Hemanth - Aviva Insurance - Covid 19 Strategies

TITLE OF STUDY
“A STUDY ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES

WITH EMPLOYEES OF AVIVA INSURANCE”
As would be expected, the majority of our respondents so far have moved to remote working, but
most have not made positions redundant and have worked to retain staff without using
government subsidies. In some sectors, some additional hiring has been undertaken while in
most, hiring freezes have been put in place.
While there is now a great deal of discussion concerning the impact of Covid-19 on and
implications for working practices and human resource management (HRM), much of the
content and comment on these topics tends to be of a general nature, offering observations
and/or guidance that seek to define what a ‘new normal’ might be. For example, that remote
working will become the norm, or that working practices will become more flexible. While this
may be indeed what happens, because Covid-19 is a global pandemic, we need to understand
its impact on working practices, well-being and HRM in specific contexts. It is likely many
changes will be common across country contexts, but we should also expect, given institutional
differences, that there will be localised nuances. In India, through a survey of andinterviews with
managers and others with people management responsibility, our ongoing research has
highlighted some important outcomes.
First, while the majority of industries have been negatively affected by Covid-19, particular
industries and sectors have been affected positively. For example, in
Second, while many commentators are predicting an increase in remote working in the future,
this is not at all clear from our responses up to now. As we would expect, organisations are
reviewing the effectiveness of remote working almost on a daily basis, but many are yet to make
any commitment to long-term remote working. It appears that organisations do not yet know
how remote working is affecting performance and productivity, which is hardly surprising
given that most are using it for the first time. There is also the requirement of
putting in place new systems, policies and procedures for remote working which in the Indian
context is not something that can be introduced without due diligence. Organisations are
certainly debating the issue with as yet no clear-cut decisions as to whether remote working
will continue beyond the pandemic.
Third, respondents are highlighting some key issues across a range of people management
topics as they work to deal with changing working practices. Overall, the general sense is that
people management is having to become more agile and more responsive as a consequence of
the changed situation. In particular, respondents have mentioned the need to differentiate
between compliance that is required in the Indian context (for example, the importance of
compliance to changing legal circumstances) and compliance with internal policies and
procedures that can be side-stepped to provide greater agility and flexibility. This balancing
act will not be relevant to all national contexts where the law relating to employment matters
can be ignored or side-stepped.
More specifically, respondents have indicated that because many of the central issues involved
in business continuity are around working practices and people management, they themselves
are feeling much more valued. Issues being highlighted by our respondents include the more
prosaic issues of ensuring that staff have functioning technology at home as well as ensuring
effective communication, supervision, productivity and performance management, employee
engagement and support, re-aligning employee benefits and re- designing policies in relation
to remote working. The role of HR professionals and their expertise has increased in
significance in many organisations as they seek to make agile and effective adaptations in the
Indian context.
Fourth, it is also apparent from our study that employee well-being and safety is of crucial
importance. The move to remote working does not suit everyone and even in India, where a full
lockdown has never been implemented, psychological well-being and safety is an issue. The
elements involved in this are obviously many. Not only will individuals respond to the demands
of remote working differently, but the home context will also be specifically important in
influencing well-being and safety, for example, in relation to spatial arrangements and family
demands. These aspects of employee welfare create the need for different and new areas of HR
expertise to be applied in organisations.
Fifth, respondents have highlighted some employee behaviours and actions that they recognize
as having been helpful in business continuity. For example, employee willingness to
collaborate with each other and with human resource professionals and departments in making
changes, and employee willingness to be flexible and adaptable; complying with necessary
changes to safety measures and; a willingness to learn and upskill quickly. Such positive
behaviours have enabled some organizations to manage rapid change effectively. In terms of
unhelpful behaviors, respondents have highlighted that managers have had problems with
accepting remote working because of their perception that it negatively affects performance,
which leads to micro-management. HR professionals need to be expert at advising managers
how to effectively manage performance of a remote workforce, while the issue of micro-
management is often a cover for the lack of trust managers have towards their staff once they
are ‘invisible’.
The issue of trust is clearly important, in that managers who lack trust in their staff in the office
will not suddenly develop it when their staff are working remotely. Given that trust (and fairness)
are central tenets of effective management and employee performance, it is unsurprising that
managers who micro-manage will see a fall in productivity. In the longer term these are issues
that need to be addressed by organisations in a broader context.
From the responses to our study so far, and we continue to gather data, HR professionals and
others with people management responsibilities in India are having to bob and weave almost on
a daily basis. As part of the requirement for them to be more agile, they are having to learn new
skills, develop new expertise and disrupt some old practices. They are having to learn very
quickly how to support remote working. In particular, this is with respect to issues of
performance, changing benefit scenarios and psychological well-being. In addition, they are
dealing with managerial trust issues concerning remote staff and micro-management.
Our respondents are indicating that they have to be much more ‘tech savvy’ in offering support
and in other aspects of their support role as HR professionals. They have also to develop new
policies, but more importantly, practices, with respect to performance management.
Respondents also highlighted that to have business and people management continuity plans
in place has now taken on much greater urgency for the future.
As our international study develops and we gather data from seven countries, as well as
continuing to gather data from India, we will begin to get an increasingly detailed and
inevitably complex picture of the impact of and implications for working practices and HRM
systems of the Covid-19 pandemic. We might assume that some of these issues will be common
in many countries.
CHAPTER 1
INDUSTRY PROFILE
Analysis of financial and tax issues, formulation of solutions, and formulation of suggestions
are all part of the tax advisory service, which is intended to give clients—from individuals to
businesses—advice on taxation. A tax advisor assists an entity in converting personal and/or
professional objectives into targeted action measures intended to improve the entity's tax
status. Clients that use tax planning are better able to grasp how each financial choice will
affect their taxes.
Increase in adoption of tax advisory services for reducing additional taxational costs and
optimizing operations is driving the growth of tax advisory services market. In addition,
digitalization in the business tax advisory services industry, penetration of high-speed internet,
and automation of tax consulting processes are accelerating the tax advisory services market
growth. However, risks of data breaches and cyber-attacks in an online income tax advisory
services platform hamper the growth of the tax advisory services market. On the contrary,
developing economies offer significant opportunities for tax advisory services companies to
expand their offerings, owing to factors such as growth in income, risein resource spending by
SMEs, and technological advancements. Moreover, growth in developments & initiatives
toward digitalized services is anticipated to provide a potential growth opportunity for the
market.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the tax advisory services industry, owing to
drop in demand for tax advisory services globally. However, tax advisory services providers
have taken numerous steps to position themselves for the post-COVID future as they begin their
recovery. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the importance of digital
transformation systems in tax advisory services. Technology-driven tax advisory services
startups are increasingly offering clients digitized and long-term tax filing services through
robo-advisors.
Top Impacting Factors
Rise in demand for tax advisory services among SMEs
Tax advisory services are the best way to provide value for SMEs as it aids in managing their
tax filing processes, tax structuring, tax legislation and regulations compliance to their
businesses. Moreover, according to a recent Accounting Today survey, 78% of small
businesses want an accountant who’s a trusted advisor.
Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs were experiencing lack of proper tax
management strategies; therefore, some major banks collaborated to provide proper tax
advisory services for SMEs. For instance, in August 2021, Gulf Bank collaborated with Balance
Business Advisory, a Kuwaiti SME, to provide tax advisory services to entrepreneurs and SMEs
as part of their continued commitment to their clients in this segment. This collaboration is
rooted in the Bank’s strategy toward providing tax services to the SMEs sector. Thus, rise in
demand for tax advisory services among SMEs is driving the growth of the tax advisory services
market.
Digitalization in tax advisory services
Integration of analytics, cloud, media and social media with business models is driving the
growth of tax advisory services market. In addition, tax advisory firms are providing IT
transformation services to businesses, banks and other organizations to overcome challenges
such as rising stakeholder expectations and declining budgets. Such services include
identifying critical technologies, setting an IT agenda, consolidating, standardizing and
harmonizing IT solutions across business divisions in a cost-effective manner. Moreover, the
digitalization in the tax advisory services has aided the consultants to use various advance
tools such as AI prediction and ML in providing tax advises to the customers. This has resulted
in providing effective and efficient services to the customers. For instance, in August 2022,
Intuit, a global financial technology platform that makes TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma,
and Mailchimp, announced Intuit Tax Advisor (ITA), a new, convenient insights tool for tax
professionals to deliver tax advisory services. Intuit Tax Advisor seamlessly integrates with
Intuit Accountant software, Lacerte and ProConnect Tax, to provide insights and strategies for
the tax professional’s clients. Thus, the digitalization in tax advisory services is propelling the
growth of the market.
Constant rise in global high-net-worth individual (HNWI)
The number of HNWIs are increasing across the globe owing to better financial management
and correct investments. Moreover, given their substantial assets, high-net-worth households
require additional services from financial advisors and wealth managers. Tax advisory
services for HNWIs include tax filings and tax advice as well as help with trusts and estates
and access to hedge funds and private equity firms.
Furthermore, around 13% tax advisor clients fall under the umbrella of high net worth. In
addition, HNWIs are in high demand for tax advisory services as more the money, more work
is required to maintain and preserve those assets. These individuals generally demand
personalized services in estate planning, tax planning, and other. Thus, constant rise in global
high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is propelling the growth of the market.
KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS

• This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends,
estimations, and dynamics of the tax advisory services market forecast from 2021 to
2031 to identify the prevailing market opportunities.
• The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints,
and opportunities of tax advisory services market overview.
• Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable
stakeholders to make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-
buyer network.
• In-depth analysis of the tax advisory services market segmentation assists in
determining the prevailing tax advisory services market opportunity.
• Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to
the global market.
• Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clearunderstanding
of the present position of the market players.
• The report includes an analysis of the regional as well as global tax advisory services
market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth
strategies.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.
According to some Business professionals, employee retention might represent another

