BEST HR

PRACTICE
S DURING
COVID-19
NAME: AABIR FAYAZ,
ROLL NO.01,
SUBJECT :SHRM

SUBMITTED TO: DR.

RAJENDRA MISHRA
 BEST HR PRACTICES DURING COVID-19

Currently, COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire and leaving behind its deadly impact
across the world. IMF has already predicted the contraction of the world
economy in 2020 by 3% as compared to nearly 2.3% GDP growth in 2019. Some
experts are projecting one of the worst recessions the world has ever seen. This
would have a varied impact on businesses depending on the sector, financial
muscle and management decisions of the company. While certain businesses may
permanently close down, some will struggle and some will come out as a winner.
There will be both permanent and temporary lay-offs leaving millions of people
jobless. Even in this imminent recession, a certain set of companies into health-
care, pharma, medical equipment, online media & entertainment, e-learning,
digital payment/fintech, food processing, etc. are witnessing increased demand
and will create new job opportunities for some. Human Resources are the lifeline
of any organization and need to be handled with the utmost care and dignity all
the time, and not just during this crisis. Companies are planning to take various
short-term and long terms HR measures best suited to them in their wisdom.

TalentAhead is constantly monitoring and speaking to various HR Leaders to get

an on-the-ground perspective of the situation. Presented below are some of the
prudent HR measures being taken or envisaged by businesses in India as well as
across the globe.

HR BEST PRACTICES DURING COVID-19

1) Create/Activate an Emergency Response Team

 Ensure that HR is part of an Emergency Response Team. Provide input in

the guidelines to be implemented, gather and share staff and client’s
questions and concerns; inform the team of new developments in
 employment laws and benefits; share revised policies; provide strategies to
manage remote workers; share risks related to the crisis; and make sure that
values and equity are still at the center of decision-making.
 This team should have established meetings on a regular schedule basis to
discuss updates, initiatives, and communication strategies.

2) . Make Communication Deliberate, Consistent, and Over

Communicate if Necessary

 Communication and the actions you take should be thoughtful, clear,

succinct, accurate, consistent, and as transparent as possible. This way of
communication builds trust. Work with leadership and your internal communication
team to build a robust internal updates framework and a communication plan.  Click
here for more information on communications best practices .

 Communicate how to report possible cases of COVID-19 exposure or

diagnoses. Reinforce there will be no retaliation for disclosing this information and
that their confidentiality will be treated with the upmost respect. Share with staff the
status of identified cases (keeping confidentiality), how the organization is
addressing it, and what the organization’s next steps are.

 Be proactive! Anticipate answers to questions and concerns you will face.

Make it easy for staff and clients to ask questions via a specific channel of
communication that creates consistency and follow through.

 Create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that is easily

accessible. Keep it up-to-date and notify staff of changes to the document.

3. Care for Staff! Employee Wellness and Safety Initiatives

  Keep in constant communication with your employees on their physical
and mental health. Staff should hear from leaders often and feel
supported. Practice empathy and address concerns in a prompt matter.

 Safety is basic and essential. Be forthcoming with hygiene and safety practices.
Mitigate employee’s concerns and anxiety by proactively talking about your
organization’s sanitary health practices, safety and health equipment that you are
able to provide, and share the CDC guidelines for basic precautions.

 Encourage social distancing by asking staff to not only limit travel and large
group gatherings, but also avoid handshakes, hugs, and other physical
interactions.

 Continually inform staff of what is included in their benefits plan. Activate your
Wellness Program. Share and connect staff with your Employee Assistant Program
as well as with other Health benefits such as Telehealth.

4. Reconsider Leaves and Policies

 Stay updated. Monitor changes and updates on new employment legislation

that impact employee benefits and leave, like the Families First Coronavirus
Response Act (FFCRA), and communicate those with the Emergency Response
Team to develop solutions around implementation and communication.  

 Define and modify policies, controls, and practices that address these
emergencies. Communicate those changes with transparency through your
leadership.

5. Implement Remote Work Strategies

 Social distancing is key for helping slow down the spread of COVID-19. If
working remotely is a possibility, HR should work with IT to ensure the smooth
transition to a remote work scenario.  
 Activate a Communication Phone Tree, to make sure everyone know the
channels of communication in an emergency.

