Conference Description:

Until recently, our worries as HR professionals were likely centered on initiatives around organizational transformations, automation and AI, and workforce skills gaps. And suddenly, in only a few days, many of our businesses have been upended, we’re implementing new work processes and employees are worried about their jobs and the very survival of the organization. The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy. What to human resource leaders need to do now and what preparation can be make for the future requires a perspective on the evolving situation and implications for their companies. The outbreak is moving quickly, and some of the perspectives in this webinar may fall rapidly out of date.

Why Should You Attend:

From Alibaba to Google, companies around the globe are telling staff to work from home in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19. Such remote working at scale is unprecedented and will leave a lasting impression on the way people live and work for many years to come.

Working from home skyrocketed in China in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis as companies told their employees to stay home. Around 200 million people were working remotely by the end of the Chinese New Year holiday.

While this arrangement has some benefits, such as avoiding long commutes, many employees and companies found it challenging. One employee at an internet company quipped his work day changed from ‘996’ to ‘007,’ meaning from nine to nine, 6 days a week, to all the time.

On the personal front, employees found it difficult to manage kids’ home-schooling via video conference while coordinating with remote colleagues. At a company level, many felt that productivity rapidly tailed off if not managed properly.

In the short term, a vast majority (88%) of employers are encouraging or requiring employees to work from home—whether they’re sick or not. They have almost universally (97%) suspended work-related travel.

When it comes to leave, policies among the respondents vary: About half mandate that employees first dip into sick leave, followed by vacation leave and then they may be able to take advantage of specific PTO programs created for the current conditions. About 20% are offering additional PTO for those who are sick or caring for a sick family member, while others have increased PTO for parents with children who are now home from school.

The organization’s health is also a priority: Many are trying to cut costs by trying to use technology more effectively, temporarily suspending new hiring, reducing consultant hours.

Fewer firms are cutting employee hours or asking employees to take unpaid leave but that may be necessary as the crisis deepens.

While HR leaders are rightfully focused on decision-making around these immediate priorities, the realities of the COVID-19 crisis are upending the traditional approach to business strategy.

Historically, business leaders haven’t made decisions in the short term that could put the long-term plan at risk.

While that is still true, there is an important difference now: To accomplish this in the past, organizations wanted to design processes and solutions that would stand the test of time, but that mentality will no longer work.

Leaders need to adopt a “default yes” mindset and as long as we are not breaking the rules, we should encourage employees to do whatever it takes to accomplish our goals.

Just as we found after 9/11, one of the critical roles of HR in times like these is to foster a sense of safety, trust and collective thinking in our people.

The coronavirus situation actually represents an opportunity. If you focus on your people in a competent and ethical way and you actively listen to their needs, you can drive up trust, teamwork and resilience.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

What HR should be doing, right now, to provide employees with relevant and necessary information about the pandemic.
How to create a telecommuting and remote work policy.
What paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act means to employers.
How the WARN Act pertains to Closures and Mass Layoffs.
Best practices for travel and other work restrictions.
What employers are allowed to do concerning employee medical screenings.

Who Will Benefit:

All Human Resource professionals in any size company but especially for those in smaller and mid-size companies or those who are stand-alone practitioners from all industries.