major challenge for organizations in the current context of this pandemic pointed out that
during these hard times characterized by drastic and sudden changes, employment
relationships might be damaged, leading to the possible dramatic decrease of employees'
morale and an increase in turnover. Furthermore, according retaining and attracting
qualified individuals represent a challenge for companies in the COVID-19 era, mainly
because these individuals are often looking for job opportunities in sectors that were not
negatively affected by this pandemic. In the same vein, highlighted the importance to
increase the engagement and the sense of belonging among employees, mainly the remote
workforce during this period and beyond, to ensure organizational success, and prevent
recruitment costs.
Working conditions
Working conditions represent ‘the core of paid work and employment relationships. They
‘cover a broad range of topics and issues, from working time (hours of work, rest periods, and
work schedules) to remuneration, as well as the physical conditions and mental demands that
exist in the workplace. The COVID-19 crisis has drastically altered working conditions
in
organizations. Indeed, to ensure their business continuity, most organizations have moved to
remote working, requiring their employees to work from home. For example, Google
announced that its employees will continue working remotely until at least Summer 2021
whereas Twitter's employees were given the opportunity to work remotely indefinitely.
Notwithstanding, the category of employees working from home represents a small fraction of
the overall workforce, mainly because remote working is not suitable for manufacturing
industries and it cannot be applied to all job position. In this context, there were two possible
scenarios for companies whose nature of their business does not allow them to adhere to these
types of working conditions. Either to require their employees to be physically present while
respecting the measures of physical distancing (i.e., allow an interval of 2 min between
individuals) and wearing personal protective equipment or to lay them off. The Study showed
that employees whose job tasks cannot be performed from home are more likely to lose their
jobs. In these circumstances, HRM practitioners are urged to identify the job positions that can
be performed remotely, those which can be performed in the physical workplace, and those
positions that need layoff due to the situation provoked by the pandemic. Therefore, these
unexpected and drastic organizational changes represent significant challenges for managers
and HRM practitioners. In addition, they might have significant implications on employees
mental health and person–environment fit perceived by employe as well as the employee
experience related to the job design, the workspace and interactions with their peers and
managers.
Physical presence in workplaces has been maintained with rigorous protection measures (e.g.,
physical distancing and wearing protection masks) with the implementation of work schedules
for different groups of employees. The principal challenge, in this case, is to ensurethe respect
of these protection measures and to plan work schedules that consider employees' context.
As for remote working, it seems that managers and HRM practitioners have faced major
challenges. First, to ensure that employees working from home have the necessary tools to
perform their job. Actually, remote working requires the availability of technological tools
which will facilitate communication between employees and managers, such as Zoom,
Microsoft remote desktop, team viewer, and Microsoft team, that cannot be afforded by all
organizations, considering that the financial capacity varies from one organization to another.
Second, to ensure for the employees working from home effective communication, supervision,
support, performance management, and a realignment of their compensation. Moreover, HRM
practitioners need to support managers who are leading remote teams for the first time. Finally,
HRM practitioners need to take into consideration the fact that remote working might lead to
employees' isolation due to the absence of interaction between employees, lack of peer advice,
and lack of one-to-one communication which can be sources of stress that might undermine
employees' mental health. It can also be psychologically demanding for these employees
considering the possibilities of family distractions and the multiple roles that they have to
assume while working from home. In addition, the increased use of information and
communication technology (ICT) can lead to the perception of an everlasting urgency,
generating possible expectations about the constant availability of employees. Working from
home can lead, as well, to an increase in the volume of information treated by employees,
considering that they regularly use their emails. Some authors refer toa technostress related to
the use of ICT, which has increased among employees working remotely. This can undermine
the psychological health of employees, especially those who isolate themselves by choosing
only emails as a means of communication.
Many HRM practitioners have implemented some activities to support their employees, such as
creating virtual socialization activities, e.g., virtual lunch or coffee breaks. Undoubtedly, these
practices help to support employees in this tough crisis while they are far from each other, and
from their workplace. However, they also represent a great challenge for organizations,
considering that besides being applied in a context of unexpected changes, these practices are
new for employees and managers, who have not been previously trained or psychologically
prepared for such changes, which may lead to an increase in their perceptions of person–
environment misfit and dissatisfaction if they prefer the face-to-face interactions that they used
to have prior to this pandemic outbreak. Moreover, virtual interactions might affect the
socialization process recognized for its importance to help employees acquire the tacit
knowledge related to the organizational culture, and contributing to its development.
Compensation management
Compensation management refers to the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that employees receive
for performing their job. It encompasses monetary (base pay/bonuses) and non- monetary
rewards (employee benefits). Compensation can influence employees' motivation, performance
and retention. The study by showed that financial benefits such as bonuses during COVID-19
are associated significantly with employees' retention.
As a reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak, some countries have implemented governmental

policies to provide financial support for employees and organizations during this health crisis
and to encourage them to comply with the stay-at-home orders. For instance, in the USA, the
federal government has enacted the temporary paid sick leave, allowing private and public
sectors employees 2 weeks of paid sick leave for isolation, treatment related to COVID-19,
taking care of a member of their family infected by COVID-19, and childcare caused by the
school or daycare closure. Short-time compensation, also known as part-time jobs, has also
been adopted to sustain the economy while protecting business and employees' jobs. It consists
of offering employees a temporary reduction in the number of their working hours which will
help organizations that are experiencing a decrease in the level of demand, to retain their
employees and to avoid layoffs These measures alter compensation strategies and policies
within organizations. Furthermore, they might create a complex and challenging environment
for managers and HRM practitioners. According to some authors, paid sick leave might lead to
an increase in employees' absence in the workplace. But at the same time, it helps to prevent
employees' presenteeism when they are sick. Additionally, this type of government's policies,
such as paid sick leave, help to increase their implementation in industries where employees
have never got such benefits, which suggest that managers and HRM practitioners need to
think about the way to sustain them to avoid losing employees' motivation after the pandemic.
In this context, referred to the importance of intrinsic motivation to retain employees, e.g.,
increasing employee autonomy.
Furthermore, compensation management can be particularly challenging in workplaces where

