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  • TALENT EDGE WEEKLY - Special Issue #6 - COVID-19 References for HR - (Updated a few days a week)

TALENT EDGE WEEKLY - Special Issue #6 - COVID-19 References for HR - (Updated a few days a week)

March 17, 2020

UPDATE: Starting May 15th, I will now only include COVID-HR references in the regular weekly edition of the newsletter. This will make it easier for readers to have all types of HR topics and issues in one weekly issue.

I will keep the link to this special edition #6 (which has 150+ references) active so you can access archive articles. You can also access this information directly at my website www.brianheger.com.

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As organizations continue to respond each day to protect their employees and their businesses from COVID-19, I have pulled together this special issue of the Talent Edge Weekly newsletter, that will be solely focused on this topic.

Rather than make individual posts on the topic each week in the regular newsletter or website, I will update this edition with references as I learn of new information--this way it is easily accessible and in one reference. You can check back each weekday for updates.

If you have a COVID-19 HR-related resource that you think would be useful to add, please send it to me via Linkedin or email me at [email protected].

You can access the regular issues of Talent Edge Weekly here. Those who sign-up for the newsletter will get it delivered to their email inbox every Saturday.

Brian

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Brian Heger is a human resources practitioner with responsibilities for Strategic Talent, Workforce Planning, and Analytics. To connect with Brian on Linkedin, click here.

COVID-19 - REFERENCES FOR HR

MAY 14, 2020

According to new research by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), between 22 percent and 35 percent of U.S. employees often experience symptoms of depression as they live through the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, 35 percent of the 1,099 employees surveyed report "feeling tired or having little energy, often" with Gen Z more likely than others to report this. To a lesser (22 to 23 percent), employees report feeling bad about themselves and letting themselves and their families down, feeling hopeless, having little pleasure in doing things, and having trouble concentrating on tasks (with women more likely than men to report trouble concentrating). The deck provides a summary of all of the results which contains several insights that can be leveraged as we support our organizations and workers during this time.  

In this article, Josh Bersin outlines how the latest unemployment report was the “most striking” change in the economy during his lifetime. There is somewhat of a paradoxical element to the latest report in that, while we are operating at 14.7% unemployment, the percentage of people looking for work is at a 40 year low. And while many jobs have been halted during this time, Josh mentions that what we are facing is more of a business slowdown, versus an economic recession. Such a slowdown invariably leads to a business transformation where organizations reimagine the customer experience, our offices, plants, workspaces, and products. Many organizations will be positioning themselves for the “next phase” of growth in which jobs will be created. Josh covers the impact that the pandemic has had on specific industries and offers additional insights.  

MAY 13, 2020

As many workers continue to work from home as a result of the coronavirus, a segment of these workers report being more productive, better rested, and happier; these workers would like to sustain this benefit (as much as possible) once the pandemic ends. While working from home does come with challenges, and not every job lends itself to this work arrangement, this "pro work-from-home" segment of workers feels the benefits far outweigh the downside. The benefits range from less time wasted on long commutes, reduced interruptions, to using this reclaimed time to be more productive and focus on other things such as health and fitness. However, there is a segment of the population that prefers working at a work location. Regardless of one's preference, organizations will need to continue to come up with ways to provide flexible work arrangements that can benefit both workers and organizations--especially given that many workers will be returning to the workplace with a different perspective on what they want from their jobs and careers, and how this integrates with other aspects of their lives. This article expands on this topic.

This article expands on the notion that now--during the pandemic--is the opportune time for organizations to cast aside old-fashioned perspectives of the "ideal worker" or IW. The notion of the IW is one characterized by "someone who starts working in early adulthood and continues, full-time and full force, for 40 years straight" and one where workers are focused disproportionately on their jobs at the expense of other aspects of their lives. The article presents a good case for "resculpting " workplace ideals so that they reflect people’s lives today—not half a century ago. These ideals will continue to give rise to a number of new workplace practices, will lead to the modification of others, and will call for some practices to be completely discontinued.

MAY 8, 2020

A leader's ability to balance the immediate short-term needs of the business with the long-term strategies and vision was already a success factor of a leader well before the coronavirus. However, the current pandemic has placed the spot light on this "paradox of leadership"  where there is a often a tension between opposing goals. In most cases, leaders are faced with the challenge of managing the competing demands of shareholders, customers and employees, and continue to find ways to minimize the negative impact on all groups. In this article, which I had an opportunity to provide a perspective, a few ideas are offered as leaders think through short and long-term implications of their decisions, particularly as it relates to work, workers, and the workplace.

Remote work continues to be employed in many organizations during the pandemic, and employees and managers alike continue to adjust to this new way of work. As workers get more comfortable with remote work practices, new issues begin to emerge. This article by Josh Bersin provides some insights, including 1) future will be “hybrid” work locations – you work at home some days, go into the office for meetings, and then go back home for other days.2) since face to face interaction is still important, we will “meet” and then go home. This article also provides a few learnings from the bi-weekly study of HR professionals’ response to COVID19), including 1) productivity and work-life balance are now the #1 issues on employees’ minds and 2) nearly a third responded that emotional and social support is their #1 need which has implications for checking in with people, virtual social activities, and mental wellbeing, to name a few.

