When the pandemic forced offices to shut down and shift to a virtual model of working almost overnight, it led many managers and HR professionals to consider how they would keep a check on employee productivity and work. While some organizations tried to have employees on permanent video mode, others attempted to micromanage with a blitz of phone calls and emails. From mass meetings dragged out on zoom, to dozens of updates on Skype, organizations even inducted culturally insensitive team cocktail hours on Friday afternoons.
Right after the primary exhilaration at not having to commute, employees found themselves working for longer periods only because they could due to the new business model of work from home which eventually led to mental fatigue, low motivation, and a sense of isolation.
Since 2020 was the year of pandemic and the world’s largest unplanned work from home experiment, many CHRO and managers were not experienced, the systems and processes were not geared up and almost everyone was working in a state of dismay and uncertainty. Therefore, the entire blame cannot be shifted to the CHRO and organizational leader.
But moving forward, managers must ensure to take the necessary initiatives to keep a track of individual behaviors and workforce assessment before assigning employees to work remotely merrily because their job can be done that way. At such times, psychometrics will come to the front foot, as it will be capable and crucial to define which employee will thrive and which will need more support and to ensure that working conditions are both safe and conducive to good performance.
Management will need to focus on the reskilling of employees. The leaders and CHRO’s will be required to manage both on-site and remote working even when both demand different approaches.
Utilizing technology
HR tech can be used to track employees, not just for monitoring purposes but to actually ensure work performance, productivity and that employees are not burning themselves out unnecessarily. Therefore, the whole focus shifts from stagnant surveillance to active engagement that includes looking after the employee’s mental and physical health, advising them to take breaks when required, and constraining undue access to business systems outside of contracted hours except by a logged request.
The traditional approach to utilize technology was limited to gather data and insights. But with the help of the new and advanced HR tech, organizations can monitor employees regularly for stress points and refer back for human intervention.
Effective communication and collaboration, virtual hiring, and onboarding platforms, online team building games and events, and technology like virtual meeting rooms can be used to create healthy work environments. Indeed, working from home does not mean that the team would never meet in person but for the days when they aren’t physically together, they can be virtually together at least. The flexibility offered by hybrid working also requires some form of abundance, just popping into the office when one feels right could cause problems of space and resource allotment for that day in a slimmed-down business.
Changing the work landscape
To change the face of work in contrast to new working requirements and environmental changes, the alliance of HR with technology is one effective method where HR can initiate the negotiation of individual work patterns to fit employee demands, requirements of business and technology can ensure that the scheduling works to everyone’s benefit.
Therefore, organizations need to identify the right tools to support them with the new working environment and not just for team working but also to ensure that no individual is left out in the cold.
The scale of measuring processes and performance must also be reconstructed to take account of what will be a high proportion of asynchronous activity. The remote work model will create a new type of manager, one that is more of a collaborator, mentor, and awareness officer.
