Workforce Strategies For Post-COVID-19 Recovery

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.7 billion people, or more than four out of five workers in the global workforce, have been affected by lockdowns and stay-at-home measures.

Organizations’ first priority in crisis response has been ensuring the health and safety of workers. Now, as organizations begin to emerge from this phase, leaders are focusing on the next set of workforce challenges as they plan for recovery.

The biggest challenge organizations will likely face in recovery is the tension between getting back to work and rethinking work as they embrace a new reality. How leaders and organizations handle the recovery may define their brands for years to come, and ultimately whether they are truly operating as a social enterprise.

The future of an organization’s DNA in the age of the social enterprise, and critical guideposts for workforce recovery, should focus on three core attributes: purpose, potential, and perspective. As we detail in our 10th annual global report, Human Capital Trends in 2020, these attributes are:

• Purpose—integrating the well-being and contributions of individuals in the organization’s mission and work • Potential—for what can be achieved by individuals and teams • Perspective—with a focus on moving boldly into the future

We believe workforce-related strategies in the recovery are best orchestrated through five critical actions: Reflect, Recommit, Re-engage, Rethink, and Reboot. These can help bridge the crisis response to the new normal by laying the foundation to thrive in the aftermath of the crisis.

Reflect

Reflection may be the most important step in the recovery process. Leaders need to dedicate time to reflect on what has worked and what has been missed in the crisis response. Reflection also involves bringing in perspectives from all levels for input on what comes next. As with most parts of the recovery process, reflection will not be easy, and it will require deliberate action from leaders to make the time for it on an ongoing basis.

Recommit

Organizations should reinforce their commitment to well-being and purpose, addressing physical, psychological, and financial concerns at the workplace and at home. They will need to support workers through the transition to recovery, ensuring safe workspaces for those coming to the office and flexible schedules as workers continue to care for children and elderly family members. Organizations should communicate directly with their workforces on new priorities and business goals, recognizing that performance will likely take on new meaning in the post-COVID-19 workplace.

Re-engage

The recovery process creates opportunities for organizations to redeploy their workforces. While some employees will return on-site, others may continue to work remotely or engage in a hybrid model. In addition to arming workers with the skills and access needed to meet work requirements, re-engaging the workforce will involve assigning meaningful work.

As teams play an increasingly important role in recovery, leaders should provide their workforces with clear direction on new assignments and priorities. Given the ongoing challenges workers may face in recovery as they balance their work and home lives, team assignments should allow for flexibility while still supporting critical business needs. How organizations prepare and support their workforces for these new priorities and routines will be a key driver of workforce performance.

Rethink Work, Workforces, and Workplaces

In this COVID-19 moment, we have seen rapid shifts to virtual and remote work, new partnerships across ecosystems, and unprecedented levels of adaptability. A critical goal of recovery should be to pivot toward a more resilient workforce, shifting away from rigid routine and structure.

As organizations rethink work, it is important they communicate how and why they are redeploying workers and identify how this supports new business priorities. This includes providing context and rationale for changes and clear communication on new workforce policies. Rethinking work also means rethinking the workforce—size, composition, and compensation—and performance management. Leaders should reassess and explain compensation and promotion plans for the short term while managing expectations through the recovery process and toward sustainable operations.

Reboot—HR Priorities

HR leaders are uniquely positioned to support their workforces through the recovery and position their organizations for a new era of resiliency. For many, this requires a pivot toward HR designed for speed, new ways of working, digital first, teams, adaptable organizational strategies, and changing business requirements.

The HR function will need to focus its expertise on critical compensation, performance management, and promotion realities specific to the recovery period. HR leaders should ensure they have a thorough understanding and timely access to expertise on the complex legal labor requirements and changes in tax rules around the world, as well as the dizzying array of government programs and subsidies.

In the workplace of the future, HR can become the voice making bold decisions in the face of uncertainty. The choices HR makes today will likely define its impact in the recovery and its role in the future.

Conclusion

The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, given the human dimension of urgent workforce challenges and the uncertainties facing business leaders, will require workforce strategies that focus on both short-term recovery priority actions—Reflect, Recommit, Re-engage, Rethink, and Reboot—and reaching toward the future and a new normal. By anticipating and orchestrating these five priorities in the context of a future directed toward Purpose, Potential, and Perspective, organizations can lead, prepare, and support their workforces through the recovery phase while positioning themselves for the next phase: thriving in the new normal.

Click here to learn more about workforce strategies for post-COVID recovery.

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