This article provides an overview of the results from a survey on the actions that CFOs are taking to adjust to very difficult current conditions with an eye toward an evolving post-COVID world. Several insights are offered that also have implications for HR. A few results include: a) 49% say remote work is here to stay for some roles, as companies plan to alternate crews and reconfigure worksites. b) A third (32%) expect more layoffs to occur, as CFOs continue to target costs, while 70% consider deferring or canceling planned investments. There is much more in this report and you can also access the related webcast through this link.

MAY 4, 2020

On April 22, a panel of Talent and Employee insights experts discussed the impact COVID-19 is having on the Employee Experience. Using insights from their latest research, this Willis Tower Watson webcast explored how organizations can lead with empathy through the crisis and restore stability for their business and their people. The main link provides direct access to the presentation slides in case you just want to view those. The hyperlink titled "webcast" provides the link to access the webcast. Please note that to access the webcast, you will need to provide Willis Towers Watson with some information, such as email, etc.

APRIL 30, 2020

COVID-19 has not only impacted where people work, but has fundamentally shifted what work is performed and how it is done. As a result, this crisis presents an opportunity for organizations to reimagine how, where, and by whom work gets done. This article offer three ideas for doing so including: 1) Make work portable across the organization - e.g. breaking out of rigid job constraints, and being able to match the right talent to solve evolving business challenges in real time. 2) Accelerate automation by automating tasks that can be done by machines, AI, etc, so that workers can focus on tasks where they add most value. 3) Share employees in cross-industry talent exchanges where they tap into the broader ecosystem of talent to build the resilience of both organizations and people during these challenging times. As organizations continue to respond to the crisis and reimagine the new world of work, these three areas can help provide guidance.

In this BCG article which is about a 10 minute read, it is pointed out how organizational leaders --in response to COVID-19--continue to raise and focus on questions such as How should I forecast my revenues? How should I adjust my budget? When will this be over, and when will we return to “normal”? While these are reasonable questions, the authors of the article suggest that leaders should focus their attention more on framing potential scenarios and use them to develop a robust plan of action. This article provides three distinct phases of the crisis (Flatten, Fight, and Restart) which can be used as a framework for scenario planning and analysis for businesses. Several other insights are provided and can be leveraged as organizations continue to plan responses.

This article points out how the the post-pandemic workplace will not look like the one that we left behind as businesses, design firms, real estate developers and corporate advisers are starting to reimagine office spaces after the coronavirus. Organizations continue to prepare for the eventual return to work for office workers and are rethinking floor layouts, staggering work schedules and making changes that could fundamentally shift relationships with employers-- such as contact-tracing apps for co-workers, elevator ‘safe zones,’ and infrared body temperature scanners.  Ideas are provided on what companies, such a Intel, IBM and Cushman & Wakefield, are considering.

In this 13 minute video, Josh Bersin shares the results of dozens of conversations with senior business leaders about the crisis, recaps three phases of recovery and transformation (React, Respond, and Return) that were presented in an article earlier this week (few articles below), and discusses implications for the Return phase in which there will be an increased focus and changes in things such as company culture, wellbeing, managers becoming more empathetic and sensitive to new styles of work, health and safety protocols, and reinventing businesses (what businesses sell and offer and how they sell). Josh also offers a few thoughts on how all of this will continue to reinvent HR.

As many workers continue to work-from-home (WFH) during the coronavirus pandemic, it begs the question: is WFH making workers less or more busy? This article looks at how COVID-19 is impacting people’s schedules and time allocation and, as indicated by the findings, workers are definitely getting busier, working longer hours, and seeing their calendars get more chaotic. The analysis looked at the timeframe from February 23rd (the last relatively “normal” week) to the fifth week of March. A few findings indicate that the average worker 1) spent 5% more time in meetings 2) spent an extra 1-1.5 hours per week in team sync meetings, a 29% increase, 2) spent 24% more time in one-on-ones. Additional stats are provided and can be used by organizations as they monitor and continue to find ways to enable employee wellbeing and productivity during this crisis.

In this 45 minute webinar conducted on April 30th, the Korn Ferry team covers 1) how to begin to transition employees back on site, realizing that this will likely happen in a phased approach, 2) how work, the workforce, and the skills workers have will need to change in a new business and social context, 3) immediate steps organizations can take to reshape for the future. The link also includes access to the webinar slides.

Governments and businesses continue to contemplate re-opening organizations and permitting individuals to return to work. As a result, many employers are faced with the challenge of developing and implementing a return-to-work strategy that continues to mitigate the spread of the virus in a way that enables the economy to operate without experiencing another shutdown. This article provides a few suggestions for organizations as they develop their return-to-work strategies and addresses legal issues and employer obligations that will arise as the workforce reenters the workplace during the pandemic.

