It’s been a year like no other for human resources professionals. From COVID-19 to becoming compliant in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, HR representatives have had to deal with a lot in the last 12 months.
Here are six lessons HR professionals have learned from their experiences.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate
With staff working from home and situations changing almost daily in some cases, it was essential to check in on everyone regularly. 2020 was not the year to hold back when you had a question or were concerned about a co-worker’s wellbeing. - Change is good
More companies are having honest conversations about diversity and other important issues in society. Rather than fall back on how they’ve always done things, they are using the time to figure out ways to create even better companies and environments for all employees. - New processes help your team
The work-from-home culture challenged many long-held beliefs about how to structure days, organize meetings and run businesses. Some teams learned they had to meet more often over Zoom to get things done. Others found they could meet less, or at least shorten meetings to get things done. - Keep the culture
It’s not easy, but it’s still possible to keep company culture in place when employees are working from all over. Your company’s culture is important and shouldn’t be dropped because you are not working from an office. - Flexibility
Your team is changed, possibly forever. You may have parents working from home who are sharing childcare duties. Everyone is worried about Covid-19. The office culture is not going to be the same as it was in the past. Neither is the day-to-day workflow in your business. Be flexible and be willing to adjust to the new ways people need to live. - Listen to your employees
Employee needs have changed. They may need technology or a different schedule to make working from home successful. Others may want you to offer a more robust mental wellness program to help them cope with everything that’s happened.
If you are reopening your office this year, they may want help with the commute. Edenred Benefits can help you set up a commuter benefits program that will help your employees save money tax-free, so they can use it on mass transit, qualified parking or rideshares.
Not all employees may want to commute on mass transit for the time being. We also offer plans that allow our employees to use prepaid cards to use micromobility vehicles like e-scooters and e-bikes to work.
Would you like to see all that Edenred Benefits can do for you? Schedule a 15 minute call with a member of our team.
