Redefining organisational culture by shifting towards a people-centric workplace

Re-establishing organisational culture will become a top priority for HR departments as organisations look to adopt more flexible working arrangements. There will likely be a major shift towards hybrid working models that capitalise on the benefits of both remote and office working. While this is a positive change, the implications of this transition threaten the existing organisational culture. The social dynamic between employees will no longer be the same due to varying working conditions, such as less face-to-face interaction and an increasingly dispersed workforce. How will business leaders guide the actions and influence the decisions of employees at all levels?

Organising regular check-ins exclusively for work, social interaction, or emotional support is a great way to establish a balanced structure suited to managing a remote workforce and to strengthen relationships. Promoting open dialogue and installing direct communication channels between all levels within an organisation will help keep leadership informed of employee concerns. Finally, introducing diversity, equality, and inclusion policies and programmes will help bolster organisational culture and create an environment that promotes trust, unity, empathy, and engagement. As organisations look to accelerate the pace of remote working in the foreseeable future, it is essential that they make a conscious effort to preserve their core values and emphasise building a workplace that puts people at the forefront of every decision. Most importantly, focusing on employee engagement through pulse and satisfaction surveys is a great way to gauge their experience and ideas, and get their recommendations on how best to transition to the new normal.

Introducing new structures to enhance workforce flexibility and productivity

Given the recent success of remote working, organisations will be looking to capitalise on productivity and efficiency gains by establishing a hybrid working model that supports both office and remote working. HR needs to support businesses in redesigning organisational structures and job roles to accommodate the new normal, with high emphasis on promoting operational efficiency. There will likely be a major shift towards highly flexible organisational structures that allow for the effective redeployment of workers. This means designing organisations that are scalable and highly adaptive to future uncertainties.

HR is also increasingly playing an integral role in reskilling existing employees. COVID-19 has led to large-scale competency mapping and will likely result in many employees being redeployed to other divisions that have or will have demand. As a result, it is critical that redeployed workers are equipped with the necessary skills that will enable them to seamlessly transition into their new roles. Moving forward, job roles and functions will increasingly be designed for those with transferable skills who can apply them in a broader context. Additionally, offering flexible working arrangements by introducing staggered hours, flextime, or flexplace will help employees improve their work-life balance, while also allowing organisations to capitalise on the increased workforce productivity and efficiency.

Maximising occupational health and safety by focusing on physical and mental well-being

As employees look to return to the workplace, HR must consider introducing the necessary measures to ensure employee safety and wellbeing. This includes focusing on physical wellness, as well as the emotional and mental aspects of wellbeing. In addition to implementing social distancing measures, installing sensor based technologies throughout the workplace is a great way to minimise physical contact and reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Moreover, many employees – particularly those who have been the victims of downsizing and restructuring initiatives – are likely enduring high levels of stress and anxiety due to the disruption the pandemic has inflicted on their day-to-day lives. HR has an ethical and moral obligation to all those that have been impacted by COVID-19. As such, they must take the lead in providing displaced workers with outplacement and career transitioning services such as counseling and assistance in identifying career opportunities. In conclusion, HR should assist all workers, past and present, by establishing mental wellness programmes, offering around the clock support to those who need it and raising awareness by disseminating

Realigning rewards to market realities through adaptive and personalised compensation structures

The impact of COVID-19 has left many businesses with considerable debt levels, surging costs, little to no revenue, and weakened balance sheets. As such, they have been forced to take measures to cut costs by temporarily deferring or reducing employee compensation and benefits. While this may dictate many organisations’ short term strategies, the pandemic has also opened the discussion around rethinking employee rewards and benefits in the long term.

Many organisations will be looking to attract and compete for top talent to help steer the ship towards a swift and successful post-COVID recovery. Since many employers may not be able to offer higher salaries, they may look at reducing fixed pay while increasing variable pay that is directly linked to employee performance and productivity. This helps incentivise employees to perform at a higher level while maintaining a healthy and competitive environment. On the other hand, some organisations may consider taking the alternative route of offering flexible compensation and benefits packages that could give them a competitive edge. Another possibility is to introduce personalised compensation structures that allow employees to design their own packages that are more suited to their needs and preferences.

Reassessing performance and succession management to complement an agile and dynamic workforce

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many workers to take on a wide variety of roles and responsibilities. Remote working has completely changed the way we work and some employees may experience a learning curve before managing the same level of efficiency as before the pandemic. As such, employers should take this into account when it’s time for performance evaluations. Moreover, HR may consider transitioning to an outcome-based performance management system where employees’ performance is measured solely on their outputs rather than the time spent working. This means rethinking and realigning KPIs to match new realities and accommodate the transition towards the new normal as employees gradually upskill and reskill themselves.

Many employers will also look at introducing performance monitoring technologies to track employee performance and outputs, and HR will play a key role in ensuring they are successfully implemented. Furthermore, HR may consider focusing on succession planning efforts by identifying and re-assessing critical roles, establishing emergency plans through scenario based planning rather than traditional HR planning, ensuring they have the right people in place to take over, and communicating these plans effectively to ensure employee readiness when the time comes.

Reinforcing the learning and development agenda through digital upskilling

Learning and development is rapidly becoming an integral part of the HR agenda, with a prime focus on ensuring organisations are ready for life post-COVID-19. HR should consider upskilling their current workforce with transferable and unique skills that give them a competitive edge and make them more resilient to change. These skills give employees the ability to be redeployed elsewhere while maintaining current levels of utilisation. In turn, this also diminishes the need for organisations to take abrupt and unnecessary measures such as forced leaves, layoffs, and salary cuts.

COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation of organisations around the world, with employees being forced to work remotely and resort to different technologies to deliver their work. While digital upskilling is becoming an integral part of many organisations’ learning and development agendas, according to PwC’s Hopes and Fears Survey in the GCC, only 23% of workers are learning new skills through their employer to better understand or use technology.¹ HR must consider implementing effective programs to ensure employees are equipped with the necessary digital skills and tools needed to succeed in today’s workforce.