Hospitality Human Resource Management Assignment

(HA1404)

On

Impact of Covid 19 on HRM practices

By

Karan Singh Shekhawat

Registration Number: 180801017
BHM, Batch 2018-22

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The impact of the Corona virus pandemic will be felt by organisations beyond six months, according to the findings of a survey
conducted by professional services firm EY.

The survey, which incorporates first-hand perspective of human resource heads of over 100 organisations across sectors in India on
the impact of COVID-19, showed that while the COVID-19 impact can be felt by organisations across sectors, 72% of the
organisations stated that its impact will be felt even after six months .

The survey titled ‘HR resilience planning - COVID-19 impact and preparedness’ showed that around 70% of the organisations believe
that the single biggest concern for continued remote working is fall in productivity.

“Today, organisations are grappling with an unprecedented crisis that is fundamentally different from what they have ever
experienced. In this hour of crisis, the HR function has to be a business partner in anticipating change, co-creating a range of scenarios
and planning for the future Anurag Malik, Partner and India Workforce Advisory Leader, People Advisory Services, EY India said. “It
is also the right time for the HR Heads to recalibrate their priorities, focus towards managing remote workforce, digitalize the HR
function, and re-imagine workforce models,” he said.

The crisis is also forcing organisations to re-look at the HR processes and operations through a digital lens. More than 70% of the
organizations are now moving to virtual methods of recruitment, and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Robotic
Process Automation and Machine Learning are leading this change.

Initial priorities of IT infrastructure, basic communication and operations support are now fading into the background as new priorities
emerge,” said Gopal Nagpaul, Partner, Workforce Advisory (Africa, India and Middle East), People Advisory Services, EY India.

“Going forward, we need to focus on sustaining productivity in the context of remote working & shutdowns, ensuring wellbeing &
engagement in case of sustained remote working, and building cost management options in case we face a deeper economic
downturn,” he added.

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Around 87% of the respondents currently have travel restrictions in place in addition to the mandated ones. At this time of crisis,
organizations must adopt to the changing ways of working, and invest in the right IT infrastructure and build in structured mechanisms
to institutionalize remote working, showed the survey findings.

Organizations that were not accustomed to virtual working have faced the heat and have had to mobilize IT infrastructure and set up
data security protocols at a very short notice.

According to the survey, ensuring workforce productivity while working remotely is a concern area. “Organizations will need to focus
on building work alignment and work control through a structured work allocation and communication protocol. Providing
meaningful work to employees, increased focus on business improvement and transformation initiatives, and e-learning and
certifications can be explored in this time of crisis,” said Nagpaul.

An important dimension that organizations will have to consider is the psychological impact of the crisis on their employees, stated
the survey. While some organizations have started virtual yoga and psychological counselling session a holistic approach to employee
wellness will be imperative.

“Going forward, the opportunities for organizations lie in institutionalizing digital ways of working, rethinking workforce models and
resource plans, revamping traditional employee engagement models and techniques, redesigning the performance management
process and restructuring benefits and policies,” said Malik.

Most organizations agreed that in the near term, one of the most impacted processes will be talent acquisition.

From a medium-term perspective, organisations need to focus on business continuity (i.e. reviewing hiring pipeline, prioritizing
critical positions and high cost replacements to be reconsidered) and smarter ways of delivering work (i.e. leveraging gig economy for
workforce rationalization and agility, talent redeployment and job rotations). However, from a long-term perspective, role profiling &
workforce alignment and technology adoption will be two key aspects for organizations to consider for organizations, showed the
survey.

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Nearly 55% of the organizations foresee medium to significant impact on employee cost, while others are still unclear. Many
organizations have adopted an employee centric view and trying to protect the junior management, a few are also offering additional
pay-outs, hazard pay to support their workforce through these tough times.

Only 22% organizations are thinking about manpower optimization in the short term (maintaining an employee centric view), while
35% organisations want to look at optimization in the future basis business impact and in line with the newer ways of working.

Cost efficiencies are an imperative for business sustenance and given this, organizations should further focus on the following ways of
reducing cost – effective pyramid management (i.e. optimization of layers, span of control and bands; career progression and driving
discipline on promotions policy) and compensation management & driving pay-range discipline.

