support. All grades of employees should be included in cost cutting suggestions to make the workmen feel their worth.
Managing IR in a positive manner in the challenging times would speak volumes about the dexterity of the HR professionals. During the period of COVID-19, and even thereafter the challenges before the HR would be to keep an eye on the ‘new normals, of work culture.
A ‘swab test’ is must to be added in the medical examination of the new entrants, although new appointments will be very remote possibility. Employees would tend to ‘stay’ with the Company in poor job market. The rules of ‘social distancing’ and ‘work place hygiene’ must be followed strictly even when it costs a few bucks more. Fortunately, Factories Act 1948 takes care of ‘overcrowding’ (Chapter III, Section 16) and health and hygiene (Chapter III, Section 11 to Section 15) but sanitization norms that are over and above the statutory norms must be followed. Aggregation of workmen must be disallowed in canteens, Tea- kiosks, parking areas and fields and aisles. Canteens and parking space must be extended at the cost of aesthetics. Social distancing factor must be observed in offices guided by Shops and Establishment Act. A safe work space between 120 and 240 square feet must be provided to each employee. A ‘rat-hutch’ like sitting arrangement would surely be a thing of the past.
The economic impact of COVID-19 will be faced more by the manufacturer of luxury items than by the Companies producing essential items and goods for industrial consumption. Likewise, hospitality sector would face the heat more than the Corporate hospitals. The HR professionals in different sectors of the economy should accordingly tighten their belts to face the imminent challenges.
(The writer is General Manager, Human Resources at Usha Martin Ltd and the views expressed are his own)