APRIL 29 2020

The "future of work" (FoW) has been a catchphrase over the last several years and has encapsulated everything from remote working, artificial intelligence, and digital to name a few. And while all of these and other areas related to the FoW have been well in motion prior to COVID-19, this pandemic has catapulted organizations of all sizes into the future faster--and at scale-- practically overnight. Although this stress-test continues to place pressure on all of us, we can also use it as an opportunity to come of it stronger and better prepared to meet future challenges and opportunities. In this article, Michael Warech provides 10 observations regarding how the FoW is transforming. Organizations can refer to these observations as they continue to formulate both short and long-term FoW strategies.

In this special edition Resilient series, Deloitte focuses on the evolving COVID-19 crisis--offering perspective from supply chain disruptions and economic scenarios to remote working challenges and crisis response strategies. Each of these insights are accompanied by actionable insights for leaders to leverage while developing responses to the crisis.

APRIL 28, 2020

While there are various phases of a crisis, within the context of work, COVID-19 can be broken into 3 phases. 1) React - obtaining a sense of the current situation in order to determine a path forward, 2) Respond - adjusting business practices to the new reality and 3) Return - transitioning to a new way of working. In this article, Josh Bersin elaborates on the Return component and suggests how this phase offers an opportunity for business transformation - where companies in all industries are learning how to serve customers in new ways (e.g. entertainment spending goes online, sports move to digital formats, etc.). Considerations are offered on how organizations can manage through this phase of transforming their business while orienting workers to new ways of working. There is also a link to a playbook titled "Consider the Safe Work Playbook and Safe Work Supplement"  developed by Lear Corporation that contains some useful resources.

APRIL 24, 2020

In this one hour video-webinar discussion, Memory Nguwi caught up with Dave Ulrich to discuss what lies ahead for the business and HR beyond COVID-19. Dave offers insights on how HR can create and deliver value in this crisis and elaborates on 6 components. 1) Fundamental Assumptions of HR's Value, 2) COVID-19 and HR Response, 3) Navigating Paradoxes in Crisis, 4) Four Stages of Accident in the Crisis, 5) Three HR Deliverables-Talent, Leadership Organization, 6) HR Actions and Competencies. Each component provides practical insights, including marker 35:30 of the video where Dave offers a framework for organizing HR deliverables/value during the 4 stages of the crisis. He breaks these deliverables out by Talent, Leadership, and Organization, which provides a useful framework for determining and executing those actions that can add the greatest value during each of the stages.

As many employers continue to evaluate and determine strategies for a phased "return to the workplace," there are several considerations and factors that they must think through as these make these decisions. The results from this i4cp survey, based on over 300 responses from HR leaders of companies with 1,000 or more employees, provide several insights for organizations as they make these decisions. One part of the article speaks to the fact that some employees might need special considerations as part of an organization’s return to the workplace strategy. Examples include employees with childcare responsibilities, eldercare responsibilities, and employees who tested positive for COVID 19, to name a few. Tactics are offered for how organizations are handling various situations.

Given market volatility due to the impact if COVID-19, many organizations are asking the question " do equity-based incentive compensation awards continue to serve the function for which such plans were implemented?" As such, employers are considering available alternatives for addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on equity-based compensation. This article provides a summary of factors that organizations should consider as they make these decisions--focusing, in particular, on stock options, restricted and performance share units, and deferred share units.

APRIL 23, 2020

This report, based on real-time labor market data from February through mid April showcases the latest data points around hiring trends and skill needs to help HR leaders better understand the state of the labor market today, and where it will be heading tomorrow. A few insights includes: 1) In the US, weekly new job postings have reduced by almost half (49%) since the beginning of February, 2020, signaling a significant reduction despite organizations continuing to hire for critical roles. 2) While China has seen an overall decrease in job volume over the past two months, new job postings every week have been on the rise — increasing by 24% since the week of February 3. 

Every crisis has a life cycle, and emotional states and needs vary with the cycle’s stages. One frame offered by McKinsey includes 5 stages: 1) resolve, 2) resilience, 3) return, 4) reimagination, and 5) reform. Given these stages and the emotional states people feel during each, communicators should be thoughtful about what matters most in the given moment. This leadership guide provides some useful and practical tips for doing so and the first graphic (Crisis Communication LifeCycle) provides a summary of what employees are feeling during each stage and what they need in response.

In this 8 minute video, Tracie Sponenberg, Chief People Officer for the Granite Group, shares how her HR team and senior leaders are communicating continually, and with transparency, through the COVID-19 crisis. One main principle the leadership team has been operating by is "people over policy" which has informed the tactics and responses, which Tracie shares.

APRIL 21, 2020

As organizational leaders are spending a disproportionate amount of their time, rightfully so, on navigating their businesses and organizations through the current pandemic, it is also important to for them to carve out the time that it takes to set a longer term vision for the post-pandemic future and build a strategic path to it. Leaders who both manage the day-to-day and lead with vision will emerge from the crisis with companies that are stronger and more resilient than they were before. This article provides a few tips on doing so such as reverse-engineering a series of benchmarks and milestones at regular intervals along the way--from long-term aspiration to the mid-term (your post-crisis focal point), and from there to today.