the risk of contamination is very high, for example in hospitals. In this context, the level of
compensation offered to employees may be questioned, to know if it is high enough considering
the level of risk that these employees encounter daily, individuals use to select jobs based on
their risk tolerance in return for more compensation for higher risks. Generally, the employer's
intervention is oriented toward the necessary control of hazards to be able to
recruit individuals for job positions with higher risks. Hence, in case of a high level of risk
associated with the job position without sufficient compensation, many employees might decide
to leave the organization.
Safety and health management
Employers are responsible for the protection of their employees while they are working. They
must ensure that the workplace is free from any hazard that may psychologically or physically
harm them or cause their death. COVID-19 has generated a new workplace that represents a
significant source of stress for employees and a significant challenge for managers and HRM
practitioners. The impact on employees' health varies based on the working environment andthe
employee's occupational role. Two main challenges can be identified in this context: how to
control the spread of the virus and to protect employees from contagion and how to develop
the employees' awareness about the importance to respect the prevention measures implemented
in the workplace. The WHO has provided guidelines for organizations to ensure the protection
of their employees, nonetheless, controlling employees' behavior might be challenging,
considering that some people may ignore self-isolation instructions.
The recent development of vaccines against COVID-19 has brought the light of hope all over
the world, but it has also generated two additional new challenges for organizations,
specifically the management of the vaccination campaign in the workplace as well as their
capacity to sponsor it and cover its costs, considering the financial difficulties that they have
witnessed due to this pandemic.
COVID-19 is not only a physical health risk, but it also represents a significant risk for
individuals' mental health. It might be psychologically demanding for employees who work
from home, who can feel isolated and torn between their work and their private life. Moreover,
employees who are required to be physically present in the workplace might return to work
with the fear of contracting the virus or transmitting it to their family, which might increase
their level of stress as well as the risk of mental health issues, especially for employees who
were facing high psychological demands at work, prior to the pandemic, or those who have a
high-risk job position, e.g., healthcare workers. The main challenge for managers and HRM
practitioners, in this context, is to identify the risk factors and to
implement the proper prevention measures in the workplace, including for employees
working from home.
Employment relationship
Employment relationship refers to ‘the connection between employees and employers through
which individuals sell their labor. From a labor law perspective, COVID-19 has created
important challenges for employees and employers. Due to the lockdown and mandatory
closure of business both were not able to accomplish their contractual obligations. In fact, the
challenges resulting from COVID-19 have transformed the traditional relationship between
the employee and his employer. Work from home has been implemented in different countries
and companies. Hence, the traditional boundaries of the world of work have disappeared. In
this context, COVID-19 has positioned the government as a planner more than a regulator,
which is challenging for organizations that need to adapt government plans and regulations to
their organizational context, while taking into consideration the needs of their employees.
Considering the novelty of this pandemic, most countries do not only rely on existing
regulations. They have amended, over a short and a prompt period, several labor laws to
support employers and to protect employees. The main challenge was how to protect employees
while ensuring the continuity of the economy. Some countries have adopted laws to structure
and temporarily prohibit collective layoff in organizations. For example, in Italy, a decree law
has been issued to prohibit organizations from initiating a collective layoff procedure for a
period of 60 days. Furthermore, various legal measures and laws have been adopted to support
employees during the lockdown and closure of schools, e.g., employees were given paid leave
to take care of their children. The main challenge is the fact that it is still unclear when
countries can declare the ‘end’ of this pandemic. This represents a critical challenge for
determining the proper period of protection needed by employees, which might undermine the
relationship between organizations, employees, and their representatives. COVID-19 is an
exceptional crisis that has generated extraordinary measures. In some countries, e.g., in
France, remote working is voluntary and cannot be imposed by employers however, as in many
other countries the current situation has led employers to impose this mode of working on
employees whose job position can be performed from home The main
challenge, in this case, is the fact that disputes might arise between employers and the
employees who had not been offered the possibility to work from home or have contracted
COVID-19 at the workplace. In fact, in case of a lack of contractual agreement, it is possible,
according to question the consistency of the employers with the labor laws.
Currently, with the recent development of COVID-19 vaccines, the main challenge for
organizations from an employment relationship perspective is the management of the
vaccination campaign in terms of costs and application, while ensuring compliance with the
country regulations. This development also raises the question about the ability of the employer
to impose it on their employees. The adoption of a rigid, coercive approach could intensify the
reluctance of the individuals who are not sure yet about the vaccine. These authors suggested
that organizations should educate their employees about the benefits of vaccination and should
facilitate it, for example by offering time off for employees for vaccination purposes, rather
than imposing it.
Opportunities, future organizational directions, and insights into HRM interventions
COVID-19 has posed grand challenges for managers and HRM practitioners, but it has also
opened the door to opportunities worth knowing and understanding, that can help
organizations to direct their future actions. Indeed, according to, a crisis might create
unexpected opportunities for organizations. In this section, we will discuss these opportunities
while linking them to the potential future directions in HRM.
COVID-19 has challenged organizations' creativity and innovation and has urged discussions
about the future of work It has accelerated the disruption of HRM as well as the implementation
of scenarios expected for the future. Moreover, it has pushed organizations to rethink their
HRM strategies and to go beyond the traditional models of managing human resources, by
positioning new information technology as an essential partner to survive and to ensure the
sustainability of their business. In this context, new legislation has been adopted in different
countries to support organizations in this sudden and unexpected transformation. For example,
Germany has adopted new legislation to introduce the possibility of video conferencing in two
areas. to support the implementation of remote working in organizations.
Therefore, the normality that seems to be emerging for the moment in workplaces is the
implementation of remote working. However, it is earlier, according to some authors, to
confirm that all organizations which have adopted remote working will continue to adopt it in
the future, beyond COVID-19. They are probably reviewing the effectiveness of this work
organization before taking their decision, considering that they have implemented it for the
first time. Therefore, they do not know yet how it can affect employees' performance and
productivity. However, it seems according to a recent report published by McKinsey Global
Institute which assessed the lasting impact of COVID-19 on labor demands, occupations, and
workforce skills in eight countries (China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, the United
Kingdom, and the United States) that remote work, as well as virtual meetings, will continue
but less intensely than at the peak of COVID-19.
Despite its challenges, remote working offers employees the opportunity to have flexible
working hours, save commuting time, foster job control, and experience the use of new ICT. In
addition, it offers companies the opportunity to optimize the use and save the costs of their
resources, e.g., office space. Actually, business sectors in some countries, for example in Korea,
see growth opportunities in non-contact industries which encompasses telecommunication,
remote support solutions, and online education.
Moreover, COVID-19 offers opportunities for organizations to develop the autonomy of their
employees, upgrade their digital competencies, and broaden the perspective of their
competencies' development. Besides, this pandemic has positioned new technology as a
strategic partner for organizations. It has helped to sustain businesses and to shorten the
distance between employees and their employers while ensuring their safety. It has fostered the
creativity of managers and HRM practitioners and it has facilitated the transition from
traditional face-to-face socialization methods to virtual ones, e.g., virtual meetings, lunches,
and coffee breaks. It has also helped to sustain staffing in organizations while respecting
physical distancing measures.
The new technology has also supported the management of safety and health in workplaces. It
has helped to implement the decision to keep the employees at home and to protect them from
the risk of infection, while they keep on working for the organization. It has also supported
healthcare professionals, e.g., psychologists who have continued to help the population
through telehealth systems while respecting physical distancing measures. In
China, for instance, mental health services have been provided, during the pandemic, using
various channels such as hotlines, online consultations, online courses COVID-19 may
accelerate the adoption of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in sectors with high levels
of human interaction, such as medical care and personal care (e.g., gyms and hair salons).
Hence, it is crucial for organizations to get to grips with ICT and to make it accessible to all its
members, in order to be able to sustain their business during extraordinary crises. Some
authors insisted on the importance of using AI for HRM during a period of a health crisis and
recommended using it as an effective tool to prevent disruptions in operations and management
practices while ensuring physical distancing and the protection of employees recommended the
development of predictive models, which takes into account the risk factors and the
uncertainties in the proactive scheduling and planning of supply, which might help decision
makers to create various dynamic scenarios that can be automatized with the use of AI. The
use of new technology also supports data analytics that can help HRMpractitioners to optimize
and improve HRM functions and practices in organizations, such as workforce planning,
recruitment, and talent management. during this pandemic and beyond.
Identifying the opportunities generated by COVID-19 can help HRM practitioners to develop
the proper HRM interventions and future actions. Nevertheless, it is important to take into
account the fact that organizations all over the world are still witnessing the pervasive effect of
this pandemic that does not seem to end quickly. Undoubtedly, the enhancement of
organizational resilience is required. In this context, organizations need to be able to develop
innovative responses to effectively absorb and face disturbance that threatens their survival.
HRM practitioners should work in collaboration with managers and employees to transform
the challenges brought on by COVID-19 into opportunities, to rethink their HRM functions and
practices, e.g., compensation and performance management, and to adapt them to the
employees' new working conditions generated by the COVID-19 crisis. According to
organizations need to lay new foundations, by redefining the new trends in HRM practices. In
fact, after almost more than 1 year of new functioning based mostly on remote work,
organizations need to re-evaluate their context, compare the new trends in HRM generated by
this unexpected crisis, and assess their applicability.
Considering the unpredictability of the current situation and the high level of doubt
surrounding its end, organizations should opt out to move toward a hybrid workplace model
flexible enough to allow a quick and efficient adaptation of the organization to the
requirements of this new situation and beyond. HRM practitioners need to adapt job positions
and focus on job redesign within the organization. suggested, in this case, emphasizing
necessary tasks and activities related to a job rather than the whole job to increase the
organizations' operational flexibility as well as agility. Employees should receive the necessary
organizational support to acquire the skills needed during this pandemic and beyond, coupled
with the development of career pathways offering possibilities of upward mobility and
enhancing their employability. Such interventions should have a positive impact on employees'
motivation and retention as well as the reduction of the costs related to recruitment. Some
authors go so far as to suggest that organizations should reinvent themselves by the integration
of entrepreneurship competencies among their employees, to help them to learn how to adjust
themselves to the uncertainty that can be generated by an unexpected crisis and to thrive in a
dynamic environment. The field of entrepreneurship might help employees to explore, to
evaluate, and to exploit opportunities that occur in a dynamic and unstable environment,
considering that this field is based on exploration, evaluation, discovery, and the capacity to
transform challenges brought on by an ambiguous context into opportunities.
Besides, the pivotal role of the new information technology during the pandemic should urge
managers and HRM practitioners to explore effective ways to integrate it into HRM and adapt it
to the context of their organization. Moreover, they need to identify the specific training needs,
as not all employees, including managers, have the proper technological competencies. The
involvement of employees is required to ensure the success of this organizational change.
Additionally, sustaining communication with them should help to reduce their stress and
increase their trust in the organization.
Furthermore, employees should be given the possibility to work remotely with the flexibility to
choose when and where to work without limiting the workspace to their home. However,
organizations should provide the possibility to schedule a flexible presence in the office to keep
the employees connected to their workplace, by ensuring the presence of efficient health and
safety measures and facilitating access to vaccination. Considering the blur surrounding
private and professional life boundaries, managers should communicate and discuss with their
employees the expectations of the organizations in terms of performance.
In this regard, managers, supported by HRM practitioners, should review and realign the
performance management system in order to adapt the performance objectives to the new
reality of organizations and employees. They should provide continuous feedback that will
enhance learning and sharing among employees and foster organizational flexibility, agility as
well as employees' motivation and retention. They should also develop wellbeing programs that
aim at protecting employees' mental health, and providing solutions adapted to the needs of
every employee, in terms of resources and social support. Managers should discuss with their
employees the different scenarios of work schedules adapted to the requirements of the current
situation. Also, with the support of HRM practitioners, managers should increase employees'
awareness about the necessity to disconnect from work when it is required to prevent mental
health issues.
In this context, rebuilding the organizational culture is needed to facilitate the adoption of
flexible work arrangements and the transition toward a hybrid working model. Moreover,
developing and maintaining a cohesive culture that supports employees' connections and
interactions is required to encourage social support and collaboration among employees,
particularly those working remotely. In fact, virtual interactions might affect the socialization
process, the acquisition of tacit knowledge related to the organizational culture. This led some
authors to recommend the development and implementation of a digital organizational culture
handbook, which should be made available to employees working remotely through the
organization's intranet, to provide toolkits that support and vehicles symbolic aspects of the
organizational culture, such as values.
Importance of the Topic
In covid-19 The HRM fully focused on the managing the human resource according to the
planned.
Staffing
Staffing refers to ‘ the process of attracting, selecting, and retaining competent individuals to
achieve organizational goals’ It had been greatly impacted by COVID-19, which has reshaped
its dynamic in organizations.
COVID-19 had mostly asymmetric impacts on industries. Some industries were experiencing a
sharp decline in their business leading some of them to temporarily close their shops, whereas
other industries have seen their business flourishing during this pandemic. Therefore, the
repercussions of COVID-19 on staffing differ from one organization to another.
In this context, organizations that were facing financial difficulties due to this pandemic have
adopted downskilling by cutting back on recruitment of high-skill jobs more than low-skill jobs,
to reduce their costs and try to sustain their business they have frozen or cut back all their
recruitment; or they have laid off their employees. Indeed, millions of people found themselves
unemployed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.pointed out that the employment activities have
increased after the companies' reopening in some US states mainly due to thereturn to work of
employees, after lockdown, to their physical workplace. Nevertheless, the reemployment
probabilities diminish significatively for employees who stayed longer away from their
workplace.
Laying off employees is not an easy decision for organizations, but it might be inevitable in
times of crisis such as COVID-19. The main challenge of HRM practitioners, in this case, is to
support managers and employees during this process and to offer proper information.
However, it might not be easy in the context of uncertainty. Actually, all over the world, no one
knows when this pandemic will end and if its consequences on organizations will be temporary
or permanent.
On the contrary, organizations that have expanded their business during the pandemic have
faced other types of staffing challenges. Many of them have opted out for more flexible
employment relationships and subcontracted work, such as temporary agency work,
freelancers, and the gig economy, due to uncertainty generated by COVID-19.
Indeed, these organizations have increased their recruitment, nonetheless, they found
themselves facing the pressure of workforce shortage. In fact, how to recruit employees when
people are afraid of contagion? How to select employees when it is not allowed to meet themface
to face, due to the physical distancing measures? In these circumstances, these
organizations had no other choice than to orient their practices toward virtual recruitment and
selection methods, which might represent another significant challenge for HRM practitioners
as well as job applicants. Not all individuals are comfortable using ICT tools. Also, HRM
practitioners were not prepared for this type of unexpected change. Moreover, virtual selection
methods might affect the ability of potential employees and employers to assess person–
environment fit, which can have a negative impact on employees' productivity and retention.
Besides, the temporary character of flexible employment relationship posed the challenge of
employees' retention.
According to some authors, employee retention might represent another major challenge for
organizations in the current context of this pandemic pointed out that during these hard times
characterized by drastic and sudden changes, employment relationships might be damaged,
leading to the possible dramatic decrease of employees' morale and an increase in turnover.
Furthermore, according retaining and attracting qualified individuals represent a challenge
for companies in the COVID-19 era, mainly because these individuals are often looking for job
opportunities in sectors that were not negatively affected by this pandemic. In the same vein,
highlighted the importance to increase the engagement and the sense of belonging among
employees, mainly the remote workforce during this period and beyond, to ensure
organizational success, and prevent recruitment costs.
Performance management
Performance management is ‘a continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing

