RESEARCH UPDATE PAULA O'KANE
Evolving the HR practitioner role from the COVID-19 experience The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the New Zealand workplace, with the environment not yet reaching its new normal. Paula O’Kane summarises international published research and contextualises this to the New Zealand environment to identify the challenges faced and ingenious solutions created, how these might create longerterm positive organisational change and how HR can support this.
T
he strategic role of HRM has been both amplified and challenged by the pandemic. HR knowledge and expertise has come to the forefront in many areas, including managing remote working, reacting to changes in the health and safety environment brought on by government initiatives, such as vaccine mandates, and introducing virtual recruitment and selection. This gives the HR profession a stronger voice in the boardroom, potentially increasing the often berated legitimacy of the profession. On the other hand, some strategic decisions are being postponed while pandemic decisions 42
HUMAN RESOURCES
AUTUMN 2022
take precedence, preventing medium to long-term planning for HR.
Wellbeing initiatives were already emerging but working from home, and the need to increase workforce resilience, makes this a continued area of influence that HR can take the lead on.
Increasing versus reducing stress
Equally, as wellbeing and health and safety experts, HR practitioners have had their personal energy zapped
through increased functional HR practices, such as checking people's vaccine status, and creating and implementing new policies, such as working from home and maskwearing. Research, though, shows that providing accurate, appropriate and timely pandemic information has been linked to reduced employee stress and increased motivation, confidence and retention, thereby embedding the importance of core HR activities to business success. Given the strong job market in New Zealand, with low unemployment rates and high
