Writing “2020 was a rough year” and expecting heads to nod as if it’s a brilliant revelation is like repeating the punchline to a bad joke and expecting a laugh. We get it. We’re just over it—time to move on.
As we move into the new year with cautious hope and optimism, those in the HR community will have some incredibly challenging days ahead. With most cities seeing a resurgence in COVID cases, a renewed call for reintroducing or extending lockdowns is underway. For office workers, this means more time at home. For service workers, this means more time contending with “modified” operations, a status which, depending upon your field, could mean anything from more stringent cleaning policies to restricted hours to shutdowns. When it will all change and what “normal” will look like is anyone’s guess.
What we can predict, however, is that HR professionals – and the teams and businesses they support – will need to be more nimble, more agile, and most of all, more empathetic than ever before.
Merriam-Webster defines empathy as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.” It’s a word that isn’t often used in the business world, but it’s one that has been thrust to the forefront of our consciousness. Organizations that deem this critical skill as “too soft” for serious contemplation and action will soon find they’re playing catch-up in the areas that matter most to investors: revenue, retention, and brand.
Here’s why:
- Employees have been stretched impossibly thin during the past year. In addition to navigating changes within the workplace, many are navigating tremendous upheaval in their personal lives as well: Children are attending school virtually. Spouses may have taken a reduction in income or lost a job altogether. Parents or other family members may be wrestling with feelings of isolation brought on by lockdowns. Your employees have a lot on their plate, and many are struggling. If you can’t deliver the flexibility and support they need, work will suffer, which will inevitably impact your ability to secure new clients and effectively serve those you already have.
- According to a November 2020 Harvard Business Review article, 60% of business leaders stated they would “increasingly prefer to rent, borrow, or share talent with other companies.” Combine this dynamic with the increasingly urgent need for employees to find flexibility in their day so they can contend with the challenges we just reviewed, and you have the potential to see yet another seismic shift in talent markets. If you don’t find new ways to provide value and flexibility to your best workers, they’ll find it on their own, either by joining another company or going freelance. If you thought the gig economy heated up in 2008, wait until you see what 2021 has in store.
- Your brand, both as an employer and within the marketplace in general, will require protection and vigilance on multiple fronts. New regulations, policies, and practices – particularly in workforce management and leave – will likely be introduced, and HR teams will need to keep on top of it all. Fail to comply, and you’ll face fines and litigation, but you’ll also risk tarnishing your brand in a way that’s tough to shake.
So how does all of this relate to empathy? Within the realm of HR technology, an empathetic view should manifest in the way you select, implement, and introduce new platforms and processes to your team. There are five key areas where this is most evident:
- Simplicity: From SSO to mobile accessibility, removing friction from employee interactions will keep frustrations to a minimum and allow employees to be more focused on their goals.
- Availability: As employees are forced to adapt to changing circumstances on personal and professional fronts, ensure you’re delivering access to the information and resources they need on their terms. Access to commonly used forms, FAQs, and other similar content will speak volumes.
- Flexibility: All employers will need to exhibit a greater degree of flexibility in the workplace, but this will be incredibly impactful for hourly or shift-based employees. Shift trading, shift swapping, job share, and other similar programs will be on the rise. You’ll need to make sure your workforce management practices can keep pace.
- Engagement: Staying connected with your employees, and ensuring they feel part of the larger whole, becomes exponentially more challenging during times like these. Leveraging technology to “check-in, not check-up” (a phrase borrowed from our friends at LeapGen) will both improve engagement and provide you with a view into overall employee sentiment.
- Transparency: Employees should have a clear line of sight into everything that impacts the employee experience – from policies and procedures applicable to the entire organization to aspects of the job that are personal and have a more direct impact on their day-to-day lives. For example, this means delivering a clear and simple snapshot of a timesheet for hourly workers, including hours, worked, and upcoming schedules. For all workers, the ability to see and understand gross pay, deductions, time off requests, PTO, benefits, and other similar information will speak volumes about your organization and your dedication to keeping them happy, focused, and informed.
Regardless of what 2021 throws your way, viewing changes through your employees’ lens will empower you to transform obstacles into opportunities.
Click here to download our “Five Measures of an Employee-Centric Implementation” infographic.
