INSIGHTS CHRIS O'REILLY
HR's biggest COVID-19 challenge is yet to come
The COVID-19 crisis is already testing HR leaders like never before. Globally, hundreds of millions of people have had their work lives upended. The rule book is being rewritten. It’s safe to argue we are facing the greatest professional challenge of our time. Chris O’Reilly, CEO at AskYourTeam, offers six guiding principles to keep in mind.
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he good news is that, in New Zealand, HR leaders have stepped up. AskYourTeam has surveyed more than 20,000 Kiwis working from home during the lockdown. In critical areas of trust, communication and flexibility, we’ve seen impressive results. Compared with pre-COVID-19, respondents are rating their workplaces higher on average for measures, including being trusted by managers to work productively, knowing what is expected of them, having the resources to work effectively, and staying connected with team mates and managers. We’re also seeing closer alignment on these issues between leaders and the people who work for them. 30
HUMAN RESOURCES
WINTER 2020
In some cases, the gap between how leaders and workers rate their organisations on these measures has halved. These results are a reason for us to be proud of our work as HR professionals. But the next phase of this crisis will be more unpredictable and challenging. Here’s why. Lockdown can be thought of as a ‘honeymoon’ in the lifecycle of the COVID-19 crisis as it relates to work. Serious practical challenges have been overcome, but the shared threat of the virus has had the effect of pulling us closer together. Our jobs have given us a collective anchor and a sense of belonging as life outside has changed.
Social scientists are warning the next phase will be characterised by a significant loss of this cohesion. We can see the same trend mirrored around the country more widely. Colmar Brunton, for example, has found three-in-five New Zealanders now feel a greater sense of national pride than they did pre-COVID. But social scientists are warning the next phase will be characterised by a significant loss of this cohesion. And I think they’re right.
We have no reliable guide to help us navigate this next phase of the crisis. The current catch-cry that ‘we’re all in this together’ will ring increasingly hollow for people worst affected by the coming economic recession, with mass redundancies, mandatory pay cuts, dislocated working environments and the inevitable pressure to do more with less. This pandemic will affect some greatly, others lightly. The effects clearly will not be felt together. HR will be at the forefront of these emerging faultlines, and it’s almost impossible to predict when and where they will rupture. The news is full of predictions about everything from unemployment numbers to the demise of specific industries, but these often say as much about the hopes or fears of commentators as they do about our real future. COVID-19 kills people and jobs, but it doesn’t kill cognitive bias. This also means we have no reliable guide to help us navigate this next phase of the crisis. What we are able to do is help organisations to be as cohesive and resilient as possible and prepare them for any disruption.