Here is a useful 2-page framework and checklist for helping leaders to manage their organizations and workers through various stages of the current pandemic. Clear actions steps are outlined for four components 1) Prepare and monitor the workforce, 2) Assess technology and tools, 3) Lead with purpose and 4) Execute new ways of working. While various organizations may be at different stages, it will be important to start thinking of workforce re-entry strategies and executing news ways of working. For the last component, this cheat sheet recommends a few steps such as running pilots, defining new ways of working practices, developing and rolling out remote work training, and developing health and wellbeing considerations. A useful tool as organizations continue to plan and make decisions through various aspects of COVID-19. 

APRIL 16, 2020

In Issue 10 of the regular Talent Edge Weekly E-newsletter, I mentioned that scenario planning (SP)--a tool that looks at possible “realities” of what might happen in the future of an organization and how organizations might respond--is a useful tool in both times of crisis as well as normal business planning. While SP can be complex, some quick steps are: 1) identify plausible scenarios – usually 3 possible, but uncertain scenarios 2) assess the relative likelihood of each scenarios’ occurrence 3) identify leading indicators that “signal” the scenario is likely to emerge (doing so enables a quick response before it is too late), 4) identify the talent impacts of each scenario 5) develop both operational and strategic responses for scenarios. This Conference Board reference provides four COVID scenarios for the US economy for the remainder of 2020. They include: 1) May reboot (quick recovery), 2) Summertime V-shape (deeper contraction, bigger recovery), 3) Fall recovery (extended contraction, U-shaped recovery) 4) Fall COVID-19 resurgence (economy contracts again in Q4, a W-shaped recovery). Organizations can use these scenarios as one framework as they continue to refine talent, workforce, and business-related responses. (When you land on page, scroll down a little and click on covid scenarios).

Despite remote working becoming the new norm due to COVID-19, almost half of workers believe their employer will revert back to previous policies once the pandemic has passed. Rather than restore practices that restrict or limit employees to work from home, this is an opportunity for organizations to integrate work from home practices into "business as usual" ways of working. Doing so can help to unleash things such as productivity, engagement, and retention.

As organizations continue to work through the implications of COVID19, there are obviously several changes shaping how we currently work, communicate and engage. And while the situation is challenging in the short-term, there are many opportunities that individuals and organizations can benefit from in the ‘new’ world of work and workplaces. This article provides a view on 10 of these opportunities ranging from "leadership hinging heavily on empathy" to "employee experience and well-being taking center stage take center-stage."

In this essay, the authors reinforce the notion that while every crisis is deeply unsettling, it also provides opportunities for growth and renewal. And while these opportunities vary, they often provide a reflection point for thinking though questions such as: What can be done to anticipate crises in the future? How do we prepare and respond rapidly and effectively? Whether it is stepping up an organization's digital transformation or revising its talent strategy, this article offers 10 guidelines that can be applied to different situations.

APRIL 13, 2020

The article looks at the types of decisions that organizations are making about their workforces to get through the COVID-19 crises and the value that HR and people analytics functions add to that decision making to help their HR and business leaders. The article provides a direct link to 60 minutes webinar that elaborates on the topics.

This article provides a few views on the trends that were already ongoing, but have been accelerated by the current situation. One category of trends relates to HR Technology such as Recruitment: video interviewing, online assessments, (gamified) online tests, Measurement: mood measurement (realtime or via pulse surveys). Learning & Development: offering people micro learning solutions based on an assessment of the work they do at home. Wellbeing: offering employees access to online resilience/ stress reduction solutions (gamified).

APRIL 10, 2020

A Gartner, Inc. survey of 317 CFOs and Finance leaders on March 30, 2020 revealed that 74% will move at least 5% of their previously on-site workforce to permanently remote positions post-COVID 19. Remote work is one example of cost savings senior finance leaders are seeking in order to avoid more severe cuts and minimize the downside impact to operations. Twenty percent of respondents indicated they have deferred on-premise technology spend, with an additional 12% planning to do so. An additional 13% of respondents noted they had already made cost reductions in real estate expenses, with another 9% planning to take actions in this area in the coming months.

The results of the "WorldatWork COVID-19 Employer Response Survey" provide a perspective into how organizations are addressing benefits/pay planning, office/workforce planning, communications, and performance metrics. A range of results are provided from "a third of organizations (37%) will provide full pay for employees unable to work due to illness/caregiving need" to "most organizations (63%) expect to be back to normal operations by summer."

This is a very useful summary of the most current results from the COVID-19: The Pulse of HR survey conducted in partnership by Josh Bersin, the MIT Sloan Management Review and CultureX. The pulse data show: 1) What HR has been concerned with during the crisis, such as employee physical health and wellbeing, remote work, issues related to jobs and work continuity to name a few, 2) Top issues on employees minds, such as job security, health and wellbeing, family issues and employees’ ability to do their jobs and 3) and what companies are doing to respond. Updated survey results are published each week.