However, the question an HR professional should raise is for the future of the workforce. How long will the repercussions last?
Nonetheless, the management need not leave their workforce hanging… One of the concerns that the HR department of every
company is expected to fulfil, something that has lately been acknowledged as a grave concern, is the issue of mental health, the cause
of which has almost always been looked away. Completely disregarded, with the layoffs, the not-so-headstrong employees, who are
already troubled by the adverse effects of lockdown, might resort to extreme measures. They may commit suicides! To help the
company and its employees during such hardships, the HR department can propose salary cuts instead of layoffs! This can be for a
predetermined time period. For an instance, the management can announce reducing the staff salaries by up to 25% for a period of 6
months so that the company survives and no staff needs to be laid off! 
One cannot stress on infrastructure enough! The Human Resource department should ensure that all the employees have capable work
laptops to complete their day-to-day tasks. It is during such times that traditional old-fashioned set ups including those of our
Governmental department structures, face trouble as their operations are crippled. This move saves the employees from risking their
lives to reach office amid lockdown as they can now work from home, a concept that is increasingly being accepted in India! 
With the hope that mankind learns from, what appears to be yet another global pandemic, Harvard Global Health Institute’s Research
Fellow, Peter Sands’ eloquent explanation, “Neurobiologically conditioned, as we are, to pay attention to stark contrasts and sudden
changes, we often overlook slow moving changes in our environments that may herald disastrous consequences,” from ‘Outbreak
Readiness and Business Impact’ can be taken as a case-study. With a heavy heart, there is something for every HR professional to take
home to think about… the cause of the working man, amid a global pandemic!

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 Rise of virtual hiring tools amidst COVID-19 :
Against this backdrop, employers are increasingly turning towards cutting-edge virtual hiring solutions to minimize the loss of
potential candidates. Such solutions tap into the power of the online ecosystem to eliminate locational restraints, enabling
organizations to seamlessly conduct talent recruitment and management no matter wherever they are. A major recruitment-related
obstacle being faced by companies post COVID-19, that has disrupted their business continuity plans, is their inability to conduct
effective hiring on account of the pandemic-led strangulation of mobility. Since recruiters are unable to fill-in positions as candidates
can’t appear for face-to-face interviews because of social distancing, companies are at risk of losing out on the best talent.
Against this backdrop, employers are increasingly turning towards cutting-edge virtual hiring solutions to minimize the loss of
potential candidates. Such solutions tap into the power of the online ecosystem to eliminate locational restraints, enabling
organizations to seamlessly conduct talent recruitment and management no matter wherever they are.
How virtual hiring solutions are helping employers to bridge the talent-gapBy leveraging tech-based virtual hiring tools,
organizations can conduct all kinds of recruitment drives in real-time without violating the social distancing protocols. These include
both campus hiring and lateral hiring – be it internal (from within the organization) or external (recruitment from different
organizations).
Besides enabling all the steps of a traditional hiring process – from sourcing to onboarding – virtual tools provide the added benefit of
speed and scale. Let us take a brief look at how the online ecosystem can help employers seamlessly drive all the steps of traditional
recruitment without compromising the quality, as well as health, of the talent:
Sourcing Since the onset of the pandemic, various public events, contests, games, conferences, job fairs, hackathons, etc. have either
been postponed or canceled. However, employers can now instead leverage the online ecosystem to shift the playing field of
traditional recruitment-related events to the virtual domain. Online hackathons and social sourcing solutions come equipped with the
necessary features tailored as per the recruiter’s needs. A number of employees can be called online to attempt business challenges
and provide solutions from the comforts of their homes in an online hackathon. They also enable candidates to engage in a virtual
environment and submit their entries in a hassle-free manner securely.  Moreover, hackathons can give insightful details to employers
to source the right candidates while also facilitating seamless collaboration, submission management, and quick scheduling for
employers. 

