HR's are the frontline heroes in this virtual workspace because this crisis demands more "HUMANE" nature in the new workspace.
According to a survey by COVID- HR pulse more than 70% of companies are readjusting their HR priorities to create a better workspace for remote employees.
Take a look at the five major mistakes HR has to avoid during the lockdown and replace them with the best practices of top-performing HR's
Working from home in an isolated environment is taking a toll on many employees and having no personal talks with them will only make it worse.
Talk to your employees personally and keep checking with as many as you can regularly, based on the size of your team.
For example, You can pick and call five employees and have a personal talk for 5 minutes with each of them. Or have a quick text session of 5 minutes with each employee knowing what they are up to ...and how can you help them.
Employees expect work from home meetings to be a little more fun and free to tackle the other distractions at home, especially when the goals and purpose of the meeting are not so serious.
Be flexible with your meeting etiquette. It has to be accepted that there will be a disturbance while the employee is on a video call with his colleagues. People can be encouraged to bring their kids or family members or even pets into casual meetings. This creates a very comfortable environment for employees, and they don't feel isolated in a separate room within their house.
This also deepens the bond between remote employees while getting to know each other's families.
Upskilling brings profits to the table both for the company and the employee's wellbeing. Failing to leverage will not help both employees and the company to cope up with the competition.
Setup an E-learning strategy encouraging employees to spend some time every week upskilling themselves. Motivate them in mastering a skill that they always have been procrastinating so far.
This practice can be made even more exciting by bringing the whole team together and learning one skill on weekends ( Example: storytelling for business, or a course related to advanced protection of confidential data while working from home)
Also Read: How Great Leaders Act In The Time Of A Crisis: Responding To The Covid-19 Outbreak
Hiring the best talent for the changing scenarios is the most critical task that HR's do. The above mistake is resulting in a lack of communication where new employees are not opening up to share any of their ideas.
Since the start of Covid-19, companies You might have hired new employees, interns, in the process of adapting to the recent changes the Pandemic has brought. Working with people without meeting them in person is a challenge,
So make the first online meeting more fun with some activities and icebreaker games to break the ice that helps the new employees bond with the existing team.
We understand as HR you are dealing with your own challenges while managing your remote employees. This stress can sometimes lead to frustration when things don't happen as you expect. Frustration can only make things worse between you and your employees and can lead to trust issues.
Before anything, Know your emotional triggers and have the right work-life balance while encouraging employees to do the same. Be it the managing workplace conflicts without any bias or pre assumptions or establishing good transparent communications, always understand the employee's situation and empathize with them.
Host an hour of the virtual fun session after a heavy work week as it relieves all the stress of your team and brings a sense of togetherness. This shows employees that you care for them and their wellbeing.
You May Like: A Quick Guide For HR's To Build Successful Employee Engagement Model
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