a) What is the role of HR during tough times?
In my opinion, the top priority for HR in these times is ensuring the wellbeing of its employees. We are trying to do this by offering WFH friendly policies, flexible timing options for working parents, employee assistance program etc. Second important aspect is staying connected and understanding the pulse of the employees as there are high chances of them being unclear in these times. We make sure to connect virtually through group listening sessions, skip sessions to hear them out. Over-communicating with employees in these times is need of the hour.
b) How to engage employees working from home?
We all know R&R is a vital component of employee engagement and employee recognition for remote workforce is even more important. As one of the ideas that came from our employee connects, we started 360 ° employee e-recognition for our remote workforce with E-Thank you cards, shout-outs cards, verbal appreciation in virtual meetings and it worked wonders. We also launched our virtual learning initiatives and L&D campaigns for employees to pick-up courses/ trainings to build their competencies. This does not only help in engaging employees but also aids in organizational upskilling and reskilling.
c) How does Work From Home impact team’s productivity?
If it is new for the team, there is a high likelihood that they might feel lost initially. We encourage regular one-on-one check-ins by managers and regular constructive feedback meetings. This aids in building trust, setting expectations and eventually the pace of work gets balanced with minimal impact on productivity.
d) Do you think Virtual Team Training can play an important role for the organisation?
Yes, because with remote working being the new normal, HR needs to offer employees convenient ways to learn and develop competencies. Virtual trainings are a must specially in times like these and in organizations where employees are scattered across the globe.
e) How do you motivate employees working from home?
It’s quite probable that employees working from home can lose the purpose & motivation. To keep the momentum high we make sure that employees are updated on where the project/team is headed and how their work is contributing to organization’s vision & strategy through their connect with managers and leaders. Keeping an open & transparent culture goes a long way in creating a self-motivated workforce.
f) How do you create a buy-in for Virtual Trainings for your team?
Virtual trainings have now come to the forefront of most L&D initiatives and having a buy-in is a must for its success. This can be done by partnering with business, understanding ‘What’ is it the business wants and answering the ‘Why’ and ‘How’ virtual learning can solve for the current business need. In one of the organizations I worked for, we used to have quarterly meetings to understand the learning requirements, launch L&D initiatives to cater to it with a plan to measure the impact of the initiatives.