the performance of individuals and workgroups and aligning performance with the strategic
goals of the organization. It is crucial to ensure that employees' performance is aligned with
the company's strategic goals.
To sustain the company amid a crisis like COVID-19, employees are still required to maintain
their good performance. However, it seems that the COVID-19 outbreak has also altered
performance management in organizations. According to some authors, most organizations
were overwhelmed by the challenges resulting from COVID-19, such as measuring employees'
performance and the disruption in performance-based pay, that they have reduced or even
abandoned performance management, due to the complexity and the novelty of this pandemic.
In fact, measuring employees' performance during this crisis can be challenging,
considering the modification of the working conditions. Furthermore, there are many factors
related to the COVID-19 outbreak that may influence employees' performance. In this context,
the study by reported that workplace isolation, lack of communication, family distractions, role
overload, and occupational stress factors (role ambiguity, role conflict, career, and job-
control), which have emerged due to COVID-19, mainly among employees working from home
are significant predictors of employees' performance. Furthermore, employees' performance
during remote working is also dependent on managers' understanding of how and what is
required to manage a remote team. Some authors argued that managers might not accept
remote working because they might consider that it affects employees' performance negatively,
which can lead to the adoption of micromanagement that can be perceived by employees as a
lack of trust toward them, which can create tension between them and their supervisor.
According to, it is crucial for organizations during this health crisis to maintain and strengthen
their performance management process. They should communicate relevant information
related to the company's strategic direction to their employees, to collect useful business data,
and to provide feedback to them, which will help these organizations to retain their talents and
to avoid legal suits. added that the frequent appraising of employees' performance fosters their
learning and sharing that can help organizations to win back their business. Considering the
interrelation between HRM functions, the study by showed that compensation might have a
significant impact on employees' performance in the COVID-19 era. Hence, the authors
suggested that organizations should be more concerned about employees' total compensation
(financial and non-financial), and its fairness to sustain and improve their performance during
crises. The main challenge, in this context, might be related to the financial capacity of the
organization during this ongoing pandemic.
Training and career development
Training plays an important role in a period of crisis, such as pandemics. It helps to develop
the needed skills for employees to increase the COVID-19 awareness, to reduce the risk of the
virus spread, and to prevent mental health issues. It also helps to support employees in the
process of transition toward remote working. In fact, not all employees have the proper digital
skills to cope with these changes generated by the use of ICT, whence the necessity to train
them on the utilization of ICT, which will help to facilitate their work and communication with
their manager and peers while they are away from their workplace. According to,
organizations face the challenge of reskilling and upskilling their workforce to be able to deal
with the requirement of new context of ‘ distance economy.’ In this case, the main challenge for
HRM practitioners might be related to the development of a training program adapted to the
new reality of the organization and the employees and to choose the proper training methods,
considering physical distancing measures coupled with the necessity to have employees quickly
operational to sustain the company business. This suggests that managers and HRM
practitioners need to go beyond the traditional training methods. recommended, in this case,
to change employees' training programs in a way that ensures a long-term transition toward
the new working practices.
The success of remote working is also dependent on managers' understanding of the virtual
supervision of employees. In this context, the HRM practitioners should play a strategic role
by supporting and training these managers on how to manage a virtual team, to help them to
overcome these difficulties and to cope with remote working challenges in order to be able to
support their team members.
Besides training, COVID-19 has posed significant challenges related to career development in
organizations. According to some authors, COVID-19 has led to a grand career shock. The
study by based on the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on career outcomes and aspiration
among a panel of 3,821 employees, showed that due to the COVID-19 crisis, employees were
afraid of losing their job in the near future. In addition, some of them expected to miss out on
a promotion that they should have received if this crisis has not happened.
NEED TO STUDY THE TOPIC
The COVID-19 has grandly shaken all organizations, creating a complex and challenging
environment for managers and human resource management (HRM) practitioners, who need to
find ingenious solutions to ensure the continuity of their companies and to help their employees
to cope with this extraordinary crisis. Studies addressing the impact of this crisis
on HRM are sparse. This paper is a general literature review, which aims at broadening the
scope of management research, by exploring the impact of the COVID-19 on HRM. It identifies
the main challenges and opportunities that have arisen from this new pandemic and it offers
insights for managers and HRM practitioners into possible future organizational directions
that might arise from these opportunities.
COVID-19, crisis, human resource management (HRM), remote work, work from home.
COVID-19 is an unprecedented health crisis that has strongly shaken the whole world,
plunging it into great fear and uncertainty. It has heavily impacted economies, societies,
employees, and organizations. This crisis has started first in the city of Wuhan (China), which
has witnessed in December 2019 the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has known a fast spread propelling its status to a global
pandemic on March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020b).
Given the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, these countries have implemented several non-
pharmaceutical measures intended to reduce its spread, such as social distancing. Lockdown
measures have been imposed; people were quarantined; schools, universities, nonessential
businesses, and non-governmental organizations have been temporarily closed; travels were
restricted; flights were canceled; and mass public gathering as well as social events have been
prohibited.
Coupled with these measures, the COVID-19 outbreak had led to a significant slowdown in the
world economic activities, triggering furloughs and layoffs, that led to the increase in the
unemployment rate in many countries. The ‘Current G7 jobless totals vary widely, from 30
million in the United States to 1.76 million in Japan, COVID-19 has generated a situation where
in a short period 50 percent or more of the workforce might not be able to work.
Trying to recover from this economic shock, companies have started reopening, in the mid of
this ongoing pandemic, under extraordinary rules and a new functioning (e.g., physical
distancing in the workplace) that no one can predict when it will end. Therefore, this pandemic
has obviously led to the emergence of a complex and challenging environment for managers
and human resource management (HRM) practitioners who needed to find
ingenious solutions to sustain their company's business and to help their employees to cope
with the challenges of this unprecedented situation. In this context, there are very few studies on
the impact of COVID-19 on HRM, its challenges, and its potential opportunities for HRM in
organizations, whereas managers and HRM practitioners need relevant information that will
help them to go through this crisis effectively and efficiently, to be able to support their
employees and to sustain their company's business. In fact, organizations are generally not
sufficiently prepared to deal with crises when they occur. Whence the importance, for the
scientific community, to support organizations by providing relevant information related to this
new pandemic. Therefore, the principal goal of this research is to investigate the impact of
COVID-19 on HRM, to identify the main challenges and opportunities, and to provide insights
into future directions in HRM. From a scientific perspective, this paper aims at broadening the
scope of management research, considering the scarcity of papers on this topic.
CHAPTER 2
-Review of literature and research design-
The Role of HRM in the Adaptation of the Workforce
Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has created demanding conditions for human resource
managers. In the context of dramatic changes around the world due to the pandemic,
organisations need to respond and adapt to the alterations and accordingly manage the
workforce argues that companies need to prepare for further changes and turbulence times.
They should adopt technologies that are platform-based and develop novel business models.
HRM has a significant role in helping employees to overcome the difficulties brought by the
unexpected changes in the workplace as well as in the society. Besides, the digital and
collaborative skills of the workforce are required to move to the virtual work.
As remote working from home intensifies, HRM has to cope with the stress of their employees
associated with the removal boundaries between work and family.
Moreover, the increasing unemployment due to the recession imposes more pressure on the
people. The International estimates that 195 million full-time workers will lose their jobs
worldwide this year. Therefore, employees need to learn new skills that increase their
employability in the digital space. In this regard, HR managers should elaborate strategies
enabling employees to use advanced technologies as well as update their digital skills. In
addition, lifelong learning and developing talents is still important, but training sessions take
place online. Interestingly, the leaders of the surveyed Chinese companies did not conserve
resources but rather invested intensively to increase their competitiveness.
The research conducted at Microsoft explored that the major difficulties during the pandemic
were business continuity, employee wellbeing, and customer orientation. Managers are
striving to reduce possible harmful effects of working from home help the workers in setting
priorities. On the other hand, less socialisation during the pandemic have implications on the
employees’ mental health. Therefore, HR practitioners need to respond also this challenge by
arranging virtual meetings or online relationships to maintain the motivation and productivity
of employees.
Furthermore, remote working makes it difficult to control and monitor employees’ activities.
The potential solution managers have found is using online dashboards, and digital data for
assessing workload and performance.
In order to build a culture of flexibility, an organisation should enable creativity and agility
without a formal policy guide, and taking into account the individual needs of each employee,
flexibility means a happier and productive workforce.
Thus, HRM should take the lead in helping organisations to navigate through uncertainties,
taking into consideration the needs of developing skills and of maintaining mental wellbeing
of employees. Companies planning for the future need to adjust their focus on business
continuity as well as supporting organisational health.
Consequently, HR professionals have a facilitating and supporting role in this transformation,

but they also take responsibility to retain the employees by upgrading their skills and abilities.
Not only reskilling or upskilling of the workforce is essential, but resilience should be equally,
the extensive survey of 869 teams and 11,011 workers in European countries demonstrates that
remote working is not valuable for all employees and team performance even lowers when
team members work remotely, specifically when they work more than 8 hours per week. Yet
individual performance factors such as work characteristic, satisfaction, and commitment
should also be considered when HRM coordinates flexible or hybrid work. Besides, employees’
wellbeing and health have implications on their outcomes. Consequently, work, and private
life mixture during remote working from home can be the core challenge HRM is facing.
Effects of the Covid-19 Crisis on Georgian Companies
According to the survey of Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the main challenges
companies in Georgia have reported are reduced sales (for 53% of them), the exchange rate
(13%), and transportation problems (13%) (GCCI, 2020). Decreased demand and disruption in
the supply chain among all sectors resulted in decreased revenue; especially the
accommodation and food service companies are negatively affected (Aviva Insurance Georgia,
2020). 63% of surveyed companies stated that their revenues dropped by more than 50% in
comparison with the last year (Aviva Insurance Georgia, 2020). As a result, more than 50% of
companiesin Georgia have reduced staff, and 40% of companies in the tourism sector dismissed
all their employees (Aviva Insurance Georgia, 2020).
It should be noted that the agriculture sector appears to be less vulnerable also in Georgia
(Aviva Insurance Georgia, 2020). However, many companies in other sectors suspended
business operations or even shut down production due to the pandemic, but the most medium
and large companies switched to teleworking (Aviva Insurance Georgia, 2020).
In this light, how does HRM in Georgia affected by the crisis situation, and how HR managers
should overcome the challenges they are facing under the circumstances of uncertainty. In this
vein, the present research includes the recommendations for companies coping the pandemic
crisis from the viewpoint of the HR experts.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In this study the emphasis is on the motivation of employees and HR managers. The scope of
the study involves the implications of HR strategies and it's impact on employees. The
challenges of COVID-19 has created long lasting changes in work-life, balance of employees
which would have created day to day problems in work life.
The economic effect of the global pandemic (Covid-19) includes acceleration of the
digitalisation processes. Companies now need to immediately use digital platforms to enable
access to jobs for their employees. Human Resource Management has an essential role to
play in helping organisation to navigate in the situation of dramatic changes caused by the
pandemic lockdown.
The research is induced by the situation in which business process continuity has been affected
by the regulations aiming to prevent the spread of Covid-19, causing dismissals or reduction
the staff.
The primary data for this research was gathered by semi-structured face-to-face video
interviews. The theoretical framework and research questions were used to structure the data
collection questions and to determine the analytical direction of the study.
The following research questions were determined for this study.
RQ1: Why and how did the Covid-19 affected companies and employees in general, and
particularly in Georgia?
RQ2: Why and how did the pandemic conditions influence the HRM practice in the Georgian
companies?
RQ3: How did HRM respond to the crisis in Georgia and whether HRM strategy has been
worked out for the post-pandemic period?
The research results present remarkable insights for HR managers and organisations. HR
managers need to know how to improve the wellbeing of employees during virtual work in
crisis times taking into consideration personal stress. Besides, internal corporate
communication, company brand image should be in compliance with the organisation’s
approach to the workforce during turbulent times. Overall, the contribution of the manuscript to
scholarship is its suggestion that main challenges triggered by the pandemic lockdown are the
recession when revenues have been decreased enforcing companies to reduce or dismiss the
staff. The research results recommend HR managers to acknowledge their dominant role in the
heart of the changing processes of digitalisation towards remote working models, and of
developing new HR policies. Resilience, flexibility, and adaptability are crucial overcoming
strategies.
The rest of this paper is organised in the following way. First, a review of the literature on the
Covid-19 pandemic crisis is presented. Next, the empirical data collection method as well as
analytical framework is conceptualized. Then, primary research results are discussed followed
by conclusions. Finally, future research topics are considered.
Objectives of the study
1. To examine how COVID-19 impact on Human Resource Management (HRM) strategies.
2. To identify the changes in HRM practices due to COVID-19.
3. To understand how remote work has affected HRM strategies.
4. To analyze the impact of COVID-19 on employee wellbeing and how HRM strategies shave
addressed this issue.
its impact on working practices, well-being and HRM in specific contexts. It is likely many
changes will be common across country contexts, but we should also expect, given institutional
differences, that there will be localised nuances. In Australia, through a survey of and interviews
with managers and others with people management responsibility, our ongoing research has
highlighted some important outcomes.
industries and sectors have been affected positively. For example, in Australia, amidst some
reports of negative impact, many respondents from healthcare and social assistance, public
administration, finance and insurance and mining have reported a positive impact. As would
be expected, the majority of our respondents so far have moved to remote working, but most have
not made positions redundant and have worked to retain staff without using
government subsidies. In some sectors, some additional hiring has been undertaken while in
most, hiring freezes have been put in place.
given that most are using it for the first time. There is also the requirement of putting in place
new systems, policies and procedures for remote working which in the Australian context is
not something that can be introduced without due diligence. Organisations are certainly
debating the issue with as yet no clear-cut decisions as to whether remote working will continue
beyond the pandemic.
Third, respondents are highlighting some key issues across a range of people management
topics as they work to deal with changing working practices. Overall, the general sense is that
people management is having to become more agile and more responsive as a consequenceof
the changed situation. In particular, respondents have mentioned the need to differentiate
between compliance that is required in the Australian context (for example, the importance of
compliance to changing legal circumstances) and compliance with internal policies and
procedures that can be side-stepped to provide greater agility and flexibility. This balancing
act will not be relevant to all national contexts where the law relating to employment matters
can be ignored or side-stepped.
More specifically, respondents have indicated that because many of the central issues involved
in business continuity are around working practices and people management, they themselves
are feeling much more valued. Issues being highlighted by our respondents include the more
prosaic issues of ensuring that staff have functioning technology at home as well as ensuring
effective communication, supervision, productivity and performance management, employee
engagement and support, re-aligning employee benefits and re- designing policies in relation
to remote working. The role of HR professionals and their
expertise has increased in significance in many organisations as they seek to make agile and
effective adaptations in the Australian context.
Fourth, it is also apparent from our study that employee well-being and safety is of crucial
importance. The move to remote working does not suit everyone and even in Australia, wherea
full lockdown has never been implemented, psychological well-being and safety is an issue. The
elements involved in this are obviously many. Not only will individuals respond to the demands
of remote working differently, but the home context will also be specifically important in
influencing well-being and safety, for example, in relation to spatial arrangements and family
demands. These aspects of employee welfare create the need for different and new areas of HR
expertise to be applied in organisations.
Fifth, respondents have highlighted some employee behaviours and actions that they recognise
as having been helpful in business continuity. For example, employee willingness to
collaborate with each other and with human resource professionals and departments in making
changes, and employee willingness to be flexible and adaptable; complying with necessary
changes to safety measures and; a willingness to learn and upskill quickly. Such positive
behaviours have enabled some organisations to manage rapid change effectively. In terms of
unhelpful behaviours, respondents have highlighted that managers have had problems with
accepting remote working because of their perception that it negatively affects performance,
which leads to micro-management. HR professionals need to be expert at advising managers
how to effectively manage performance of a remote workforce, while the issue of micro-
management is often a cover for the lack of trust managers have towards their staff once they
are ‘invisible’.
The issue of trust is clearly important, in that managers who lack trust in their staff in the office
will not suddenly develop it when their staff are working remotely. Given that trust (andfairness)
are central tenets of effective management and employee performance, it is
unsurprising that managers who micro-manage will see a fall in productivity. In the longer
term these are issues that need to be addressed by organisations in a broader context.
From the responses to our study so far, and we continue to gather data, HR professionals and
others with people management responsibilities in Australia are having to bob and weave
almost on a daily basis. As part of the requirement for them to be more agile, they are having to
learn new skills, develop new expertise and disrupt some old practices. They are having tolearn
very quickly how to support remote working. In particular, this is with respect to issues of
performance, changing benefit scenarios and psychological well-being. In addition, they are
dealing with managerial trust issues concerning remote staff and micro-management.
Our respondents are indicating that they have to be much more ‘tech savvy’ in offering support
and in other aspects of their support role as HR professionals. They have also to develop new
policies, but more importantly, practices, with respect to performance management.
Respondents also highlighted that to have business and people management continuity plans
in place has now taken on much greater urgency for the future.
As our international study develops and we gather data from seven countries, as well as
continuing to gather data from Australia, we will begin to get an increasingly detailed and
inevitably complex picture of the impact of and implications for working practices and HRM
systems of the Covid-19 pandemic. We might assume that some of these issues will be common
in many countries.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Sampling
The number of potential interviewees is determined by the research question, as well as by
accessibility to and availability of experts (Baker and Edwards, 2012). It should be noted, that
the number of experts may be limited in the particular area, and hence maximum ten interviews
should be conducted (Baker and Edwards, 2012). Ten interviews with experts is considered to
be sufficient to analyse appropriately. However, data collection should stop when saturation
is reached. Purposive sampling is a broadly used method in nonprobability sampling the size
of which depends on the idea of saturation meaning that “no new information or themes are
observed in the data. Based on the results of their research, saturation takes place within the
first twelve interviews, however fundamental themes occur within the first six interviews
confirmed that sampling in expert interviews should be kept as long as it brings new insight,
and terminate when there is no new knowledge obtained.
Totally, 33 experts were invited to the face-to-face video interview, from which 10 were actually
interviewed. Experts were recruited through the professional contacts of the researcher.
Initially, we contacted them via Email explaining the purpose of the research and sending them
preliminary interview questions.
The respondents are experts of the domain of human resource management, and the data they
provided is true reflection of current state in this area. Their experience and insight allow
gathering primary data from various background and experience in order to study the impact of
the crisis.
The experts stem from various organisations ranging from consulting companies to training
centres to universities. Namely, Training and Consulting: n=6, University: n=3, only
Consulting: n=1. Seven of the interviewees were female, and three – male. Their working
experience in HRM consulting, training, and research field ranges between 9 and 25 years (see
Figure 3).
Tools for Data Collection
For this research, exploratory qualitative approach was used, as its aim was to study the impact
of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis on the organisations and in particular on HRM. The semi-
structured open interview was considered to be appropriate as it provides the room to explore
the thoughts and reflections of an expert.
For the expert interview, the following procedures were implemented (Figure 1): After
selecting a research topic, preparation and planning phase begun, which followed by
conducting sessions of video interviews. Then transcripts of the recorded interviews were
made. Afterwards the data were analysed, discussed, and interpreted, and finally conclusions
and recommendations based of the results were made.
Figure 1: Research Procedure
3.1 Data Collection Instrument
The methodology of the research is determined by the research questions, and qualitative
research approach help researchers to discover instead of testing variables.
3.2 Expert Interview
The Expert Interview Method was applied to collect data for this study. The expert interview as
an exploratory tool is considered as a widely used in empirical studies for the data gathering.
An expert possesses technical, interpretative, process knowledge in a specific competences