Dave Millner, also known as the HR Curator, joins Mason Stevenson in this 29 minute video to discuss the coronavirus and its impact on both the United States and the United Kingdom. Dave provides some useful insights on what the future of work will look like as a result of the pandemic, in addition to sharing thoughts on data and people analytics.

Talent acquisition has always been a demanding discipline. But in the wake of coronavirus, recruiting leaders and their teams are grappling with a host of new issues that are morphing and expanding every day. With input from over 250 talent acquisition leaders, this article outlines challenges that TA teams are addressing in the short-term such as --getting hiring managers to make offers to candidates they haven’t met and getting candidates to accept them-- to longer-term challenges including thinking about workforce planning for the months ahead.

While everyone is impacted in some way by the coronavirus, statistically, this situation is affecting women more than men within the context of work. This is due to women making up 75% of healthcare practitioners, according to he World Health Care Organization and 87% of healthcare support staff. They also make up a greater percentage of the workforce in service-related jobs that have been impacted by job losses and furloughs. The article discusses other ways in which women are being disproportionately impacted.

APRIL 7, 2020

On March 23, Gallup reported on 5 elements that organizations can influence and measure to gauge their progress in meeting four needs of employees during this time of crisis -- trust, compassion, stability and hope. This summary provides and update on how well organizations are doing on each of the 5 elements.

As more people continue to work from home, it is becoming increasingly clear that “work at home” will become a regular work practice for many organizations. Given that 50% of companies have no remote work policy and many still question whether work at home is productive, it will be important for organizations to expand their thinking on this topic and come up with solutions to common barriers. This article offers a 5 component framework for thinking through aspects that enable remote work, including 1) Tools, 2)Rules, 3) Norms 4) Culture, and 5) Resilience.

APRIL 3, 2020

The latest BLS survey reports that US. employers cut 701,000 jobs in March, while the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent from 3.5 percent in February. Keep in mind that the BLS survey was conducted in mid-March, before many states issued stay-at-home orders and 10 million people filed for unemployment benefits.The summary provides additional data points.

The impact of COVID-19 continues to force some employers to let employees go from their roles and implement hiring freezes while others are working to fill thousands of critical new positions. In this article by Josh Bersin in partnership with EMSI, they provide some job data on industries and occupations with the greatest increase and decline in postings during this time. Implications are discussed.

Remote work has been on the rise for the past couple of years. However, the novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shift towards remote work. Many believe that once the pandemic is over, we will not go back to the office — at least not full-time. This interview format article highlights a few of the changes that the workplace may go through as teams become increasingly distributed.

Visier has pulled together a few ideas from practitioners on how to use people analytics during the stages of a pandemic. Ideas range from putting data in the right context to using questions and storytelling to make data meaningful. This resource also provides a number of links that are useful to HR practitioners during this crisis.

While it might be too soon for some people to imagine a world post COVID-19, this crisis will pass at some point and organizations will need to have plans to drive employee morale, productivity, and performance so we can recover, faster, from the lasting impacts and related economic damage. As pointed out in this article, doing so will require transparency and open communication with employees and workers. Recommendations are made for CEOs to start thinking about how to lead the transition back to the office in the post-coronavirus environment.

APRIL 1, 2020

In case you missed this webinar yesterday with over 2000 attendees, the attached article includes 10 lessons from the discussion based on what HR executives and their organizations are doing to address the COVID-19 situation. Every company agreed that the rapid changes taking place will be long-lasting for years to come.

This short article provides a few tactics that HR can use to help employees manage in the current environment--ranging from refreshing E-learning on Working from Home strategies to reminding employees of the services they have access to as part of their employee benefits package, such as EAP.

As we all continue to leverage and share our collective knowledge and resources with each other, if you haven't done so already, you should check out this reference guide by David Green. In it, he compiles very useful resources on COVID-19 for HR. He updates this document twice a week, so be sure to check back for updates to this document.

In this 7 minute YouTube clip, host, Mher Mardoyan talks with Dave Ulrich about tips for employees and managers in regards to working from home during COVID-19. Dave goes beyond some of the typical tips of remote working and provides a perspective on how workers and leaders can continue to create the right culture and add value during this time.

While millions of workers and businesses across the the globe implement remote working policies at scale, it has underscored the global economic dependency on the Internet. And as the remote workforce continues to expand at a rapid pace, this article offers five key areas for how enterprises can start to think about adopting passwordless technology and solutions- enabling a better employee experience and remote work capabilities.

MARCH 31, 2020

Over the past few weeks, COVID-19 has transformed our lives in ways many never had thought possible. As we navigate through the complexity and uncertainty, it is also an opportunity to reimagine ideal forms of workplace learning that will be best suited for our "new normal." This article offers three suggestions for doing so.

As the current Corona-crisis continues to radically alter many ways of life, it has also accelerated our transition into the ‘the future of work’. In many ways, COVID-19 is the impetus for transforming how work gets done, where, and by whom. This article speaks to this topic through the lens of HR digital transformation, design thinking in HR, future of work trends and employee experience.

