Outsourced Exit Interviews, Stay Surveys, Leadership Assessments and so much more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented amount of stress on the US workforce. Companies are rethinking strategies for staying afloat in a shifting economy, and employees are adapting to new work environments and obstacles.
For example, consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs) need to enable an evolved operating model that prioritizes local decision-making in key markets, according to McKinsey & Company. These types of fundamental organizational changes require an agile and engaged workforce.Maintaining positive employee morale during this period is critical to a company’s success and stability. As employees navigate their own concerns and emotions surrounding the pandemic, they will depend upon strong company leadership to impact overall morale. Low morale in the workplace, if not handled properly, can undermine company-wide efforts to stay afloat during these times. The following are some practices that HR leaders can implement to improve employee morale during the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, many employers were struggling to find ways to engage employees. As the pandemic unfolds, employers are discovering that employees’ basic needs are a precursor to engagement and productivity. Employees can’t even think about their level of engagement until they feel safe, but this isn’t necessarily a new concept. With safety measures in place, businesses across the country are welcoming employees back to their offices and facilities. However, some employees may feel hesitant to return to company premises, which is why HR teams are working around the clock to address all employee concerns. For most HR leaders, employee safety has become the number one priority as they work alongside organizational leaders to return to normal business operations. Over the years, our exit interview data has shown that safety is a high priority for employees across all sectors. Plant workers, teachers, and physicians alike all need and want to feel safe in the workplace. Employees rely on their employers to look out for their best interests. If employees feel that their health is in danger, they will become frustrated and look for an employer who is more conscious of their well-being. Feedback from our survey data can help employers understand what it takes to make employees feel safe in the workplace:
Employee engagement is a critical ingredient for productivity and retention, and recent events have amplified the importance of it. Organizations are trying to preserve the employee experience during this unprecedented time, but engagement has taken a hit, especially in the United States, because of the pandemic and other contributing factors.
These large swings over the last few weeks can provide us insights into how to approach employees moving forward. Clearly, employees are reflecting on how their personal brand is reflected in conjunction with the corporate brand. For example, many employees have expressed frustration with how their employers have responded to the global pandemic. Others are critical of how their employer has responded to issues around diversity and inclusion. Clearly, company executives and workplace leaders need to be conscious of how they communicate with their employees during times of unrest, making it the right time to re-evaluate policies and practices.
We are starting to see signs that government leaders across the country want (or have already begun) to prepare to restart the economy. The impact on workers in all industries will be profound. Even the most flexible and engaged employees find change to be a challenge in their work situations. In the last few months, employees have been asked to embrace change at epic levels. Human resource professionals will have just gotten through helping employees work remotely or perhaps finish paperwork from a furlough–just in time for the employers to re-open doors and ask employees to start becoming productive at “normal” levels. We recently introduced our thoughts about the impact on employees as the economy starts to recuperate. We identified the Four Phases of Employer Workforce Recovery: Monitor, Prepare, Readiness, and Recover. As part of the Prepare phase, employers will need to understand the immediate impact on their workforce resulting from the crisis so they can re-assemble their workforces to meet the inevitable upcoming economic headwinds. Employees were sent reeling when the COVID-19 pandemic first began and engagement took a backseat to survival, uncertainty, and sensemaking. Employee engagement has recently been more of a focus for employers, particularly as the labor force has tightened. That being said, employees are resilient and there is an inflection point when they will be ready for their employers to build engagement again. Employees may have appreciated leaders who have taken control over the last few months, but the leadership strategies used during that time will not be effective during the rebuild phase. During wartime when a sergeant is in a foxhole barking orders, team members are at full alert. They sense their life is in danger. They may be experiencing shock and uncertainty. They want a leader to bring them to safety. During a crisis, research clearly shows that team members are reassured by a confident, decisive leader telling them what to do. Scared employees in those situations may be hyper-engaged but only temporarily. As the crisis abates, employees become less and less motivated by control and command leadership styles. Leaders and organizations alike will need to prepare for that key point in time when employees become ready to regain control of their work situations. Employers who force engagement during a crisis – or even before the right time – will promote ill will with employees. A miscure from employers could make rebuilding difficult and could drive away mission-critical “A” players.
COVID-19 has affected each of us in different ways, from small businesses to large corporations. As some states return to work in the days ahead, we know that many employers open their doors to staff and customers with some degree of apprehension. We understand that companies may want to implement onsite screenings and temperature checks of their employees, but may not have the necessary resources to do so. Our customizable Return to Work Self-assessment report tool helps employers electronically remain in compliance and informed. Ensure your staff can confidently return to work with this pulse survey designed to track exposures to COVID-19, body temperature, and other measures.Surveys are a great way to create a dialogue, so employers will know when they need to start using strategies to re-engage employees. Surveys aren’t just a one-way feedback model. For employees, they are part of a greater narrative that is the employee experience. For example, during the Prepare phase, employers need to stop asking if the remote work experience is tolerable and start asking how the employee feels about it in the present. If employees are expecting to stay remote, employers need to understand so they can appropriately plan communications and re-onboarding. We have evolved our StayRight tool as a way to capture input from various workgroups at a regular “pulse” cadence. Our specific questions can help amplify current needs and future red flags. These are budget-friendly tools that we can offer as our way of giving back during and in the aftermath of the crisis. Feel free to contact us to discover how we can help.
Most of us are now past the first month of the “Great Pause of 2020.” Employers and employees are starting to ease into their temporary work situations awaiting the next phase of the pandemic. Regardless of whether your business was on the winning or losing end of recent events, the current environment is putting a strain on employees. They are being challenged by a range of obstacles from proper Internet access for working remotely to fear of their safety by going back to the office.
We recently introduced our thoughts regarding the impact on employees by potentially restarting the economy in identifying the Four Phases of Employer Workforce Recovery: Monitor, Prepare, Readiness, Recover. Employers will first want to focus on the Monitor phase.
The conventional thinking around surveys is that they are a one-way feedback model: employee to employer. The reality is that every employee touch is part of their experience with their employer. The Monitor phase of our current work environment is based on the need to stay in touch with employees in their new but potentially temporary work situation.
Newly remote workers may want to continue to work remotely, but employers may not want to promote these work situations long term. Employees who have stayed at work while others worked at home may have concerns about the employer putting them at risk. Some may feel increased commitment based on their employer’s response to the crisis. All of these various reactions will be important inputs as employers plan their workforce strategies going forward. For employees, it will simply be important that their voices are heard.
The best way to explain the Monitor phase is this: In the 1950s there was an employer who was trying to find the paint color that would make workers most productive. Every time they painted the walls, productivity went up. After seeking feedback from employees, they found that employees were motivated because the employer cared enough to continually paint the walls for them. Employees appreciate when employers continually pay attention to them by asking for feedback and input. Right now, this may be the best an employer can do particularly for a furloughed employee that the employer will want back in the future.
To address the needs of employers during the Monitor phase, we have evolved our StayRight tool as a way to capture input from various workgroups at a regular “pulse” cadence. Our specific questions can help amplify current needs and future red flags. These are budget-friendly tools that we can offer as our way of giving back during the crisis. We can help you get up and running right away. Feel free to contact us to discover how we can help.
Reacting to clients’ needs for accurate, rapid, cost-effective solutions, HSD Metrics continuously innovates its reporting features and technology.