field, and has experience. An expert has access to information and can solve problems in their
field of expertise. Competent experts have relevant education and skills, position, work
experience in the area of the research topic, as well as they can be publicly recognised.
Based on the abovementioned research regarding expert definition, the following criteria were
developed to invite experts for the interview (Figure 2): (1) having theoretical
knowledge as well as expertise gained in praxis in the area of human resource management,
(2) having experience in working with organisations regarding human resource management
issues, (3) be involved in research at the university level, or in consulting, and training
activities and hence, have direct connections with HR managers in Georgian companies.
Thus, the experts invited to participate in this research are close to the various organisations
in Georgia because of their work, and have frequent and immediate relations with HR
managers in the course of their day-to-day activities. Consequently, they regard the present
situation and effects of the pandemic.
Figure 2: Experts Selection Criteria
Data collection from an expert interview involves the video recording, transcript in Georgian
and translation into English. The face-to-face expert interviews were conducted in April and
May this year through online video platform Zoom. Every interview was prescheduled, carried
out in the Georgian language, and transcripts were later translated into English. The depth
interview with an individual expert took between 23 and 46 minutes. The experts were asked to
allow video-recording in Zoom in order to transcript it later. They were ensured that their
personal data will be protected.
The semi-structured interview followed similar guideline that enabled to compare data, and to
keep the interview within the topic boundaries. At the end of the interview, the last question
was about their additional comments or viewpoints they thought it could be important to this
study.
The questions were based on the current literature, and relied on the expert answers to pose
additional questions. The questions were open-ended and comprehensive answers were
expected. Overall, the interview outline consisted of 9 questions covering the 6 main themes
(Table 1).
Sources of data collection
Primary Data
Interview with employees and Professionals
Secondary Data
Internet source and as per primary dat.
Interviewed experts confirm that the unexpected emerged situation provoked apparently a
shocking reaction, and exposed that companies were inexperienced in crisis management. It
took Georgian companies at least 2 weeks to switch to online mode. First of all, service
companies were extremely affected, as they could not meet customers face-to-face, so those
activities were totally cancelled. Even when service companies managed to transform their
offers such as training, consulting, or coaching sessions to online working systems, not all of
their clients were ready to accept the digital services, and preferred to wait until the crisis is
over. The interviewees clearly state the problem of flexibility among Georgian companies.
Plan of Analysis
At the stage of the analysis, the collected data through the expert interview were interpreted
and analysed with the approach of qualitative content analysis.
The systematic analysis includes concepts, themes, and categories derived from the data, which
are discussed. The thematic parts and passages with similar elements have been noticed.
Additionally, the data were grouped and labelled by category; relevant themes to the research
questions were determined to make connections.
Thus, themes, issues, categories were identified, patterns were discovered in the content, and
were labelled appropriately. Then, data were sorted according to similar themes and
subthemes as well as conflicting points of view. Thematically similar passages from different
expert interviews were put together as described to further conceptualize and reveal the
commonly shared expert opinions.
Limitation of the study
The experts reported in the interviews that the crisis significantly has reflected the corporate
brand and organisational culture. The pandemic crisis showed how corporate brand actually
corresponds to the communicated brand, and it have had either a positive or drastically
negative impact on the relationships between management and employees. The company image
can face the challenge caused by the organisation’s attitude towards employees during the
pandemic period. The experts see significant failures in internal corporate communications as
well.
During the pandemic period, some companies experience high turnover because the
management demonstrated values different those from employees. Obviously, not all
companies have taken responsibility for their workers. Dismissals, cuts in salaries, granting
unpaid leaves have led to the changed attitudes towards the organisation.
its impact on working practices, well-being and HRM in specific contexts. It is likely
many changes will be common across country contexts, but we should also expect, given
institutional differences, that there will be localised nuances. In India, through a survey of and
interviews with managers and others with people management responsibility, our ongoing
research has highlighted some important outcomes.
industries and sectors have been affected positively. For example, in
given that most are using it for the first time. There is also the requirement of putting in place
new systems, policies and procedures for remote working which in the Indian context is not
something that can be introduced without due diligence. Organisations are certainly debating
the issue with as yet no clear-cut decisions as to whether remote working will continue beyond
the pandemic.
1. COMPANY PROFILE
HISTORY
❖ Aviva is UK‟s largest and the world’s fifth largest insurance Group.
❖ It is one of the leading providers of life and pensions products to Europe and has substantial
businesses elsewhere around the world.
❖ With a history dating back to 1696, Aviva has a 40 million- customer base worldwide.
❖ It has more than £377 billion of assets under management. In India, Aviva has a long history
dating back to 1834. At the time of nationalization, it was the largest foreign insurer in India in
terms of the compensation paid by the Government of India.
❖ Aviva was also the first foreign insurance company in India to set up its representative office in
1995. In India, Aviva has a joint venture with Dabur, one of India's oldest, and largest Group of
companies.
❖ A professionally managed company, Dabur is the country's leading producer of traditional health
care products.
❖ In accordance with the government regulations Aviva holds a 26 per cent stake in the joint venture
and the Dabur group holds the balance 74 per cent share. 26% DABUR AVIVA 74% With a
strong sales force of over 28,000 Financial Planning Advisers (FPAs), Aviva has initiated an
innovative and differentiated sales approach to the business.
❖ Through the “Financial Health Check” (FHC) Aviva’s sales force has been able to establish its
credibility in the market.
❖ The FHC is a free service administered by the FPAs for a need- based analysis of the
customer’s long-term savings and insurance needs. Depending on the life stage and earnings of
the customer, the FHC assesses and recommends the right insurance product for them.
❖ Aviva pioneered the concept of Bancassurance in India, and has leveraged its global expertise
in Bancassurance successfully in India.
❖ Currently, Aviva has Bancassurance tie- ups with ABN Amor Bank, American Express Bank,
IndusInd Bank, Centurion Bank of Punjab, The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. and Punjab & Sind
Bank, Co-operative Banks in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, West Bengal,
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and regional Banks. When Aviva entered the market, most
companies were offering traditional life products.
❖ Aviva started by offering the more modern Unit Linked and Unitised With Profit products to the
customers, creating a unique differentiation.
❖ Aviva’s products have been designed in a manner to provide customers flexibility, transparency
and value for money.
❖ It has been among the first companies to introduce the more modern Unit Linked products in
the market.
❖ Its products include: whole life (Lifelong), endowment (LifeSaver, Easy Life Plus, LifeSaver
Plus), child policy (Young Achiever, Save Guard Junior, Aviva Little Master) single premium
(Life Bond and Life Bond Plus), Pension (Pension Plus), Term (Life Shield), fixed term
protection plan (Freedom Life Plan) and a tax efficient investment plan with limited premium
payment term (LifeBond5).
❖ Aviva products are modern and contemporary unitised products that offer unique customer
benefits like flexibility to choose cover levels, indexation and partial withdrawals.
❖ Aviva’s Fund management operation is one of its key differentiators. Operating from Mumbai,
Aviva has an experienced team of fund managers and the range of fund options includes
Unitised With-Profits Fund and four Unit Linked funds: - Protector Fund, secure Fund,
balanced Fund and Growth Fund.
❖ Aviva has 176 Branches in India (including rural branches) supporting its distribution network.
❖ Through its Bancassurance partner locations, Aviva products are available in close to 500
towns and cities across India Aviva is also keen to reach out to the underprivileged that have
not had access to insurance so far.
❖ Through its association with Basix (a micro financial institution) and other NGOs, it has been
able to reach the weaker sections of the society and provide life insurance to them.
❖ Aviva has been felicitated with the "Bronze Award for Excellence in People Management" by
Grow Talent Company Limited and Businessworld.
❖ This honor is given to Aviva based on the ranks received in top 25 list of the Great Place to
Work India studies conducted in the last four years. Aviva was ranked 12th in 2003, 14th in
2004 and 13th in the year 2005.
JOIN VENTURE
Dabur Founded in 1884, Dabur is one of India's oldest and largest group of companies with
consolidated annual turnover in excess of Rs 1,899 crores. A professionally managed company, it is the
country's leading producer of traditional healthcare products. Aviva is UK‟s largest and the world’s
fifth largest insurance Group. It is one of the leading providers of life and pensions products to Europe
and has substantial businesses elsewhere around the world. With a history dating back to 1696, Aviva
has a 40 million customer base worldwide. It has more than £377 billion of assets under management.
Competitors of AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE
• LIC • ICICI PRUDENTIAL. • BIRLA SUN LIFE • BAJAJ.ALLIANZE • S.B.I LIFE INSURANCE •
HDFC STANDARD LIFE • TATA AIG • MAX NEWYORK • MET LIFE Comparison between the share
of LIC and other Private Players in Indian Market 22% LIC Private Players 78%
AVIVA‟s Vision Aviva
where exceeding expectations through innovative solutions is "our" way of life This is the compelling
vision that Aviva India has created through the active contribution of its employees. These lines not
only define the way they live and work but also serve as a reminder to deliver the best to their
customers, shareholders, colleagues, partners & employees at all times. Embedded in this vision are
the core values of Integrity, Customer centricity, Passion for winning, Innovation and Empowered team
that they have collectively defined and committed to working towards.
Partners
Aviva has committed to help its customers get 'Kal par Control' and make the most out of their lives. It
is their constant endeavour to ensure that their customers have easy access to AVIVA products and
services at all times. Aviva has pioneered bancassurance in the country through its tie-ups with 22
leading private and nationalised Banks in the country. Aviva also focuses on bancassurance worldwide
and has a proven track record of successful bancassurance relationships. It has 40 major partnerships
with leading banks across the globe. Aviva is a leading bancassurer in countries such as France, Italy,
Spain, Australia and New Zealand. • ABN AMRO Bank • American Express Bank • The Lakshmi Vilas
Bank Ltd • Canara Bank • Punjab & Sind Bank • Centurion Bank of Punjab • IndusInd Bank
Aviva’s key values
In line with their vision statement and one of Aviva’s key values - Innovation, the Company introduced
the popular „Ideas 4 Aviva‟ scheme. This is an enriching programme in which every member of Aviva
has an open invitation to influence any aspect of business by giving suggestions and ideas on how to
work smarter and better. Build Shared Vision and Purpose “You feel as if you are part of the system
when you are included in all the decisions being made for your function.” As a Company, they
encourage self-starters. Given their dynamic environment, one is expected to deliver from day one.
Somewhere between adjusting to the new environment and proving their worth they forget to ASK. Ask
basic questions About the facilities, infrastructure, processes, key people and dynamics of the
Organization etc. Information, which if provided on time can be very useful. This is how the „Buddy
Programme‟ was envisaged. Launched in July 2003, it addresses the need of a new employee in terms
of extending a friendly hand apart from the support provided by the Line and HR managers. The
objective is simple: To facilitate a seamless transition of the new hire into the Aviva family.
Career Management Campus Programme
They have a robust Campus Programme, which is aimed at hiring students fresh from key B-Schools
and providing them with structured inputs and an environment for their personal and professional
growth. The Summer Trainee Programme is designed to expose them to the vibrancy of a complex and
competitive business environment, challenge intellectually and encourage them to find innovative
solutions. Leadership Development To strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities required to operate in a
fiercely competitive and dynamic insurance market environment and plan effective succession planning
by building futuristic leadership competencies, various initiatives are taken by the Aviva Group Reward
and recognize performance To build a meritocratic environment, they have implemented a robust value
based performance management process wherein they recognize significant contributions made by
their employees in an objective and transparent manner and on demonstrated competence levels.
Further, they also recognize people who 'walk that extra mile' in living the Aviva values.
Products & Services
They have a full range of transparent, flexible and value for money products that include whole life
(lifelong), endowment (LifeSaver, easy Life Plus, LifeSaver Plus), child policy (Young Achiever, save
Guard Junior, Aviva Little Master) single premium (life Bond, life Bond Plus), Pension (pension Plus),
Term (life Shield), fixed term protection plan (Freedom life Plan) and a 5 year recurring premium
investment cum protection plan (LifeBond5). Aviva products are modern and contemporary unitised
products that offer unique customer benefits like flexibility to choose cover levels, indexation and
partial withdrawals. They also offer customer a choice of investment options. They can choose between
their unit linked fund or our with profit fund. With Profits Fund guarantees that the selling price of the
units will never fall. The unit value of this fund is increased by crediting bonuses on a daily
compounding basis. The fund provides investment security to the capital. The Unit Linked Fund is
designed to provide relatively more progressive capital growth wherein customer automatically receive
the benefit related to the investment performance of the fund. Under Unit Linked Fund, on some of our
products they offer a choice of fund options: • Protector Fund • Secure Fund • Growth Fund •
Balanced Fund
AVIVA GROUP
• A UK based insurance group, whose association with India dates back to 1834.
• Serves 33 million customers across 16 countries
INDUSTRY PROFILE
In the life insurance industry, analytics can help a company create a comprehensive roadmap for
managing the entire lifecycle of a customer, from acquisition to lapse2 or maturity. Analytics also
helps an insurer gain an enterprise-wide view of a customer to gather insights and identify
opportunities across all business lines.
In the life insurance industry, analytics can help a company create a comprehensive roadmap for
managing the entire lifecycle of a customer, from acquisition to lapse2 or maturity. Analytics also helps
an insurer gain an enterprise-wide view of a customer to gather insights and identify opportunities
across all business lines.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Financial services deal with the management of money. Any company involved in the management
money are banks, credit unions, credit card companies, insurance suppliers, consumer finance,
brokerage, and investment funds.
Financial service companies are highly regulated and audited. The term "financial services" became
more prevalent in the United States partly as a result of the GrammLeachBliley Act of the late 1990s,
which enabled different types of companies operating in the U.S. financial services industry at that time
to merge. Global Financial Services industry includes, but is not limited to Automotive Financing,
Credit Card, Financial Planning, Online Investing, Smart Cards, Insurance, Debit Cards, Online
Banking and Real Estate.
Market reports are available in this Financial Services category will help you research specific topics
or organizations operating in this industry. Market research reports provides insights into product and
market trends, opportunities, projections, sales, and marketing strategies. Specifics on
GROWTH
Life insurance has always been a competitive business. Today, amid uncertainty and rising costs,
insurers can increase top and bottom-line growth by acquiring and retaining the most profitable
customers. However, identifying profitable customers and keeping them requires a structured customer
relationship management strategy.
An important tool for customer relationship management is analytics. Analytics can be defined as
“…studying past historical data to research potential trends, to analyse the effects of certain decisions
or events, or to evaluate the performance of a given tool or scenario. The goal of analytics is to
improve the business by gaining knowledge, which can be used to make improvements or changes.
”1 In the life insurance industry, analytics can help a company create a comprehensive roadmap for
managing the entire lifecycle of a customer, from acquisition to lapse2 or maturity.
Analytics also helps an insurer gain an enterprise-wide view of a customer to gather insights and
identify opportunities across all business lines. In this paper we will look at how analytics can help life
insurance companies acquire and retain customers.
The payment market is changing in line with consumer behaviour. A few trends affecting the payment
market are the cashless economy, mobile banking, instant payments, digital commerce, and the
growing impact of regulatory agencies.
Contactless payments also make the payment process easier and are more convenient for consumers,
who benefit from shorter lines, cash-on-hand issue elimination, and faster moving queues.
The Asia Pacific region is anticipated to witness significant growth in the market studied as countries,
such as China and India, adopt the digital mode of payment using digital and mobile wallets. The
ubiquitous mobile devices, advanced digital infrastructure, and the growing usage of apps drive
digital/mobile wallets, which are growing rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the global
payment report 2020, digital and mobile wallets account for 58% of regional e-commerce payments
and are expected to reach 68.2% by 2023.
Industry Scenario
India’s premium share in global life insurance and non-life insurance market was at 2.73%
and 0.79% respectively, during 2019.
• The total insurance penetration in India was at 3.76% in 2019 (life insurance 2.82% and non-
life 0.94%) and the total insurance density in India was at $78 in 2019-20 (life insurance
density: $58, non-life insurance: $19).
• In terms of the size of insurance industry in India, the share of life insurance in total
premium in India is 74.94% and the share of non-life premium is 25.06% (2019-20)
• Life insurers recorded new business premium of INR 2.78 Tn ($38 bn) in FY21 growing at
7.49% over the last year with private life insurers growing at 16.29%. Private Life
Insurers account for 33.8% of the industry’s new business premium (FY21) with the rest being
accounted for by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
• The Life Insurance Industry in India recorded a total premium of INR 5.73 Tn ($81.3 bn) in
FY20 witnessing a growth of 12.75% over the previous year and the private insurers accounted
for 33.7% of total premium underwritten by the industry. New business premium contributed
45.25% of the total premium and witnessed a strong growth of 20.59% over FY19. 60% of the
new business premium was derived from single premium with remaining 40% accounted for by
first year premiums
• The traditional (non-linked) products accounted for 85% of the total premium written in FY20
and share of ULIPs (linked products) in the total premium stood at 15%.
• During the last year (FY20), life insurers issued 288.47 lakh new individual policies, out of
which LIC issued 75.9% of policies and the private life insurers issued 24.1% of policies.
• In FY21, non-life insurers (comprising general insurers, standalone health insurers and
specialized insurers) recorded a 5.19% growth in gross direct premiums.
• The market share of private sector companies in the general and health insurance market has
increased from 47.97% in FY19 to 48.03% in FY20.
• Motor insurance accounted for 34.1% of the non-life insurance premiums earned, followed
by health insurance at 29.5%, in FY21 Post-Covid rising demand for personal mobility space is
leading to a shift in vehicle ownership patterns and may create an opportunity for motor
insurers
• Health insurance witnessed 13.3% growth in GDPI in FY21, while fire insurance and liability
insurance observed 28.1% and 16.4% growth respectively in the same period
• Government schemes and financial inclusion initiatives shall have helped in driving the
adoption & penetration across all segments. The government’s flagship initiative for crop
insurance (PMFBY) has led to significant growth in the premium income for crop insurance,
and now covers over 55 million farmer applications year-on-year. Even during the COVID-19
lockdown period, nearly 70 lakh farmers have benefitted from it, and claims worth INR 87.4
bn ($1.2 bn) were transferred to the beneficiaries.
• AB PM-JAY is an entitlement-based scheme under Ayushman Bharat and is fully funded by the
Government. It is the largest health assurance scheme in the world and aims at providing a
health cover of INR 500,000 ($6,900) per family per year for secondary and tertiary care
hospitalization to over 107 million vulnerable families (approximately 500 million
beneficiaries).
• The insurance regulator IRDAI has also undertaken various initiatives towards boosting the
insurance penetration, such as permitting insurers to conduct video-based KYC, launching
standardized insurance products and allowing insurers to offer rewards for low-risk behaviour.
• Going forward, general insurance companies will be key beneficiaries of the opening-up of
economies, especially with improved trade activity increasing demand for motor and health
insurance. Strong growth in the automotive industry over the next decade is expected to boost
the motor insurance market. Meanwhile, the life insurance sector will benefit from a steep yield
curve, with low short-term rates and higher long-term rates.
• Digital issuance and online channels are expected to witness continued growth, the share of
web aggregators within digital insurance has been constantly increasing and web-aggregators
currently originate 30-40% of digital insurance.
• The total mortality protection gap in India stands at $16.5 Tn (as of 2019) with an estimated
protection gap of 83% of total protection need. This offers a huge opportunity to life insurers
with an estimated additional life premium opportunity of average $78.2 bn annually over 2020-
30
• The retail protection sum assured is estimated to grow 8X by over 2020-30, implying 23%
premium CAGR
• India is the 2nd largest Ensures market in the APAC region, accounting for 35% of the $3.66 bn
capital invested in this region. The online individual insurance market opportunity is estimated
to be $1.25 bn by FY25 more than tripling from $365 Mn in FY20.
• The growth of the insurance market is being supported by important government initiatives,
strong democratic factors, conducive regulatory environment, increased partnerships, product
innovations, and vibrant distribution channels.
• The increase in the FDI in Insurance from 49% to 74% announced in the Union Budget
(Feb’21) shall further help in driving increased penetration and coverage by enabling
additional avenues for capital support required for the expansion of the insurance industry in
India.
• The recent pandemic has emphasized the importance of healthcare on the economy, and health
insurance would play a critical role in the effort to strengthen the healthcare ecosystem.
Research Findings and Discussion
Disruptions in HRM Caused by Pandemic
Interviewed experts confirm that the unexpected emerged situation provoked apparently a
shocking reaction, and exposed that companies were inexperienced in crisis management. It
took Georgian companies at least 2 weeks to switch to online mode. First of all, service
companies were extremely affected, as they could not meet customers face-to-face, so those
activities were totally cancelled. Even when service companies managed to transform their
offers such as training, consulting, or coaching sessions to online working systems, not all of
their clients were ready to accept the digital services, and preferred to wait until the crisis is
over. The interviewees clearly state the problem of flexibility among Georgian companies.
“Some companies cannot be so flexible; especially large companies find it difficult to transfer
all processes online quickly” (R4, my translation).
The main focus in Georgian economy has been on tourism and entertainment industries in
terms of revenue, as this industry enables to make relatively more profit with relatively less
investment. In consequence of the pandemic lockdown, Georgian companies in tourism,
hospitality, food, and entertainment business have encountered serious problems. Companies
are now attempting to focus merely on survival. “It is no longer a question of profit, but to
survive in the market” (R6, my translation).
In the field of tourism, it has become clear that many companies have closed or are on the
verge of closing. For that reason, many people have become unemployed, and overall, the
purchasing power of the population is falling.
In general, the respondents mentioned three types of cases they observed in terms of
companies’ attitudes towards employees: (1) Some companies have been closed and hence
dismissed all employees. (2) Many companies have retained employees by sending to unpaid
leaves. (3) There are companies that retained employees giving them salaries. However, some
companies managed only to retain the senior staff with salaries (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Type of Georgian companies according to their approach towards employees
Moreover, the recruitment of new staff has been reduced as well, companies do not intend to
hire new workers at the moment. “Companies hire only temporarily with contract to carryout
ongoing projects” (R5, my translation).
In addition, systemic deficiencies and unpreparedness have been reported in many cases in
terms of business continuity.
Major Obstacles for HRM Concerning the Workforce
The experts reported in the interviews that the crisis significantly has reflected the corporate
brand and organisational culture. The pandemic crisis showed how corporate brand actually
corresponds to the communicated brand, and it have had either a positive or drastically
negative impact on the relationships between management and employees. The company image
can face the challenge caused by the organisation’s attitude towards employees during the
pandemic period. The experts see significant failures in internal corporate communications as
well.
During the pandemic period, some companies experience high turnover because the
management demonstrated values different those from employees. Obviously, not all
companies have taken responsibility for their workers. Dismissals, cuts in salaries, granting
unpaid leaves have led to the changed attitudes towards the organisation.
According to the expert R3:

“Those who stay in such a situation because they did not have any other job opportunities at
the moment, are demotivated, which definitely affects the company in the short- and medium-
term; this will influence the quality of service, the products as well as on the clients” (my
translation).
Even when all employees have not been fired, the psychological stress, fear, and insecurity of
the rest workforce are so high that the degree of loyalty in organisations decreases. Moreover,
when the employees leave companies, the knowledge such as experience, skills, internal
communications, might be lost, and organisational culture suffers eventually.
Although many companies have overcome many challenges during the lockdown, the most of
them have not yet had any prevention mechanism in place.
Interviewees were concerned about the challenges HR managers have faced in the course of
the Covid-19 crisis. HR professionals needed to try to prevent dismissals and retain employees.
Regarding the impact on employees’ development, Georgian companies facing the recession
due to the pandemic, will not be able or willing to invest in human potential development. As the
management is trying to save costs, yet without trainings, consulting, and coaching employees
could not be developed, which causes problems to HRM function in accomplishing their goals.
Besides, companies are trying to spend less on employee development, which will have impact
on employee motivation, retention, well-being, as well as on company’s effectiveness, further
advancement, and its ultimate success on the market.
In the opinion of experts, the main challenge was that companies had to quickly switch to
different behaviours i.e. working from the office to remote working systems using online tools.
However, not everyone was able or ready to make such big changes, but they rather suspended
the operations until the virus passes, as they believe that everything will go back to the usual
circle again.
Besides, HRM function does not possess the necessary knowledge in technologies, and hence
was not able to take a leadership in this process on their own. They faced also the
administration challenges such as management of dismissal, regulations, and so on. For
example, many HR specialists were not willing to conduct training sessions through the
Internet, and postponed those activities until it is possible face-to-face. However, some
companies still invited motivational speakers for online speech session to motivate their
employees.
HR managers have encountered challenges regarding safety regulations too, and worried that
their staff might become ill with the virus. HRM has been concerned about interpreting and
clarifying the regulations concerning the coronavirus issues. As stated by the experts,
administrative workload has been reduced to HR professionals during the remote working
period, however they had additional work to do in order to figure out and interpret the new
regulations for their businesses, for their workplaces.
Table 2 summarizes the main findings regarding the challenges an organisation, HR

