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Tips for Delivering HR Leadership in a Crisis

23/6/2020

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As Ireland continues to fight through it’s five step lockdown exit, businesses strive to reopen despite their losses, and people seek reassurance over job security, it’s easy to see why HR professionals may feel pressured during a crisis such as Covid-19.

From contract reviews, lay-offs and redundancies, to liaising with vulnerable staff or those with dependents, HR skills are in high-demand. Already large household names in Ireland such as Mothercare, Aer Lingus & Charles Hurst have announced major job cuts. With similar trends across the globe, CHROs and HR directors are under the spot light like never before.  

In a time of so many unknowns, one thing is certain: Great HR leadership is critical in a time of crisis, both in terms of aiding staff and minimising business disruption. Check out my HR tips for leading in a crisis.

Why Is HR Crucial In A Crisis?

At the end of 2019, the world could not have predicted the impact a virus like Covid-19 could have on the globe’s economic picture; people’s livelihoods, way of life - all changed by this deadly pandemic. But why is HR a crucial cog in your business during such a crisis?

They act as the first port of call for any employee queries and are often the face of your management team. They can help put out your internal crisis communications, ensuring your colleagues hear your voice amongst any chaos that might ensue.

Your HR team help to reassure, advise & guide your workforce during a crisis, keeping them on your side & warding off any issues to the best of their ability. Ultimately, they help keep your workers content to steer the ship through any riptides that might hit your business as a result of a crisis. 
Top Tips For HR Leadership

If you work in HR, a crisis within a business can spell a long period of uncertainty for its employees. Often, you will be the first person they contact about any worries they may be experiencing; your management will ask you to help them make tough redundancy & lay-off decisions.

Fear not! With the right planning & leadership, you can perform your maximum capacity during a crisis & help deliver for your team:
 
1.     Clarity With Management

It is crucial that you are provided with clarity from your management during a crisis. Ensure that you know exactly what the situation is for the company & take time to evaluate any consequences that might affect the company’s workforce as a result.

Perhaps you have lost a big client causing a need for a departmental downsize? Maybe your organisation is undergoing a top-down restructuring, leaving you with the challenge of identifying what redundancies will need to be organised quickly? Whatever the crisis situation, ensure your exercise your professional authority & demand clarity from management about this crisis. As an HR professional, it is important to know exactly what is happening at any time, to ensure you can perform to your best capacity & make the right decisions for the good of the company.
 
2. Plan & Evaluate

Once you are clear on the crisis at hand, take time to plan as much as possible & evaluate the situation. Often in a crisis, time is not something you will have much of - but make it count.

By reviewing what the consequences will be on your remit - your organisation’s workforce - you can effectively identify your priorities. Taking as much time as possible, review any legal or personnel consequences of a crisis. It’s your job to make sure that any decisions made are both legal & for the best interests of the company & its workforce.

Whether this means prioritising contract reviews to ensure the correct colleagues are eligible for redundancy packages or it’s liaising with certain departmental management on the crisis to see what can be done, taking time to evaluate a crisis fully will provide you a clearer picture and an accurate knowledge of how you, as an HR leader, can help your organisation survive a crisis.


3. Consistent Colleague Communication

After decisions are made in response to a crisis, it is important that you maintain consistent colleague communication.

We have seen crisis communications go very bad from some of the world’s largest companies in the past. For example, on the collapse of Thomas Cook in 2019, many staff found out they had lost their jobs from news media, with very little warning or planning.

It is crucial that clear communication is maintained with any staff during a crisis - from job loss & redundancies or a loss in company in reputation - whatever the crisis, ensure staff are aware of any important updates on the status of their jobs or their organisations.

As an HR professional, communication & clarity is key to ensure that you perform your job to the highest standards, and deliver for both your business & its workforce during a crisis.
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Preparing For Recession: Top HR Tips

11/6/2020

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As we start our journey along Varadkar’s step-by-step ease of lockdown, the true economic impact of the Covid-19 is beginning to make its mark. With catastrophic job losses, a possible 25% unemployment rate, a €30 billion deficit and a severe economic downturn are forecast, you can be forgiven to worry about your business, its future and the impact on your colleagues.

As Satayana once famously quipped, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Ireland has had its fair share of financial heartache amidst the crash of 2008. And while this left chaos in its wake, it is not too late to get your business prepared for the eventual short and long-term impact that this global pandemic will ultimately have on your business.

It’s time to focus on the top HR tips that you can follow in the fight against another recession:

Get On Top Of Your Employee Contracts
Your legal responsibilities to your employees during a recession are paramount. While it does not do well to dwell on the possible negative consequences of a recession to your business, it is inevitable that many employers will have to face the challenge of laying off workers or providing redundancy packages.

In order to get this right, for the benefit of both your employees and business, it is crucial that all your employee contracts are up to date to fit within the current context.

It is safe to say that most contracts may not mention specifically anything to do with a global pandemic. However, you must spend the time ensuring that your employee contracts can fit in within this context. This will help provide clarification to your employees on their rights during this period, what they will or will not be entitled to, and how any lay-off or redundancy process may take place.

HR As PR
Depending on the size of your business, this statement ring true for your management team rather than a separate HR department. Your HR team is often the face of your company to your employees during a recession, especially when lay-offs or redundancies are inevitable.

Having great communication between the company and its employees is the best internal PR. Utilise your HR team to communicate all actions that your company may be making during a recession with your workforce.

By keeping all employees well inside the loop, they will be more likely to maintain loyalty towards your company, growing a greater understanding of any sacrifices you may have to make to ensure your business survives a recession. Instilling great communication between these parties will also reassure employees, reduce anxiety of the unknown, and provide clarity to the situation.

Identify & Ask
You’ve built a business up, often from scratch. With no doubt countless years of hard work, you are proud of what you have created and grown. In the wake of coronavirus, many Irish businesses will fear the challenge of yet another recession, anxious to see if it can survive.

During this uncertain time, it is crucial that you identify any external assistance opportunities that will aid your business as Ireland prepares to rebuild post-Lockdown. Whether this is from the government, your bank for business, or industry bodies relevant for your sector – help is there.

Take the time now to identify what you are eligible for and utilise these opportunities; the Irish Government has provided a list of priorities for your business and where you can find eligible aid. They will help you to fight a recession post-Lockdown, ensure your business can remain successful for the future and provide some job security for your workforce as we move through 2020 and beyond.

If you have a specific HR enquiry or require HR support, please get in touch.

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