The coronavirus has acted as a reset button that is forcing workers and organizations to experiment with alternatives to how work gets done and ways in which organizations operate. These experiments will change the future of work in a variety of ways.  This article addresses five workplace shifts that are likely to come from COVID-19

The government has adjusted the way "right to work checks" can be conducted during the coronavirus pandemic. For the time being, the Home Office will not require employers (and landlords) to see original documents and will allow checks to be undertaken over video calls.

MARCH 30, 2020

HRO Today spoke with six HR leaders on how they are managing their employees and business strategies through the global crisis COVID-19, or coronavirus, crisis. They cover a) policies they have put in place in response to COVID-19, b) services they are offering to employees, c) how this crisis is impacting hiring, and d) advice they would give to other HR leaders to manage through this crisis and others.

As organizations and HR leaders continue to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, this article includes 3 questions that can be asked during the "respond" stage of a crisis: 1) which roles and employees are essential? 2) how is the situation impacting employee sentiment, and 3) how will different scenarios impact our talent needs? With respect to scenarios, organizations will need to consider short-, medium-, and long-term time frames and outline a plan for how this will influence talent needs.

Business and functional leaders continue to be faced with making cost-cutting decisions as their organizations experience revenue declines over the past few weeks. A recent Gartner survey showed that HR leaders are initializing two main cost-cutting measures both in their function and across the enterprise 1)leveraging technology and reprioritizing and downsizing HR services and processes 2) hiring freezes, while mostly holding back for now on driving, larger-scale cost-cutting measures. Other ideas are discussed.

Each day organizations in all industries are forced to evaluate workforce reorganizations and reductions in response to the economic impact of COVID-19. Given the numerous US federal and state employment law issues, it is important that employers are well versed in these topics before implementing a reduction in force (RIF) or terminating individual employees. This article provides an updated outline of the key considerations when dealing with workforce reduction issues.

Here is a link to register for a 90-minute webinar tomorrow where Josh Bersin, will start off the session with a brief discussion of the economic, workforce, health and social issues related to the current crisis. He will then turn the session over to a few HR and learning leaders joining him so they can share what they’re doing to address the situation.

MARCH 27, 2020

In a crisis like the one we are now in, CEOs and CHROs have the opportunity to show their leadership--one which needs to be anchored in empathy, truth, competency, listening, and trust. Each of these leadership elements fosters human connection, which is needed at time like this. Josh Bersin reinforces this message in this short article.

As increased numbers of people working across a wide range of sectors are affected by the disruption caused by coronavirus, many organizations are turning to furloughs--where a job is temporarily suspended but not gone--to support their employees. Employees who are deemed eligible for this categorization will receive Government support to help pay wages. This article provides more insights on this topic including delineating the differences between losing a job and being "furloughed."

COVID-19 continues to force many organizations to to rapidly change their approach to work, raising many implications for HR. This article provides insights on 5 key HR-related policy areas including: 1) Remote work, 2) Leave policy, 3) Benefits, 4) Objectives and key results (OKRs), 5) Talent Acquisition.

In light of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic and its widespread social and business implications, Aon's latest APAC Pulse Survey – Navigating the impact of COVID-19 on workplace and rewards practices-  takes a further look at the workplace, HR and compensation policies being implemented by 304 companies in the region. This article provides a summary of those results.

This 57 page slide report by McKinsey has been updated to help senior leaders understand the COVID-19 situation and how it continues to unfold. It includes an update on current situation, scenarios and path forward, sector-specific impact, planning and managing responses, and leading indicator dashboards. Organizations can use this information as they continue to develop, evaluate, and execute their own responses.

This article provides a summary of the impact that COVID-19 continues to have on the Indian economy and workforce, such as how companies that are operating in sectors such as manufacturing (where workers are required to be physically present) and services sectors like banking and IT where a lot of confidential data is used and remote working can enhance security threats, are finding it difficult to implement strategies--such as work from home-- without compromising their day-to-day operations.

As recruiters and talent acquisition functions continue to find ways to hire and onboard existing candidates (who already have an offer in place) amidst COVID-19, it will also be important to make an effort to keep in touch with existing candidates who are currently in “limbo” due to job requisitions that are on hold. While this does take time and effort, it will create a better candidate experience that can spillover well beyond when this crisis is over.

MARCH 26, 2020

While this article was written in January 2019, it provides timely insights as organizations are forced to make tough talent decisions during times of crises or economic down turns. To make sure you have the right talent in place to not only survive but thrive coming out of the downturn, the article provides 12 action steps.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has completely brought hiring to a halt in certain industries and sectors, there are other areas that are still hiring, some with high demand. For those who are hiring, it is no surprise by now that they have had to change their approaches to the recruiting and hiring process. This article discusses a few of the changes that are altering the recruiting landscape in the near future and possibly beyond.

The implications of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be profound for individuals, organizations, and society at large. And while many firms, in recent years, have contemplated ways to modernize approaches to managing their workers, COVID-19 has accelerated this pursuit. This article provides 5 ways in which the way workers are "managed" will change post pandemic.

