Interestingly, as per the People Matters COVID-19 survey, 73 % of the participating companies mentioned they do not have a post lockdown strategy. Here are ten initiatives for HR leaders to implement during the post lockdown period.

Start With A ‘Restart Manual’

A good place to begin your post lockdown initiative is to have a restart manual in place if you have not done it already. Many organizations have drafted their restart manual that has safety measures, dos, and don’ts in place.

For example, Toyota India’s restart manual “starting from home to work” mentions that they will be assessing the health status of their employees. They have also emphasized wearing masks, alternate seating arrangements, the mandate for locker room usage, staggered canteen timings, sanitizing the common touchpoints, and many such safety measures. You too can similarly draft your restart manual taking inspirations.

Defer Increment And Promotion

As most Indian companies are following April to March financial year, deferring increment and promotions is the most acceptable solution given the expected economic downturn. HR leaders need to reconsider their increment and promotion cycles to keep all the stakeholders happy.

Remote Working To Be The New Normal

Remote working is not just a perk anymore but is now considered to be a part of the company culture. If your organization has considered remote working as a temporary arrangement, it is time to reconsider your organization’s policy and infrastructure to support this new way of working.

Post Lockdown Communication

Employee communication has always been the top priority for HR leaders to keep employees engaged in the workplace. The necessity for timely communication has become pivotal in the post lockdown world. Whatever your organization decides as the future course of action, remember, it can impact your employee morale.

Since employee morale has a direct impact on business outcomes, you should have the confidence of your people with you. Hence, you need to communicate well with your employees. Conduct virtual town halls, send out leadership communication, run surveys to understand the pulse of the employees, and then chart out your way forward. Remember to keep the 2-way communication open at all times.

Invest In The Wellbeing Of The Employees

The lockdown and the pandemic are taking a toll on everyone. From physical health to mental health, each one of us is affected differently. HR leaders must focus on the wellbeing of their people. For example, they can plan wellness programs, online counseling sessions, meditation sessions, etc.

Time To Relook At Flexible Work Policies

COVID-19 has changed the way businesses used to carry out operations. Apart from integrating remote working in your organizational culture, it is also time for HR leaders to look back at their work policies and adopt a more flexible plan for employees.

In these challenging times, each employee is facing unique challenges and HRs need to come up with personalized solutions to keep up the employee morale. Allowing flexible work hours, encouraging employees to take more time offs, and several other such measures to ensure the safety and security of not only the employees but the organization’s health as well.

Re-Skilling Of Employees

As you are doing the competency mapping of your employees, consider re-skilling some of them so that they are future-ready for a demand that is likely to come shortly. Also, consider re-skilling and up-skilling your employees if you are planning for streamlining business shortly.

Collaborative Working Models

As organizations are putting out plans to recover in the post COVID world, it is important to emphasize collaboration as remote working is going to be the new normal.

A Radical Transformation In Learning

HR leaders should also focus on and implement radical transformations in the learning of their employees. Organization giants like Walmart have already brought in virtual reality to train their employees for Black Friday in-store shopping.

Preparing For Virtual Onboarding

HR leaders need to work on taking the entire onboarding process of new employees virtually. From shortlisting candidates to conducting interviews virtually to giving a virtual tour of the office, HR needs to invest heavily in revamping its entire onboarding process.

In the post lockdown time, HR leaders will be disrupting their old practices with modern techniques and conceptions leveraging technology. But above all, HR leaders need to ensure that their team spirit is high in the post lockdown world.