A global health pandemic can be a daunting season for Human Resource Managers who are juggling many aspects such as restructuring organisation resources and re-allocating talents to essential departments. Below are some practical tips on how to show care for employees and keep them motivated even if they are working remotely. How you treat your employees during this time will go along way in showing how much the organisation cares for their staff and could improve employer/employee relationship resulting to better productivity.
3 TIPS ON HOW TO SHOW CARE TO YOUR EMPLOYEES DURING A PANDEMIC
Show Care – Based on their personalities and coping skills, employees may be handling the pandemic differently with some coping better than others. As a HR Manager slot in a care time when you find out how they are actually doing. Have regular calls to check in on them, listen actively to find out how the pandemic has affected their personal lives and listen actively.
Food Gifts – Food and groceries are some of the essential items in this season. Giving employees a food shopping voucher will be a much appreciated gift at this time. Alternatively get subsidy grains and cereals purchased at wholesale and distribute to your employees, however factor in that latter method requires more logistical support to carry it out efficiently.
Survival Tips – Direct survival tips to your staff to help them navigate through this season, such as tips on planting a vegetable garden, building an emergency fund due to dwindling funds or parenting tips to manage the home front at this time.
PAYING WAGES WHEN INCOMES ARE DWINDLING
Human Resource Department usually take the brunt of a struggling economy and salaries and wages may at some point be affected. To renegotiate jobs and salaries, Take percentage pay cuts that starts with top employees taking the largest cut and make it known to the employees.
Renegotiate jobs by putting people on new terms such as consultancy to reduce statutory deductions. Use saved up money to pay staff better and use money that would have otherwise gone to overheads to pay employees.
KEEP YOUR STAFF MOTIVATED AND PRODUCTIVE WHILE WORKING REMOTELY
That notwithstanding, as a human resource manager, it is your duty to keep staff motivated and productive.
Be clear on the results you expect from them- Being at home makes the dynamics of working very different from working at the office. Results of what you expect would be more important than knowing what your staff are doing minute by minute so be gracious and provide some allowance as we all try to find a new normal.
Upskill your staff for the future – Encourage your staff to take up free online courses and informative webinars currently on offer. Institutions and Universities such as Harvard University are offering free online courses and coaching that may be of interest to staff.
Celebrate your staff Acknowledge, recognise and celebrate your staffs’ successes and achievements – This can be through public acknowledgments during meetings, or in internal company communication, specify to everyone what the staff who have done extra ordinary deeds. A handwritten acknowledgement letter not computer generated would go a long way in affirming your staff, that is of course when becomes possible to meet them.