management, and employees have encountered as mentioned by the respondents.
Challenging areas to
organisations Challenges to Employees Challenges to HRM
Corporate Brand/ Image

Managing panic
Organisational Culture/
Avoiding dismissals
Organisational values Stress
Retaining employees
Uncertainty/ Unemployment
Crisi Remote / online
Unpaid leave
s Management Management
Adaptability to remote
Business closure / Suspended Lack of Knowledge in
working
operations Technologies
Lack of Knowledge in
Regulations/ Imposed Fines Lack of
Online tools
crisis
Financial difficulties
Management skills and
Flexibility knowledge
Digitalisation New safety regulations

CHAPTER 4
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
❖ Data Analysis
4.1 Table showing the gender of the Respondents.
Gender No. of Respondents Percentage

Male 61 60.8
Female 39 39.2
Total 51 100
Source: Primary Data
ANALYSIS
From the above table, it can be analyzed that 60.8% of the respondents are male and 39.2% of
the respondents are female. It is concluded that male respondents are more than the female
respondents.
Figure 4.1
INTERPRETATION
From the above pie chart we can interpret that there are more males working in the organization
when compared to females.
4.2 Table showing Age Group of the Respondents.
Age Group No. of Respondents Percentage

Below 20 8 18.18
21-40 18 40.91
41-60 2 4.55
Above 60 16 36.36
Total 44 100
ANALYSIS
From the above table it can be analyzed that 18.18% belongs to the age of below 20, 40.91%
belongs to the age of 21-40, 4.55% belongs to the age of 41-60 and Above 60% belongs to the
age of 51-60.
Figure 4.2
INTERPRETATION
From the above column graph it can be interpreted that most of the employees who are working
in the organization belongs to the age group between 31-40. So, on the majority basis it can be
concluded that most of the employees belongs to the middle age group i.e. between 20-40.
4.3 Table showing That education qualification.
Education No. of Respondents Percentage