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Screening
The initial screening could be smoothed out with screening bots that source candidate information 24 by 7.  Screening bots drastically
reduce the number of hours consumed in filling out general candidate information and answering basic candidates’ questions like
interview timings, availability, and other details- automating the shortlisting process. Recruiters can use tech-enabled online
assessments and choose from a wide array of psychometric, domain and aptitude tests and customize them as per the job requirements
and cultural fitment. The online assessments also have coding and technical simulations for IT and Non- IT candidates. New-age
virtual platforms also offer customized solutions for enabling coding interviews to test candidates on specific coding skills and
competencies. These include Java, R, Python, MySQL, front, and back-end software developer, and full-stack developer, among
others.
When candidates are undergoing these assessments, they could be easily remote-proctored by way of auto or manual proctors and such
assessments can be attempted from anywhere anytime. Employers can evaluate the fair practices of candidates while sitting in the
comforts of their living room.
Selecting
The online ecosystem can facilitate structured video interviews (pre-recorded, live, and coding interviews) between recruiters and
candidates. Advanced virtual platforms can also bolster the traditional selection routine by enabling robust decision-making by
minimizing the first-impression bias. Further, recruiters can evaluate candidates based on skills and competencies on the back of tech-
enabled collaborative interviews and generate competency-based reports. This evaluation method can help employers track the on-job
performance of the candidates by using various tools such as integrated coding simulators. With such interviews, even those specific
competencies can be measured which assessments might find it difficult to portray to the employers. It comes inclusive of integrated
applicant reports offering a detailed understanding of the candidate's strengths and the role it can play in a company's business success
and recruitment RoI.
Offering job
Since the entirety of the hiring process happens virtually, volumes of data are generated in each roundabout each candidate. The
analytics-powered virtual platform not only records the data but also generates valuable insights, thereby enabling recruiters and
stakeholders to make data-based hiring decisions. Employers are making decisions based on analytics and numbers and resorting to
biases and guts- providing a huge degree of effectiveness to the entire process. 

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Onboarding
The final stage of the hiring process and the subsequent talent management programs can also be delivered seamlessly using digital
platforms. Recruiters and HR leaders can drive the onboarding, training, orientation, and engagement of the selected candidates
through virtual solutions such as online hackathons, be it individually or with the team.
Virtual Solutions for Campus Hiring
These virtual hiring solutions also come handy for employers to conduct virtual campus hiring. How? Using state-of-the-art virtual
solutions, employers can, for instance, collate the data from various annual reports available with industry leaders to build campus
intelligence. Based on these reports, companies can also leverage the information to connect with the right campus and deliver pre-
assessment presentations and hackathons. All of these measures will only serve to enhance the brand recall value not only among the
candidates but also among their acquaintances. 
Using screening and selecting tools as stated above like assessments (simulators, case studies, coding, and psychometric tests) and
structured video interviews, respectively, right-fit candidates can be hired effectively without losing crucial time. Hired candidates can
be excellently engaged via hackathons and online training- without the candidates or the employers stepping out. Setting-up a physical
campus hiring process turns out to be a lengthy and demanding business process and with a streamlined virtual campus hiring process,
a huge deal of time and logistical costs could be saved.   
Hence, while it is true that virtual solutions can enable recruiters to continue their activities amid the lockdown seamlessly, it is clear
that they will continue to become a mainstay in the post-pandemic world as well. 

As employees have begun spending more time at work and commuting to work, offices around the world have realized the
critical role of gaming zones, multi-cuisine cafeterias, health food pantries, gymnasiums and even relaxing equipment such as
muscle relaxant chairs, to enable a happy and productive work environment.  

A well-known digital transformation company in the financial services space recently introduced the idea of a desk bike across all its
global offices. It is a desk that has a built-in bike, which allows you to spot-pedal and exercise. The critical role of gaming zones,
multi-cuisine cafeterias, health-food pantries, gymnasiums may soon be required to revamp to adapt social distancing as a way of life
The 3 C’s – communication, collaboration, and connectivity

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With telecommuting becoming a practice in times of Covid-19, the cliché email also became very important in areas where network
connectivity wasn’t great. As employees were required to work from their home base, the benefit of office wifi connectivity was lost,
leaving them at the mercy of local internet speeds. However, certain urban landscapes blessed with high-speed broadbands enabled
employees to use Skype and Microsoft Teams to connect with colleagues and clients. Voice and video conferencing have taken a
major leap of faith to survive on the power of the Internet. Messengers, Google Duo, Slack, VPN, or even the WebEx have become
effective communication companions. Yammer the corporate twin of Facebook, has become a popular engagement channel in various
companies. Podcasts and webcasts have born and reborn. Employees are always on the lookout for better communication tools, and
faster network to run them. Empower your employees with these and you have won them!  
 