 Create and share a quick guide for supervisors and employees with best
practices for working remotely. This guide should address efforts to encourage
health and well-being, work engagement, boundaries, and the rhythm and pace of
remote work. Make sure you set up a live meeting to share these practices.

 TSNE has created a Supervisor Guide for Managing Remote Employees  and
an Employee Guide for Remote Working .

6. Avoid Bias, Discrimination, and Exclusion

 Xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism are spreading even more quickly than
the virus itself, and HR must be attentive and continue to build leadership, respect
and equity. Ensure that your organizations talks about this and supports an
environment free from micro-aggressions within your workplace and beyond.

 Ensure that your staff continue to demonstrate respect towards each other
and encourage staff to come forward to HR if they become aware of anti-race
comments, behaviors or jokes. Have clear anti-discrimination policies in place and
they are implemented equitably.

7. Redeployment/ Re-skilling: Companies are doing Competency mapping of

their employees and exploring the possibility of transferring / re-skilling some of
their employees to other divisions/ locations wherever there is a demand or likely
to have demand in near future due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

8. Deferment of Increment and Promotion: Most of the Indian companies are

following the Financial Year i.e. April to March and also carrying out increments &
promotions accordingly. Due to the expected economic downturn, the majority of
companies are holding or deferring both the increments and promotions. This is
the most acceptable solution for all stakeholders.
9. Managing Temporary Employees: Temporary/contract employment, an
effective tool used by companies, cuts across various segments of manpower. On
one hand, we have low-skill or manual jobs and on-the-other, there is
professional staffing for high skills jobs. Normally, temporary/contract employees
tend to be axed first in an economic downturn. Many companies are planning to
do exactly the same, however, there is another set of companies that think
differently.

10. Furlough Leave & Compensatory Working: In Furlough leave, companies

inform employees to go on mandatory leave without pay, however, do not
retrench them. Employees are brought back to payroll at a later date based on
business viability. One of the top hotel chains in the world has recently
announced this in the USA and will send thousands of employees on furlough
leave as a cost optimization measure during this tough time. Some companies are
planning to have compensatory working for the shutdown days as they envisage a
large backlog of work that needs to be completed post-lock-down contingent to
the permissible limit by the labor laws of the country.

11. Holding Performance Pay / Bonus: Companies are also holding or deferring or

totally canceling performance pay and bonuses except for the statutory bonus
which is mandated by the law.

12. Retrenchment and Termination: Organizations periodically rate their

employees and grade them in various categories for the purpose of increments
and promotions. The identified low performers/ non-performers are nudged for
voluntary separation rather than termination. In the emerging scenario, this may
unfortunately accelerate. Some businesses may like to close their non-core/ non-
performing divisions and/or non-performing branches post-lock-down, after
evaluating the impact of the pandemic. Certain mid-sized companies with poor
cash-flows or bleak economic outlook are already resorting to this means. This is
happening at an informal level as employees and may not be reported by the
media.
13. Outplacement and Career transitioning: Certain set of companies who will
carry out down-sizing, believe that they should extend all possible help to this set
of ‘would be left-out’ employees. These companies care about them and provide
Outplacement and Career transitioning services through external consultants.
These external consultants help these employees in counseling, identifying career
opportunities for them in the best possible manner while the fee is paid by the
company itself.

14. Temporary Shutdown/Suspension of Operations: Large companies have

multiple manufacturing plants across the world. They may opt for this option for
one or more plants to optimize their variable and manpower cost, subject to the
local laws in the respective country.

15. Employee Communications: Human Resources play a pivotal role in every

organization. Any of the decisions enlisted above may impact employee morale
and must be well thought-over and executed. The morale of employees
determines customer engagement which directly impacts the business results.
People need to be taken into confidence otherwise, even a well-intended action
may backfire. Hence, employee communication plays a very crucial role in this
phase.

Lastly but most importantly, do not forget to show your humanity and your
compassion. Share strategies on how to stay physiologically resilient in the
midst of these strange and difficult times. Business is not “as usual” right
now, and it will take time to adjust to a new routine. There is still much
uncertainty, and the economic and social impacts of this pandemic will have
long lasting effects .