Is this right time to rethink about HR Strategy

    

The pandemic has reinforced the importance of more dynamic work models and need for more diverse talent. As face-to-face meetings have been replaced by emails and video conferencing, HR managers are experiencing new challenges to do their work effectively.

 

As we move toward a post-pandemic era, it is time to create an HR model that is flexible, responsive, and built around interrelated trends (automation, costs, and demographic shifts).

 

Even employees expect their employers to make HR policy changes in response to the pandemic. For example, 45% say companies should prevent at-risk employees from coming to work, and 42% feel employees and contract workers should get paid sick leave.

 

 

That said, let’s look at the importance of rethinking your HR strategy and how you can do that!

 

Reasons to Rethink Your HR Strategy

 

36% of employees are ready to take a pay cut for a better work-life balance. If that’s not enough to convince you, here are some more stats from Glassdoor.

 

● 17% of workers would quit their job if required to return to the office five days per week regardless of vaccinations.

● 92% of people would consider changing jobs if offered a role with a company with an excellent corporate reputation.

● When talking about working conditions in a company, employee voice is three times more credible than the CEO.

● 50% of candidates say they wouldn’t work for a company with a bad reputation, even for a pay increase.

 

These statistics indicate that brand reputation matters a lot when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent.

 

While many things affect what employees feel and talk about their employers, HR policies and strategies are among the top.

 

For instance, if an employee is stressed from work and is not getting any relief even after sharing the concerns with HR, they are highly likely to share their experience online (most probably anonymously).

 

This, in turn, will affect your brand reputation and the ability to attract top talent. In fact, 1 in 3 people have turned down a job offer because of a company’s bad online reviews.

 

5 Tips to Help You Optimize Your HR Strategy

 

It is also worth mentioning that the current times (pandemic) are already stressful for most people. Some are concerned about their career’s future, some have lost their loved ones to the virus, while some are experiencing loneliness due to staying home for long periods.

 

That said, here are five points to keep in mind as you rethink your HR strategy.

 Invest in Automation

        Automation makes everyone’s life easier, and the same applies to HR managers. HR                 automation improves your productivity, saves time doing tedious tasks, and enables you          to focus more on your people.

          For instance, you can create rules to automatically recognize top performers and                      reward them accordingly. You can also automate employee onboarding to offer                      candidates a seamless experience.

           HR leaders will need to lead by automating tedious processes and creating new                       strategies to enhance the employee experience. 

Focus on Employee Satisfaction

Satisfied employees will be more productive and engaged with the organization. Statistics show that when employees are satisfied, their productivity increases by 40%, customer satisfaction increases by 18%, and employee turnover reduces by 14%.

 

Moreover, the pandemic has left most people stressed. As a result, HR managers need to take additional measures to ensure employees are happy and satisfied. For example, you can give a surprise day-off to your employees, send gifts, or offer learning opportunities.

 

You should also create emotional and mental well-being programs to ensure your employees are at their best state to work.

 

3- Build a Talent-Focused Workforce

 

Talent is no more limited to any boundary. The pandemic has taught us that high-performing employees don’t need an office to work efficiently. In fact, employees are more productive when working from home.

 

Therefore, optimize your hiring strategy to include talented candidates irrespective of their location. Platforms like Glassdoor, Indeed, and LinkedIn have made it easier for HRs to find the right talent for their organization.

 

However, it is essential to ensure that the people you hire align with your company’s culture and values. For instance, you can conduct a psychometric assessment test to better understand the candidate’s thought process before hiring them.

 

4- Embrace Digitization

 

By now, most companies have either completed or started the digital transformation. A new survey by McKinsey found that companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions of their internal operations by three to four years.

One of the key reasons for the increase in digitization is to prepare for unexpected events like the pandemic. Companies that hadn’t invested much in digitization before COVID-19 suffered the most.

From recruiting and onboarding to managing employee performance, HRs need to focus on digitizing every aspect of their work in some way or another.

And, it’s not just because of the pandemic. By 2025, millennials and Gen Z will comprise 61.8% of the global workforce. These generations are used to the technology (e.g., more emails than phone calls). If you’re not equipped to meet their expectations, retaining them would be difficult.

5- Strengthen Your Organization’s Identity

Company culture is the foundation of a successful business. Organizations with top-quartile cultures see a 60% higher return than median companies and 200% more than those in the bottom quartile.

However, culture change begins with the leadership team. It should be visible in every action management takes, and execution should be consistent.

Here are three ways HRs can strengthen their company’s identity:

● Develop a sense of purpose that has a tangible impact on their ways of working.

● Identify key talent roles that focus on creating value.

● Build a data-driven, systematic understanding of the business’s health and progress.

 

Conclusion

The pandemic has made businesses rethink the way they operate. HRs now need to create new strategies to meet the expectations of their employees and improve their brand reputation as an employer.

 

Do you, as an HR, have started rethinking your business strategies? What are the things that cross your mind? Are we missing any great tips? Let us know in the comments!