High school diploma 5 9.09
Bachelors 10 35.3
Masters degree 20 45.1
Professional degree 15 35.3
Total 51 100
ANALYSIS
From the above table it can be analyzed that 18.18% are having a Education Qualification than
3 years, 40.91% are having a service of less than 8 years, 9.09% are having a service less than
15 years and 31.82% are having a service of more than 15 years.
Figure 4.3
INTERPRETATION
From the above bar graph it can be interpreted that most of the employees are having a service
of 3 to 8 years in the organization. So, it can be concluded that most of the employees who are
working in the organization are in the middle of their service.
4.4 Table showing Primary Sources of Income
Primary Source of
No. of Respondents Percentage
Income
Salary/Pension 44 100
Agricultural &
0 0
relatedincome
Rent from house or
0 0
commercial property
Others 0 0
Total 44 100
ANALYSIS
From the above table it can be analyzed that 100% of the respondents are having
salary/pensionhas their primary source of income.
Figure 4.4
INTERPRETATION
From the above column graph it can be depicted that salary/pension is the main source of
income for the employees in the organization. So, it can be concluded that every employees of
the organization are mainly dependent on the Salary/pension because they’re working under
the Central Government and cannot have any other source of income.
4.5 Table showing Increasing Employee’s stress.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.5
INTERPRETATION
4.6 Table showing During the pandemic company has cut the bonus.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.6
INTERPRETATION
4.7 Table showing Recruiting as tough in pandemic.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.7
INTERPRETATION
4.8 Table showing delivery time feedback.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.8
INTERPRETATION
4.9 Table showing Travelling to summits.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.9
INTERPRETATION
4.10 Table showing Targets.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.10
INTERPRETATION
4.11 Table showing Productivity.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.11
INTERPRETATION
4.12 Table showing remote type.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.12
INTERPRETATION
4.13 Table showing effected during the covid-19
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.13
INTERPRETATION
4.14 Table showing Plan in covid-19.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.14
INTERPRETATION
4.15 Table showing Optimistic about work from home.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.15
INTERPRETATION
4.16 Table showing Satisfied with work during the covid-19.
ANALYSIS
From the above table it can be analyzed that 100% of the respondents are having salary/pension
has their primary source of income.
Figure 4.16
INTERPRETATION
4.17 Table showing segment related to work.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.17
INTERPRETATION
4.18 Table showing Stress in covid-19
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.18
INTERPRETATION
4.19 Table showing manage stress.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.19
INTERPRETATION
4.20 Table showing Task force management.
ANALYSIS
Figure 4.20
INTERPRETATION
CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONCLUSION
FINDINGS
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Human Resource Management gleaned from the
research serve as a preliminary step toward for a future quantitative study of HR managers
to investigate in detail the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic problem on the
organizations, their employees and the HR management system. More importantly,
collecting information on how work-life balance, psychological well-being and technology
affect employee’s behavior, the lives of employees’ family members and motivation of the
employee and also the future of the organization
SUGGESTIONS
By shifting the focus to the present, COVID-19 is promoting long-term views that see not
only restorative action, but forward-thinking initiatives that prepare for future times of
crisis. HRM needs to promote balance between the employer and the employee, as the
COVID-19 epidemic has repercussions for both. Reducing the burden on both parties while
preserving the ability to produce or provide services during a pandemic is important.
policies like these should ensure current processes are blended with new ideas, update
strategies, restructure employee and customer safety, ensure compliance with social
distance, offer compensation for workplace C.O.V.I.D. infection, and allow an excepted level
of productivity. The HR department should be adopting a new approach when it comes to
issues like work, well-being, and technical preparedness in addition to employee satisfaction.
As the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has shifted the organizational structure of formal sector
employment, HR managers must find creative ways to use new technology,
create a more reasonable work-life balance, and ensure workers' well-being. Likewise,
human resource management should assist employees in arranging space and schedules for
remote work while considering individual characteristics or conditions to maintain work-life
balance. Implementation of new technologies, work-life balance, well-being are some key
decisions that HRM are challenged with as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has altered the
structure of formal sector work.
Conclusion
For this research, qualitative expert interview was used as a first orientation to better structure
the problem resulting from the current crisis. The experts’ opinions were based on their
knowledge and personal experience. Data was interpreted, and comparisons were madeto find
main themes, similarities, and differences in the expert answers.
The research aimed to explore how Covid-19 pandemic affected activities of HR managers,
and how organisations responded to the crisis from the viewpoint of HRM.
There are almost the same tendencies observed by the interviewed experts in Georgia as they are
around the globe in this pandemic crisis according to the literature review. The researchers
have theorized the similar trends experienced during the crisis situation regarding human
resource management and impact on employee behaviour.
The current processes occurring in the companies as a response to the pandemic are complex,
leading to many negative but also some positive outcomes. Employees and organisations are
adapting to the new reality in order to achieve results. In this regard, emphasis should be
placed on the internal communication to adapt quickly. Consequently, team spirit, friendship,
collaboration, and cooperation are essential to survive in this changing environment. HR
management makes a significant contribution by introducing online HR processes, training
employees not only in skills required for performing current jobs, but also for developing those
skills necessary for the future in case the circumstances change. HRM should focus on these
issues in the personnel development programs.
On the one hand, companies should develop their human resources, as employees need to
improve skills, and gain knowledge in order to better cope with uncertainties. On the other
hand, however, crisis management dictates the companies to cut costs on training sessions and
on other development activities. Thus, it is important that the HR management finds the
right balance between cutting costs due to recession and developing the staff. Otherwise,
effectiveness and efficiency cannot be achieved.
Future Research: Based on the research results of expert interviews, the questionnaire will be
designed for the future quantitative survey of HR managers to study exhaustively the impact of
Covid-19 crisis on the companies and on the HRM in Georgia. It would be interesting to obtain
data about the organisational decisions, how employees and teams were working, how
digitalisation and remote working affected companies, what were the main focus of HRM
during the pandemic, and how HRM strategy has modified.
CHAPTER 6
Learning Outcomes
The respondents ascertained that at first glance the crisis made it visible that HR professionals
need more knowledge; despite many years of experience in this field, many of them lack skills
and education especially in crisis management.
The experts state that although people are generally adaptable, the workforce still needs more
skills, multidisciplinary education, as competition will be increased in the future.Jobs will be
significantly transformed. Consequently, “employees are thinking about the development of
competencies necessary to work in a digital environment, including digital sales, digital
channel development, digital services, etc.” (R7, my translation).
There is a huge competition in the market, companies need highly developed people with the
relevant knowledge, but more importantly with special skills who can adapt quickly to the
environment, who can master new competences, are receptive to innovations, have the ability
to learn, and possess creative innovative skills. Moreover, the workforce should take care of
self-development.Companies must elaborate business continuity plan, and develop their human
resources, opening up of internal resources and capabilities, build flexible processes, adopt
new technologies, and create scenarios for business process continuity.
The experts recommended that top-management and HRM by the joint effort should design
strategies to deal with the crisis focusing on flexibility and adaptability. To develop ‘what if’
scenarios can be beneficial for a company as well in preparing for future uncertainties.
Furthermore, organisational culture plays a central role during the pandemic. Therefore, it is
necessary for HRM to have frequent communication and close connection with employees.
The company can overcome difficulties brought by the crisis easier when HR leadership
encourages the workers, engages them, keeps them up-to-date, and takes into account their
opinions.
The interviewees state that although the crisis occurred so sudden that companies could not
change anything in their HRM approaches formally, yet the strategy is expected to be revised
relating to crisis management, business continuity, and HRM processes.
However, remote working does not seem anymore as unthinkable for many companies, and HR
professionals are now convinced that conducting trainings and meetings, or recruiting and
hiring online are actually possible. Besides, close control of the employees is not so necessary
as management thought before: “the person can work independently” (R2, my translation).
It is worth noting that emphasis of HRM should be put on emotional intelligence in order to
make appropriate decisions from the viewpoint of management who tries to deal with a sudden
crisis, and simultaneously from the perspective of the employees who have their own needs or
difficulties caused by the pandemic.
QUESTIONAAIRE:
1. AVIVA INSURANCE specially has arranged a task force to manage any kind of situation
needed during this COVID-19 pandemic?
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree.
2. Learning and training have emerged as a challenge in AVIVA INSURANCE?
3. Before the COVID-19 pandemic you were familiar with your business continuity plan in
AVIVA INSURANCE?
•Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree.
4. During the pandemic the base pay promotion of the employees has stopped?
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree. Please indicate
responses about the major challenges faced by AVIVA INSURANCE due to COVID 19 outbreak:
5. AVIVA INSURANCE is facing the challenge of increasing employees’ stress?

6. To manage work stability is a challenge to your organization.
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree
7. During the pandemic AVIVA INSURANCE cut the bonuses of the employees?
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree. Impact of COVID-
19 outbreak on the hiring decisions in PMC:
8. Recruiting has been stopped temporarily.
9. Recruiting has been tough during this pandemic.
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree Impact of the
epidemic on the performance appraisal of your work from home:
10. You are delivered timely feedback of your work.
11. Your supervisor is easy to approach and get help from.
12. Travelling to summits, seminars, any kind of gathering has been abandoned.

13. Targets are communicated very clearly to you?
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree. Indicating

response on the compensation policy of PMC during the pandemic?
14. Your organization has altered the incentive policy?
15. Your organization has cut the bonuses of the employees.
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree Responses about
regarding the work from home policy of your organization?
16. You are productive in your current work from home set up?
17. How often did you work remotely pre COVID-19?
• Once a week • A few times a week • Never • Majority of the week • Always occasionally
18. You are productive in your current work from home set up?
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree Responses about
regarding Job and financial security in PMC:
19. How often job and financial security is strong before pandemic?

20. How often is health, safety, wellbeing in workplace or work from home during in
pandemic?
• Mental health • Physical health • Existing mental health • Physical health becomes worse.
21. Looking ahead after pandemic many of the organizations will shift their focus on enabling
employees to return to the workplace?
• anxious about returning to work • underlying health condition • increased caring

responsibilities are anxious about returning • anxious about their commute.
22. How often the wok is Flexible in the organization?
• Ability to work • fulfil commitments outside of work • fulfilling commitments outside of

work • increased caring responsibility.
23. Socializing of new employees is confronting as a challenge.
24. Your organization is facing the challenges of increasing employees’ stress.
25. Sick leaves casual leave, are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic about working from
home?
• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree. Employer and line manager
response to COVID-19 in PMC:
26. Majority of workers are satisfied with their organizations work in pandemic?
• Positive response • Supportive • Neutral.
27. Ensuring the consultation is done adequately with all segments in the workplace?
• Been adequately consulted about returning. • compared with those without a disability.
References / Citations & Bibliography
• M. E. Porter, Competitive Strategy(New York: Free Press, 1980)

• A. D. Chandler, Strategy and Structure (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press,1962)
• O. E. Williamson, Markets and Hierarchies(New York: Free Press, 1975);
• L. Wrigley, Divisional Autonomy and Diversification (PhD, HarvardBusiness
School, 1970)
• R. E. White, Generic Business Strategies, Organizational Context and
Performance: An Empirical Investigation, Strategic Management Journal7
(1986)

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TITLE OF STUDY

“A STUDY ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

Top Impacting Factors

Rise in demand for tax advisory services among SMEs

Digitalization in tax advisory services

Constant rise in global high-net-worth individual (HNWI)

KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.

According to some Business professionals, employee retention might represent another

As a reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak, some countries have implemented governmental

Furthermore, compensation management can be particularly challenging in workplaces where

Safety and health management

Opportunities, future organizational directions, and insights into HRM interventions

Importance of the Topic

Performance management is ‘a continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing

Training and career development

NEED TO STUDY THE TOPIC

-Review of literature and research design-

The Role of HRM in the Adaptation of the Workforce

Consequently, HR professionals have a facilitating and supporting role in this transformation,

The following research questions were determined for this study.

Objectives of the study

1. To examine how COVID-19 impact on Human Resource Management (HRM) strategies.

2. To identify the changes in HRM practices due to COVID-19.

3. To understand how remote work has affected HRM strategies.

3.1 Data Collection Instrument

3.2 Expert Interview

An expert possesses technical, interpretative, process knowledge in a specific competences

Figure 2: Experts Selection Criteria

Sources of data collection

Interview with employees and Professionals

Internet source and as per primary dat.

Limitation of the study

Competitors of AVIVA LIFE INSURANCE

AVIVA‟s Vision Aviva

Aviva’s key values

Career Management Campus Programme

Products & Services

Disruptions in HRM Caused by Pandemic

Major Obstacles for HRM Concerning the Workforce

According to the expert R3:

Table 2 summarizes the main findings regarding the challenges an organisation, HR

Corporate Brand/ Image

Digitalisation New safety regulations

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Table showing the gender of the Respondents.

Gender No. of Respondents Percentage

Age Group No. of Respondents Percentage

Education No. of Respondents Percentage

FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND

• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree.

2. Learning and training have emerged as a challenge in AVIVA INSURANCE?

• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree.

•Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree.

5. AVIVA INSURANCE is facing the challenge of increasing employees’ stress?

• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree.

• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree

8. Recruiting has been stopped temporarily.

• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree

9. Recruiting has been tough during this pandemic.

10. You are delivered timely feedback of your work.

• Strongly agree • Somewhat agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly disagree