The HR Advisor

2020 saw recruitment and talent management plans come to a halt for most businesses. As recently as 6 months ago, it was a common belief that those ready to fire up their talent acquisition could have their pick of the market for the foreseeable future. That is far from how it has played out.

We all know that one of the most important aspects of any business is its people. By strategically attracting and retaining top talent, you will effectively create a stronger employee brand and improve organisational performance.

As business owners and leaders, we sometimes know we have work to do on our HR processes, but it all feels too hard. But you know what’s harder? Mopping up the inevitable HR issues if you don’t have the foundations right! There are several areas that should be a priority for all business leaders to ensure that issues are minimised and your people are engaged and productive.

Office birthday cakes, Friday lunches, walking meetings - there have been lots of little things that we have missed about work in the last nine months. In the scheme of things, no one has really put much weight of importance on the loss of these rituals - but the demise of company culture can be a death by a thousand cuts.

There is no doubt that culture is much more difficult to maintain remotely, and for most businesses, there is going to be a pandemic ‘before’ and ‘after’ when it comes to organisational culture.

It's incredible to think that we're nearly at the end of 2020 and that the pandemic that has defined the year is continuing to shape our work, our social lives, how we eat, shop and travel.

Knowing that we are (hopefully!) at the tail end of this thing is inciting a level of positivity not experienced in some months. However, there are many people also feeling anxious or tentative about returning to their old lives, which presents some key HR challenges for employers in running a COVID normal business.

Say the words ‘HR’ to any business owner and watch them sink into their seat and see their smile quickly fade. The thought of navigating employment legislation can evoke nightmares in even the calmest and level headed of business owners. And for good reason. HR is a significant risk area for a business.

HR problems can be the difference between a business thriving or just surviving; or even surviving and shutting the doors. The current economic climate is challenging enough; you don't want HR issues to be what dictates your business survival.

Recent lockdowns and changing government restrictions have delivered feelings of vulnerability around our health, relationships, finances, job security, the list goes on. Dealing with just one of these issues at any time would be challenging, but trying to manage several or for some people - all of these at once, is a perfect storm for bringing our mental health undone.

So, it’s no surprise that we’re all experiencing various levels of stress and anxiety at the moment, and this will be impacting on individuals, teams and work output.

Maintaining our wellbeing has never been so important, but it has also never been harder. When so much of what makes us psychologically ‘well’ is removed, we need to re-think how we are going to ensure our cup stays full (or at the least that it doesn’t completely empty!).

While the activities that we used to look forward to or rely on to give us energy are no longer available to us, this does not mean that we need to completely ‘give up’ on our wellbeing. However, it does pose the question - how do employers maintain wellbeing for themselves and their teams in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic?

In the coming weeks and months, businesses will experience what The New Normal will look like. In the early stages, it will be like waking up the morning after a marathon. It will take a while to get moving and rehab your aching muscles.

The methods you use to engage with your team, and your clients won't be foreign concepts, but there will be unique differences.

As a return to the office is seemingly on the horizon, you may be wondering whether you need to be making any changes to your current work practices. You may also be considering whether you remove remote working structures once you are allowed to have your whole team return to the office.

Due to the economic impacts of COVID-19, the Government have a wide range of economic responses to support you and your business. Arguably one of the most beneficial is the $130 billion JobKeeper Payment which was passed in parliament yesterday.

This legislation also introduced some temporary amendments to the Fair Work Act to support the practical operation of JobKeeper and to keep Australians employed.

In this article, we explore what is included in JobKeeper.