Here is perhaps the most comprehensive review on the impact on COVID-19 on various aspects of life, such as government, healthcare, the economy, our lifestyles and more. These predictions, from 34 big thinkers’, are important to understand in general but will also have implications for workers, work, and the workplace.

Each day the coronavirus persist, it obviously has a significant impact on employees’ personal and work lives and leads to employee anxiety, frustration and burnout. In response, organizations continue to find ways to address employees’ emotions. This article covers six specific activities that HR can help managers employ to ensure that employees get the requisite support they need. Further, these efforts help to restore productivity, engagement and deliver on the employee experience.

MARCH 25, 2020

In a pandemic, a Chief People Officer (CPO) can make or break a company. This article speaks to the critical and multi-faceted role that the CPO plays during a a crisis like COVID-19 --ranging from keeping employees healthy, maintaining their morale, overseeing remote-working experiments, to name a few

With companies around the globe asking their employees to work from home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), recruiters are adapting to an all-virtual world. One challenging aspect of this transition is maintaining a top notch virtual candidate experience. Here are 7 steps to ensure your candidate experience stands out online, including tips on communication, video interviews, and showing off your company culture virtually.

As HR continues to keep employees and leaders informed as they navigate during the COVID-19 crisis, it is prudent for HR to think about what changes will be more permanent. This article shares 5 effects that organizations will be dealing with long after things return to “normal” and how HR might guide its organizations' through those changes.

The disruption caused by COVID-19 continues to establish new baselines in work, learning, healthcare, and governance. This article provides insights into 10 things that will be new and different post-pandemic, including more personalized competency-based learning.

Each day that the COVID-19 pandemic continues, organizations will be forced to make challenging decisions about their business operations, including decisions to layoff workers. As organizations make these tough decisions, this article provides a few considerations on how employers can still show compassion to their workers, which in turn can help everyone impacted come out of this crisis stronger.

MARCH 24, 2020

As COVID-19 continues to create anxiety and uncertainty everywhere, many people (including workers) look to leadership to provide a path forward, hope, and reassurances. This article by Gallup highlights meta-analytics research that found four universal needs that followers have of leaders during times of crisis: 1) trust, 2) compassion, 3) stability, and 4) hope.

In this article, accompanied by a 14 minute video, Josh Bersin explains how the coronavirus crisis is causing a "big reset" in ways of thinking about work, life, business, and leadership. He discusses 5 areas of reset: 1) Work (digital, remote), 2)Budgets (simplify, do less with less), 3) Leadership - (empathy/ compassion), 4) Trust -(trust-centric business) and 5) HR (reinventing HR).

Arne M. Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International demonstrated true authentic leadership in a remarkably emotional video regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the hotel business, their employees, and the steps they’re taking to respond to it. The video shows the power of authenticity, candor, and communication during a time of crisis.

This is a well done 15 minute video from CNBC on remote working in light of COVID-19 and the impact that this will have on the future of work. Although remote working has been on the rise the past few years, COVID-19 is a tipping point that will accelerate this trend. The video has interesting perspectives and insights from experts and practitioners, including Jennifer Christie, CHRO of Twitter, on the topic.

As 401k balances drop at a staggering rate, it continues to cause panic and uncertainty among employees. As a result, HR professionals of companies who offer 401(k) plans are fielding a lot of questions. This article provides a few insights on how HR can help employees during this time and provide messaging to employees to keep them updated—and calm—about their fluctuating retirement accounts.

This short article provides a few insights on how organizations can repurpose their onboarding strategy to engage, prepare and train new workers under these unique conditions--where many new employees might not meet a single new work colleague face-to-face for many months.

The U.S. Senate is finalizing the details of the third coronavirus relief bill, which aims to help stabilize the economy and provide funds for distressed small businesses and laid-off workers. The four objectives of the bill are: 1) provide emergency cash to individuals and their families, 2) deliver fast and significant relief to small businesses, 3) help stabilize the economy and curb layoffs, 4) rush resources to frontline health care workers.

MARCH 23, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on leaders across most companies and organizations. This articles explores 5 leadership behaviors and mindsets that can help leaders navigate the coronavirus pandemic and future crises.

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to have unprecedented impact on personal and professional lives, HR’s role in a crisis is ever more critical. Dave Ulrich provides a few insights on how HR can help their organizations navigate during this crisis as well as those in the future.

Corporations around the world continue to implement practices (e.g. work from home, travel, wellness, etc,) to keep their employees safe, while ensuring optimal utilization of their staff and business continuity. This article provides a summary of some of the practices organizations are employing.

This is an updated article that speaks to how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will defer the physical presence requirements associated with reviewing Form I-9 for employers and workplaces operating completely remotely.

While organizations rise to meet the challenges associated with this disruption, this article provides a few suggestions on how organizations can employ digital learning capabilities to enhance new ways of working and support business continuity.

At a time where more workers are being mandated to work from home in response to COVID-19, managers and workers alike are continuing to adapt to the new normal of remote work. This article provides a few suggestions on how this transition can be facilitated.

