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In this crucial scenario, HR departments have emerged as key players to make the changes and implement the best practices to get along with the pandemic and empower the employees and organization alike.

Prioritize employee safety

In the present workforce culture, it is of the highest priority to keep your employees safe. Organizations need to have a strategy in hand for providing a healthy work culture.
As the workforce is gradually returning to the office, keep in mind that no firm will return to normal operations as employees return to the office. At this stage, the HR departments should give priority to employee safety. Social distancing, use of masks, and sanitizers should be made mandatory inside the organization.

The HR department should also schedule a plan in which half of the employees work from the office during certain days and alternating the other half during the rest of the days. It should be well planned in advance to eliminate confusion among the employees. The frequency of in-person meetings will be less; to an extent, meetings can be conducted virtually. Firms can also take initiatives to close off the areas like break rooms, kitchen areas to decrease the scope of employees touching the same surface.

HR departments should also put forth practices to ensure that employees maintain proper hygiene; they should also be given the essential means to safeguard themselves from diseases. Make the employee aware of the proper use of masks and sanitizers, and the employees having a minor symptom can stay home and continue work from home.

Enhancing employee productivity

During remote working, employee productivity can turn out to be a challenge for many organizations. HR employees should ensure that employees have access to all the resources and devices to have a smooth home office atmosphere.
HR professionals should find ways to motivate employees and need to keep them updated. This helps all employees to stay on the same page.

Safeguarding employee mental health

This unprecedented pandemic has already taken a great toll on mental health. A proper work-life balance should be there to help employees withstand this crisis. Any form of disturbance should not pay way to affect employee productivity. HR employees should greatly understand the need of your remote employees; sometimes, they may be sick themselves or taking care of someone with coronavirus. They may also need to support their kids during homeschooling; thus, employees may need more breaks during this time.
Employee engagement, like mental wellness, can suffer at this period. People may feel as if they have no idea what will happen to their jobs since they are separated, new channels of communication are still being developed, and people may feel as if they have no idea what will happen to their careers. HR should provide a safe haven and outlet for employees of a company. Whether an employee merely needs to chat about their stress levels or requests additional time off, they need a place to go and a sense of connection with their employer.

Implementing new technologies

During this virtual workforce, technology is at the center. The dispersed teams have created a demand for an easily accessible and waterproof system that can be accessed from anytime, anywhere. Human resource departments have been involved with selecting, learning, and implementing new technology methods, which has necessitated their becoming IT professionals or aligning themselves more closely with IT departments.

Human resource and the pandemic

With HR under the spotlight, the task of guiding employees through this crisis is not easy. There is no room for error when it comes to employee health; therefore, now is not the time to cut costs. The way businesses respond to the growing pandemic will define them.