From the editor

We all remember those moments of crisis when everything else falls away, and we realise only one thing matters: the people we love and care for.

We have probably all lived through one of those moments in the past few months, and this time it’s been on a national and global scale. The collective effort by New Zealanders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has also included the business community and not just in the sense of complying with the government’s request. Businesses and organisations up and down the country have been figuring out how to navigate this unprecedented landscape. For example, what will happen to the employees we are the voice for, and how can we support our colleagues who are very much in the frontline of sorting out the simple stuff, like leave and pay, and the big stuff, like whether their jobs will even still exist next month.

Looking forward, we, as HR professionals, now face another challenge: inventing new ways of doing things ‘on the run’ to solve the biggest people issues in this country’s history. And we're doing this at a pace and scale we are not equipped to handle when we operate business as usual.

In this issue, we examine how we can best equip ourselves as HR practitioners to forge ahead with this business recovery. We look at the topic of resilience and mental wellbeing in times of crisis, for ourselves and our people. And we look at what leaders need to know with regard to managing redundancies and business downsizing. We ask what changes we may see in the workplace as a result of COVID-19, and we delve into the employment law implications of upheaving our workforce.

I hope our readers are looking after themselves as well as the rest of their teams. It’s easy for the lessons we learn to go out of the window at times of crisis, and inevitably many difficult conversations and decisions will have to be made over the coming months.

We may not have all the answers, but simply being there is enough until you do have them. We all deserve compassion, and that includes yourself. Sending well wishes to every single one of you.

Kathy Catton, Managing Editor - kathy.catton@hrnz.org.nz