Month: April 2021

What was characterized as ‘glacial’ for the past 10-15 years had transformed into ‘tidal’ almost overnight. Yes, earlier flexible or hybrid working was considered unsuitable. But in this new normal, organizations have finally identified and reaped the benefits of hybrid working.

With over 70% of employees rooting for hybrid working, we are surely moving towards the Next Great Disruption, a hybrid workplace. Such a massive transformation comes along with substantial organizational changes too, both cultural as well as practical. All we need to do is sketch a plan for ensuring a sustainable future of hybrid working.

Organizations need to take up some hands-on measures.

With the second wave of COVID sweeping in, this transition from working from home to hybrid working has become all the more evident. Organizations need to consider both short as well as long-term practices as per the government rules. Amongst all the safety measures, the most important one presently is to determine the occupancy levels. You cannot call every employee to the office at the same time. So, you must prioritize the roles that are necessary for the return. Similarly, focus on providing every tool and technology required by your workforce to keep the business up and running. Moreover, simplify the home and office connectivity.

Anxious about heading back to office? Address that.

Going through a pandemic is grave, and at times like this, anxiety engulfs us. As long as hybrid working is concerned, it demands some employees to work from the office, and the return to office after working from home for such a long time seems scary today. The organizations will have to deal with employee anxieties. Do not disappear on your employees, instead arrange for regular one-on-one video calls and find out whether any red flags are present or not. Taking care of employee engagement and wellbeing should be on the priority list today. Secret tip – lend a helping hand to the ones in need, even in this hybrid working set-up.

Focus on performance management via the best fit application

A hybrid workforce is comparatively tougher to monitor. So, if your existing performance management systems are unable to provide you with the best visibility, consider replacing them. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and hence an application capable of providing complete visibility of employee active screen time across locations is the need of the hour. Such an application is NexAEI Hourly. It not only provides visibility but also assists in deriving actionable reports from the same. Such a solution might be highly beneficial for you to gauge and manage your employees’ performances in a hybrid working scenario.

To conclude, this plan will be your guide in the successful implementation of a prolonged hybrid working. Stick to it for building champion hybrid teams and swim effortlessly through this new normal transition because the hybrid teams are here to stay.

The resurgence of COVID-19 has adjourned the reopening plans of corporate India. The hybrid working model is here to stay for what seems to be a long time to keep the risk in check. The second wave of COVID-19 will put up several challenges. Organizations will have to dodge them by allowing employees to work flexibly from convenient locations and fill them with the required latest technologies at the same time.

In India, 87% of the businesses are considering continuation with the Flexi-remote working model. Even if the employees are to work from the offices, the management will adopt a phased approach. Not every employee will return to work at the same time. Employees will have to work from home and office on alternate days. Organizations will operate with a shrunken workforce for some time now. It will create an exceptional home-office framework and offer flexibility and work-life balance to every working professional.

Researches reveal that since the onset of COVID-19, remote job searches have swelled up to 261%. Even the postings for remote jobs have also increased by over three times. So, it is quite evident that both the employers and the employees have succeeded in hitting a good balance in the new-normal work set-up. And although people wish to return to their offices, they are ready to wait for a full-fledged reopening.

So, as far as working a little longer in this Flexi framework is concerned, even though it was a sudden phenomenon back in 2020, in 2021, companies are better prepared. Today they have guidelines, protocols, and SOPs in place to respond to the second COVID wave. Companies have already adopted several strategies that have redefined their work culture amid this pandemic. It’s just that they will have to hold on to that culture a little longer.

Organizations are considering employee safety as their topmost priority today, and no one is ready to take any risk on that front. So, they monitor every aspect of the present situation, starting from the frequent changes in health and safety guidelines to the vaccination drives. Companies are more than ready to bestow their employees with the latest technologies and best collaboration tools for uninterrupted functioning. Furthermore, people have realized and gradually accepted that the office will no longer be the same as we had left it last year.

People have gotten somewhat accustomed to the digital workspace and smart working infrastructure.

So with the reopening plans stalled temporarily, organizations are focused on strengthening the Flexi remote or hybrid working models, optimizing organizational costs, enhancing employee health facilities, and ensuring business continuity amid all odds.

Unique to every organization, the right leadership inspires people and guides them rightly in every situation. We had witnessed many such commendable examples of leadership in the last year during the pandemic when workplaces had to go completely remote. After a year of working from home, just when the organizations had started to re-open, a second wave of the coronavirus appeared, forcing the organizations to go remote again.

Even though the pandemic had given the employees a chance to work from the luxury and convenience of their homes, it had destroyed their work-life balance. As a result, burnouts had become quite common. A study reveals that a whopping 73% of working professionals are already burned out. And if not led properly, the forthcoming surveys are going to present even scarier figures. At this point, the right leadership needs to step in; to keep the employees engaged, to help them recover from burnouts, and regain the lost balance.