Today, any given multinational company has chatbots for internal functions such as incident management, library management,
insurance facilities, or even ordering food in the cafeteria.

Nothing artificial about it 

Onboarding turned a new leaf as it got virtual recently. Despite Covid-19, a few companies are still recruiting for business-critical
roles. Employees unable to join physically and offices unable to open, both as a result of lockdown, benefitted immensely with virtual
onboarding. Even recruiting is set to evolve with artificial intelligence. AI-based recruitment tools enable faster screening when going
through a large flood of applications. Even before 2020, on average a recruiter would take 23 hours to screen applications for a single
post. AI-powered recruitment tools will help to filter high volume of resumes and pre-qualifying candidates based on the job
description and skills. In my view though, employers while hiring, should look at the skills and attitude that an employee brings rather
than the pedigree. We are all moving towards the concept of New Blended Workforce that involves - humans and bots. Today, any
given multinational company has chatbots for internal functions such as incident management, library management, insurance
facilities or even ordering food in the cafeteria, and I am hopeful these will be a boon with the newly altered work-place advisories as
a result of the pandemic.    
Make way for intelligence 

Even before 2020 hit us, the wave of upskilling did. Thus now, an organization is quickly popular if it fosters the learning culture
within its employees. Employees look for organizations with a "growth and development" mindset and they then know that the brand
wants them to grow along with it. Recently a leading FinTech Service provider firm based in New York outdid all its peers by getting

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an enterprise wide Udemy license for all its employees to benefit from. Each and every employee has access to more than 3500
courses on the Udemy portal and can also access all these training sessions on the Udemy for business app, on-the-go. Now that’s
what we call a gamechanger. According to sources, the employees of this company are finding this immensely useful in today’s work
from home times.  Ramp up Training and Investment in Remote Working

Across the globe, companies are dealing with the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic by mandating or encouraging employees work from
home. As the coronavirus spreads, working from home is the new normal for workers. We are hearing comments like: “It’s the first
day of both working from home and home schooling... I never signed up to be a teacher and now I believe teachers should be paid like
CEOs!”

What are companies doing to prepare for one of the largest work from home experiments ever? Our research examined the various
ways companies are dealing with remote working and one way is training. Our Future Workplace survey,  The Impact of the
Coronavirus in the Workplace, asked, “In what ways does your company offer training on how to successfully work from home?

Rachel Russell, one of the architects of this document and the Flexible Work Lead at Microsoft says, “We designed the document to
support our employees working from home during this outbreak, some for the first time and many with others at home as well. Our
guidance ranges from setting up your physical and virtual workspace to managing your time and wellbeing, as well as specific
guidance for managers. Everyone’s experience is different, and we continue to offer learning resources and community spaces, like
Yammer groups, where employees can ask questions, share anecdotes, and brainstorm ideas for staying healthy, engaged, and
productive.”

The Future of Work Is the Future of Worker Wellbeing

My Forbes column, Top Ten HR Trends That Matter Most in the 2020 Workplace, details how companies that focus on the future of
work are consumed  by the impending disruption of jobs, automation, and changing workforce demographics. All of these are
important, but we also need to make worker wellbeing a priority!

Today more than ever, the future of work is the future of worker wellbeing. With the growth of the digital economy, our ‘always
on’ way of working, the stresses in managing work-life integration, and now dealing with the coronavirus, assisting workers with their
wellbeing has never been more important.

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As Cecilia Tse, Wellbeing Strategy Leader, PwC says, “We are committed to helping build our people’s wellbeing and we define this
to include their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. But we are going beyond viewing wellbeing as a perk, we are
being prescriptive to provide our people guidance and suggestions for habits they can consider forming in each of these areas on
our PwC Be well, work well Habit Bank.”

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