We all know that the past year and one-half has been very challenging. All of have experienced various levels of stress in response to our company’s decisions as a result of COVID. Some of us experienced working remotely, reductions in staff resulting in colleagues losing their jobs, budget cuts, a stronger focus on expense control, health issues and loss. The reevaluation of organizational objectives has led to greater stress on the job along with the need to make very difficult Human Resource decisions. As a profession, we are also learning that understanding our business, partnering with the leaders within our industry and changing our tactics is critical to our remaining relevant.
Once again we need to re-adjust our approach as the paradigm has shifted from retrenchment to expansion. Preserving our company’s competitive edge by retaining our high performers along with the use of HR metrics will allow us to be better positioned as the recovery continues. As HR professionals one of our goals for the remainder of 2021 and beyond will be to attract and retain talent by looking for alternative ways to respond to the current business climate, offer our employees value, a healthy work environment and provide management with the support to make quality business decisions.
The Human Resource profession has become very sophisticated by utilizing metrics to examine employee trends in order to better anticipate future challenges and opportunities. When we use HR metrics and evaluate historical patterns, we are better able to respond to the challenges we face on the job today. A key challenge for the future will be determining if, as the work environment changes, as a result of the pandemic, will our businesses continue to evolve or return to the way it was in pre-pandemic times. Metrics are a common measurement across all professions and are used as a way to quantify data. The analysis and subsequent data following an employee survey is a key tool in determining employee satisfaction, engagement and management effectiveness. As companies start the process of bringing employees back to office data metrics will become even more important. Understanding and responding to these employees’ concerns and questions are important components in ensuring success.
Today, employees are generally satisfied with their jobs. Employees appreciate that management is operating the business efficiently, often under conditions of uncertainty and with limited resources. Employees also believe that opportunities for advancement will occur as long as performance is maintained. Key challenges for the future in a post-pandemic world include:
n Expanding communication initiatives to ensure that the employees are informed of changes at work.
n Maintaining effective employee management relations through accountability measures.
n Ensuring that a team environment is supported and encouraged.
n Maintaining a progressive compensation program.
n Supporting a leadership team that is decisive.
n Opportunities for career advancement in an ever-tightening job market.
n Benefit programs that offer security and protection for the employee and eligible dependents.
Human Resources for the remainder of 2021 and beyond will need to be flexible, source and retain talent by looking for alternative ways to respond to the current business climate. Management will support this goal through the use of HR metrics.
