How HR professionals are leading the charge in the COVID-19 response (VB Live)

Presented by TriNet

As workers start returning to the new normal, being prepared with the right HR strategies is essential. Join this VB Live event to learn about the four key strategies HR managers need right now to help ensure their companies are compliant and their employees are safe, productive, and engaged.

Register here for free.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the working world, and HR professionals are tasked with finding answers to the biggest questions. Everything from keeping employees safe, to what the new workplace looks like in the new normal, to right-sizing the workforce and communicating new policies falls on their shoulders. And it’s all happening in an environment where changes come quickly, the impact has been widespread, and staying agile is essential.

“HR professionals are being looked to by senior leaders, by business owners, by the employees, and everybody is saying, now what?” says Darby Starnes, manager, HR strategy and content at TriNet. “With the political landscape and the amount of legislation and regulations that were being enacted and changed, it was on a minute-by-minute basis, and all of a sudden HR professionals had to be communication experts, coaches, mentors, advisors, and managers.”

In this environment, it’s no longer okay to just look at planning on a short-term basis, Starnes says — but there also has to be a real level of nimbleness to meet the complexity. That means when business leaders are looking at planning, they need to make the foundation of their company a priority, as well as ensuring those plans can scale.

But in such a tremendously changed environment, it’s time to take stock, because the old standards and practices may not fit the new world. What does your business philosophy mean now, and how does it hold up against the data that you’re collecting to make decisions?

“HR leaders need to look at their talent management philosophy, their human capital strategy, and their business model, and say, okay, what does this need to look like now, what data are we gathering, and what goals do we want to put in place?” she says. “But also, what if that doesn’t happen? Where can we be nimble, where can we be agile, to meet customers where they are in the moment?”

What that looks like in your own business, and your own workforce planning, boils down to what makes sense for your business now, she says. And it’s about asking the tough, important questions that are most meaningful now.

For HR managers, now is the time to ensure that you have a seat at the table, she adds. This is the opportunity to show that HR is a critical strategic leader — by partnering with business owners, by partnering with employees, and being the example badly needed when many may feel a sense of helplessness or chaos.

“We’re acting as the quarterback for the whole team right now, and we’re pulling everybody together to assess the viability of what we’re doing, trying to make good decisions based on real data and conversations with people,” she says. “We have to keep the conversation going. Keep the data coming. Keep the guidance to leaders going. And hang on, because the world may not be the same ever again, but this is our time. The gauntlet was just thrown down. Maybe it was by circumstances out of our control, but let’s take it.”

To learn more about what the ongoing COVID-19 landscape could mean for small- to mid-size HR managers and business owners, and how to effectively transition your employees from traditional workplace environments and habits to the pandemic world, don’t miss this VB Live event.

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Register here for free.

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