Speaking of employee engagement, here’s what leaders might consider doing during this second wave –

Co-create virtual experiences for spiking up interest

Be it hosting an open mic session or a scavenger hunt or Friday night watch parties or even a yoga session, the leaders need to look for various ways to keep employees engaged. This whole ‘co-creating a virtual culture’ with the employees is known to spike up their interest in showing up. The attempts to mimic the activities of other companies will fail. All you need to do is co-create experiences with your employees in their unique ways. Remember, the idea is to keep them engaged and churn out some positive responses from these activities.

Promote affinity and create a safe space for speaking up

Who doesn’t want to feel included? Craving connections and building relationships are what make us humans. So, when you promote affinity, you create a culture of inclusiveness. Your remote workplace consists of people from various cultures, mindsets, and interests. The key is to recognize all of them as your own, build connections with them, and hear what they have to say. Your employees need to feel safe and reveal their true selves in the space that

you create for them. These tough times demand you to be a little easy with your employees, offer a helping hand at times, and be approachable. The right leadership calls for kindness.

Acknowledge and appreciate the efforts

One should always appreciate genuine efforts. None of us had signed up for full-time remote work, and so we did not know of the baggage that would come with it. When every employee is striving to keep the business uninterrupted, you must acknowledge their efforts. Showing small gestures of appreciation goes a long way and is proved to generate a huge engagement.

Your workforce is your biggest asset. It is the time when you need to show that you care. Your care will be the biggest driver of employee engagement at critical times like this. Remember that the right leadership now will make your employees go far and beyond for you tomorrow.

Qualified HRs for any Small and Medium-sized enterprises) needs to be in perfect sync with the organizational objectives, operate accordingly, and contribute considerably to the organizational success!

Unlike larger organizations, SMEs do not have huge budgets or innumerable resources. All they need to do is strive continuously to master the art of people trades and get right at it.

We offer you 4 key steps that would help to direct SMEs towards improving their HR functions –

1. Build an effective strategy first

Firstly you need to have a clear idea about the expectations pertaining to the HR function. The expectation is different for different organizations as the HRD functions in coordination with the organizational aims and objectives. Expectations vary from successful recruitments to workforce upskilling to people management to performance management and so on. So, it is important to strategize first and then go for action.

2. Observe the employment lifecycle step by step

Whether an employee is performing in tandem with the organizational departmental objectives or not, needs to be identified by assessing the employee lifecycle. Not that the HR will bear every responsibility but, with a systematic observation of every step of the employment lifecycle, HR will be able to identify the areas that seek upgrading.

3. Monitor data for identifying trends and loopholes

For every organization to recognize its loopholes, assess its effectiveness and spot trends, monitoring people data is essential. It helps in assessing the effectiveness of the HR function too. The HRs need to utilize that data to back decision-making and ensure that the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are in place.

4. Be a good listener to your employees

Taking regular feedback from the employees, conducting engagement surveys, arranging one-on-one meetings, putting up a suggestion box, and so on will help you interact with your employees to listen to them. Doing so will help you identify their problem areas and subsequently chalk out improvement plans for them. Listening to the employee voice will strengthen the HR functions and facilitate growth.

Every organization needs its unique HR and unique strategies that fit its requirements perfectly. Every step taken as an HR for your company should be data-backed and evidence-based, and most importantly, it should reflect your business and employee needs. Note that the growing phase is crucial for SMEs, and with time you will see your employees evolving along with the organization. Being agile, approachable, and intuitive will help your organization improve the HR functions, and you stand out from the crowd.

The modern-day workplace abides by two vital aspects for mastering the new work reality; the first is having relevant skills, and the second is their timely execution. Having navigated through alien territories for over a year now, organizations have finally realized the value of holding on to essential skill sets. Since then, every successful company has been trying to retain their employee potentials by either upskilling or reskilling them. Skill enhancement tops every business strategy today, given the cut-throat market competition.

Operational Re-engineering

Organizations are re-engineering their operations to ensure business continuity since the pandemic. They have created a robust environment for upskilling in which the employees can identify innovative skills and get acquainted with them. Virtual learning being a prime facet of the said environment, corporates are collaborating with institutes and offering customized skill development courses to their workforces. Such upskilling plans would encourage professionals to self-learn and excel in today’s disruptive marketplace.

Digital dexterity

Distributed workforce and remote working have paved the way for digital proficiency. Organizations are investing in digital skill-building. Professionals today need to be digitally dextrous to move forward. Be it aligning the business strategies or streamlining its goals, being digitally sharp will position organizations in a better place for the upcoming technological pivot.

Cross-function

Cross-function as a trend is gaining acceptance all over. Organizations should engage in upskilling or reskilling their workforces so that one employee can fit into various job roles. This knowledge range will help professionals develop intense administrative skills too. It is probably the best advantage that cross-functioning can offer. The cross-functional work strategy has the capability of reinforcing team spirit and intensifying engagement by inter-team knowledge sharing.

As the world conforms to the reality of the new normal, upskilling can make a huge difference. To conclude, as long as the working professionals are keen on upskilling themselves, organizations are bound to sustain in this competition.