Planning a Path to Business Renewal and Growth

The function of human resources amid the pandemic has been thrust to the forefront as HR leaders navigate uncharted waters in setting policy for their respective organizations. They’re frequently partnering across the C-suite to accommodate the workforce and make daily decisions about how to pivot for the future. In late May, chief human resources officers in Atlanta met to discuss the challenges they’ve faced and best practices they’ve discovered in light of COVID-19. 

DeRetta Rhodes, senior vice president of human resources for the Atlanta Braves facilitated the conversation as town hall moderator. Panelists included Daniel Goldblatt, chief human resources officer for Serta Simmons Bedding and Karen Brandenburg Viera, senior vice president of human resources and internal communications for Church's Chicken. While the participants came from diverse backgrounds, they all found commonality around how the role of HR is changing.

Preparing for a “New Normal”

In the age of COVID-19, HR executives look to many sources of information to help strategize about the future. In Atlanta, 83% of human resources leaders say they are relying on guidance from public health officials and the judgement of organizational leadership as they plan a return to the office. 70% of HR executives are relying on governmental policies and orders. 

Organizational leaders are writing the playbook day by day, determining how to guide the workforce safely back to the office. They are thinking about objectives that didn’t used to be on the list; things like physical distancing and scheduled sanitation protocols. Many leaders have created their own organizational guidelines, focusing on health and safety, flexibility and timeliness. Leaders say these plans will happen in a phased approach, with fractions of the workforce coming back into the office slowly over time. 

They are also deploying regular pulse surveys to collect employee sentiment on organizational pivots. It is this data that drives the enterprise’s approach in this uncertain time. Executives say there is no longer an expectation to return to work in the way it once was; instead they are taking the lessons they have learned from the pandemic and building upon them.

 Prioritizing Objectives

HR leaders are focused on what the return-to-office will look like and how they should prepare the workforce for the change. They say the new office environment will be much different and will include temperature checks, physical distancing arrows on floors, plexiglass, fewer chairs at the conference table, etc. The “new normal” may also call for split shifts, where one group of employees comes into the office on Mondays and Wednesdays and another group on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

But while in remote environments, HR leaders say they are focused on maintaining company culture. Many leaders express that technology has helped with that endeavor as a new reliance on communication platforms has caused teams to grow closer. Virtual meetups not only include work-related agendas, but happy hours, team building and peer-to-peer workout programs. 

Organizational Changes

In looking to the future, executives expect some of their learnings to stick around for the long haul. They plan to continue more robust communication strategies as they have proven this approach has led to a more engaged workforce. Leaders also expect technologies like WebEx, Zoom and Microsoft Teams to be a part of the “new normal,” saying these platforms help break down silos. 

Another focus brought to the forefront: wellness. Psychological safety is now a leading focus for CHROs in considering a return to the office. They say no one should fear going to work. 

And 90% of HR leaders in Atlanta anticipate permanent changes to their remote work policies because of the productivity they have witnessed in remote environments. They are realizing not all employees may need to be physically in-office. Some positions have been and will shift to be remote permanently. 

Not only will this help organizations meet physical distancing standards, there is a possibility the enterprise could reduce its real-estate footprint. Teams who were in separate locations originally will now be able to come together.

Thoughts from the Community

Atlanta HR leaders acknowledge that during a major organizational shift of this magnitude, communication and flexibility are key. In asking these employees to change the way they work, leaders are giving them options for continued connectivity, such as bookable telework cubicles and in-office conference rooms.

Leaders agree there are many approaches to monitoring productivity. Some are tracking KPIs while others are encouraging team leaders to have frequent touch points with workers to ensure they’re hitting objectives.

In their final thoughts, Atlanta CHROs say they are recognizing a shift in their own personal empathy levels. They say the pandemic has prompted them to reach out more frequently to connect with teams and check on employees’ well-being. Teams are also leaning on one another more often to stay engaged. They have gotten creative in how they’re able to build bonds, whether that happens through virtual happy hours, cooking challenges, birthday and anniversary celebrations or company-wide games.

by CHROs, for CHROs

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