Global HR challenges during a global pandemic

I have written a number of HR related articles dealing with the challenges both employers and employees face as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The articles address issues such as health and safety, vulnerable employees, and how the myriad of Covid-19 regulations impact on employers and employees alike.

Employers in general, and HR Practitioners in particular, had the enormous challenge of having to navigate their businesses through the turbulent and unchartered waters of the Covid-19 crisis last year. Sadly, many businesses were forced to close their doors, many had to lay off staff, many had to reduce the working hours of their employees, many had to freeze salary increases, and many had to request their employees to work from home. Most of the challenges employers had to face during 2020 related to the aforementioned HR issues.

Unfortunately, a year on and the global pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world. The pendulum has, however, shifted in respect of the types of challenges HR face in 2021 compared to those encountered last year.

A report by Lattice, The State of People Strategy: The New World of Work, shared the opinions of HR leaders around the world. They were asked what their most crucial initiatives were for 2021, and what challenges they were most concerned about. Over 1,000 HR professionals from close to 40 countries participated in the survey.

According to Lattice, HR leaders said their most important initiatives for 2021 were:

• Employee engagement (48%)

• Training and the enabling of managers (46%)

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes (44%)

• Learning and development (37%)

• Performance management (33%)

All initiatives, save for the DE&I programmes, will, of necessity, require HR Practitioners to adapt or amend their existing policies, procedures and processes due to Covid-19. The implementation of, or enhancements to current DE&I programmes has become an organizational priority for many companies around the world.

Regrettably, events in the past twelve months or so have underscored the pervasiveness of systemic racism and inequality in many organisations. 67% of HR leaders say that events in the past year have inspired them to ‘radically increase their DE&I programmes’ in their organisations.

The top challenges HR Leaders and their teams around the world face, according to Lattice, are:

• Emotional exhaustion (for themselves and/or their team members) (60%)

• An overwhelming number of projects and responsibilities (54%)

• Employee morale (51%)

• Employee retention (51%)

• Budget constraints (43%)

• Perceived low value of HR’s worth (29%)

Health and wellness programmes, whether in-house or outsourced, will no doubt assist HR Practitioners and their teams to overcome their challenges in 2021, providing, of course, that these programmes have the right mix of offered benefits and that these are within their health and wellness budgets. Benefits designed to assist employees to improve aspects of their overall health, such as mental health benefits and financial wellness programmes, build resilience in employees and help them to manage and avoid exhaustion, stress, and burnout.

Effective employer/employee communication will be crucial for organisational sustainability and success during these unprecedented and challenging times, especially given the fact that many workplaces around the world plan to have their employees continue working remotely indefinitely.

Organisations that are change-agile, adaptive, and communicative are more likely to succeed in these challenging times compared to those that are not. HR can play a pivotal role in this change management process.

Get in touch

Visit www.dynamixhrsolutions.com to view my other HR, Labour Relations and Leadership related articles, and to see how we can assist you, your business or your enterprise with your People Management issues and/or challenges.