The team at Affirmative Portfolios understands how amidst all the uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, there are a few people at the head of ensuring that things run smoothly. Whilst ‘normal’ work is unable to continue in many businesses, work needs to continue as normally as possible. This means that effective crisis management needs to be enforced to ensure that employees are informed and confident in the way forward.
5 Tips for HR During a Time of Crisis
We have compiled some tips to ensure that your business runs as effectively and efficiently as possible during these uncertain times. Keep reading the blog as we reveal 5 HR practices your business can enforce in order to continue running smoothly during the lockdown period.
1. Have Effective & Efficient Communication Channels
If your business requires a lot of briefings and checking in, it is important that you have a solid communication plan in place. Keep in mind that not everyone has access to wifi or unlimited data, so you may need to provide some staff members with a data bundle. You also need to stipulate what communication platform works best for you; solely email, a WhatsApp group or a conference call app like Zoom. If employees know how to best get in touch with each other, working will be significantly easier. Your HR personnel needs to ensure that everyone has the correct means for this to happen.
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2. Stipulate Clear Objectives & Expectations of Your Team
You need to make it clear from the beginning of lockdown what is expected from your team. Let them know if they are required to work set hours or if their hours are flexible. You need to send them your expectations in writing so that there is no confusion. Let them know what you will and will not expect when working from home or in a situation that is different than the usual. HR managers can put together quick courses to ensure that employees know how to navigate the changes; they can do this via email or videos.
3. Distribute a Schedule & Deadlines
For your employees to feel calm and organised, you need to send out a clear schedule containing work hours, scheduled meetings and any deadlines they may have. This can be put in their workspace to make reference to and ensure that the change of routine does not interrupt their usual work ethic and productivity.
4. Motivate Remote Employees
Working from home can be challenging for a number of reasons. Some employees have children, others battle to focus in a home environment, no matter what their situation is, moving work to home is a challenge. It is crucial that HR personnel continuously motivate your employees and encourage them to stay on schedule. You can do this by sending a daily or weekly message of encouragement and thanks or finding another method that works for you and makes your team feel appreciated and valued.
5. Ensure That You Have Reliable Tools at Your Disposal
Before your employees begin working for the week, ensure that all the necessary tools needed are functioning as they should. Technology that is malfunctioning and giving problems will only cause employees to panic and feel overwhelmed. Ensure that your team has quick access to all online resources. It is also recommended that HR compile a quick list of contact numbers/emails and any web addresses they made need to save them from wasting time and feeling overwhelmed.
Contact Affirmative Portfolios for Business Crisis Assistance
If the coronavirus, or any other crisis, has left you feeling overwhelmed in your business, Affirmative Portfolios are here to help. Offering recruitment services to help you find the perfect employees for your business, we also offer temporary staff solutions. If you need extra help dealing with the effects of the lockdown or someone to help guide your staff, contact Affirmative Portfolios today and we can get you the extra help you need to better your business. Note: We also can assist you in Ad response handling and background screening.
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