As the escalating response to the spread of COVID-19 has impacted several facets of employment-based immigration to the United States, this article outlines some of the important immigration issues facing U.S. employers and their foreign national workers.

MARCH 20, 2020

With more people working from home as a result of COVID-19, there are certainly advantages. However, in some cases, being confined to houses or apartments with family members, children, or roommates who have their own work or school demands, it can take toll on one's mental health. This article has a few steps to help protect employee mental health during this challenging time.

This resource provides an interactive map of the current number of cases in each US state and is updated daily. It also provides legal and practical considerations that HR professionals and organizations should keep in mind to keep workers healthy and safe.

As organizations are contemplating and making workforce adjustments (such as hours reductions, shift-size reduction, reallocation of job duties, etc.) in light of COVID-19, it is important to not lose site of legal obligations. This article (while written from a Canadian perspective) summarizes some key considerations on this topic that are useful to all.

As the coronavirus keeps spreading, businesses are taking safety precautions with current and prospective employees. This article shares what organizations are doing. (Please note when you open up the article, a video on the topic will play, so be sure to lower your device/computer speakers.)

This article shares what some employers, who aren't obligated to provide paid sick leave in the midst of coronavirus pandemic, are doing to help their employees.

Although most healthcare settings remain open during the current COVID-19 pandemic, many patients are hesitant to visit their doctor. As a result, telehealth--the provision of healthcare remotely by means of telecommunications technology--has become a more viable option. Organizations that offer this should be actively urging their workers to take advantage of that benefit.

During this time of market volatility due to COVID-19, many organizations are seeing higher call volume to 401k customer service centers, with people asking if they should be making changes. This article provides some ideas on how 401k plan providers can reduce fear-driven missteps and help plan participants make informed decisions.

While continuation coverage administration under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) might seem insignificant relative to other COVID-19 issues, for those impacted, the COBRA implications cannot be overlooked. This column explores some COBRA considerations that arise from employers’ reactions to coronavirus.

MARCH 19, 2020

As organizations postpone and cancel in-person meetings in response to COVID-19, McKinsey offers 6 best-practices to learning leaders on how to help maintain the momentum and benefits of workplace-learning programs and help build a new foundation for effective virtual learning.

While HR organizations continue to update and communicate to employees and other stakeholders about the actions taken and resources provided on COVID-19, here is a really good example from Lisa Bisaccia, CHRO of CVS Health., that others can leverage as a framework.

This is an excellent crowdsourced collection of resources for HR and business leaders to help inform and support Coronavirus response plans. Includes response communications, templates, news, remote work, hiring impact, and resources.

On March 18th, the U.S. Senate approved the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and President Trump signed it into law a few hours later. The bill will provide free screening, paid leave and enhanced unemployment insurance benefits for people affected by COVID-19.

This resource by SHRM includes a list of FAQs ranging from general questions, employee leave, to travel policies as it relates to COVID-19. A good document to reference as organizations continue to communicate on this topic. 

MARCH 18, 2020

This article discusses how companies and their boards may need to address incentive setting (e.g. annual grants, bonus, plans, etc.) in response to the impact of COVID-19.

This reference provides a summary of pulse survey results of over 200 companies on the extent to which they believe annual incentive plan and organizational goals will be impacted by COVID-19. (You don't need to subscribe, just scroll down.)

The resource points out the challenges that organizations are facing in deciding how people are paid (or not), particularly those who work for hourly pay and have no paid sick leave.

As employers begin asking employees to work from home to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, virtual interactions are taking the place of in-person job interviews.

For job roles or functions where it is not feasible for employee to work from home, this article provides a few ideas on alternate arrangements for employers to consider.

This articles reinforces the importance of communications that are timely, clear, transparent and frequent and how having an effective communications strategy is key during this time.

MARCH 17, 2020

This reference provides a few ideas on how organizations can continue to move forward with candidate outreach and conducting interviews, particularly by leveraging technology.

Using feedback from 100 members of their CHRO Roundtable, Gallup has summarized strategies and policies that these organizations are employing, including how they are managing the impact of COVID-19 on employee wellbeing,

Here is a running list of 21 actions that organizations are taking in response to COVID-19. Includes examples ranging from Relief funds (e.g. Amazon and Starbucks), Telework (e.g. Twitter, IBM) ,and Virtual Hiring (EY) to name a few.

This HBR reference includes eight steps companies should take to ensure that they are keeping their employees safe from COVID-19.

This short article by Gartner provides a few tips on how HR leaders can equip their organizations to leverage remote working during this time.

This article provides guidance on what to tell employees who may have COVID-19, including guidance on leveraging health, wellness, and leave benefits.

This reference by SHRM provides a memo template that can be used by organizations when communicating about the topic. Includes a downloadable Word document.

This resource provides a running list of articles posted over the past month on HR Executive regarding the latest news on COVID-19 .

SHARE YOUR RESOURCES

Again, if you have a resource that you think would be useful to add to this special edition of Talent Edge Weekly on COVID-19 - Resources for HR, please send it to me through Linkedin or email me at [email protected]. This will enable us to leverage our collective knowledge and information.

Brian