Your company’s workplace culture and brand are permanently linked. Business leaders often view it as a one-or-the-other undertaking, but that’s a mistake. If you want to build or refresh one, you should couple them both together.
Impossible, you say? Too much of a heavy administrative lift? Keep reading, you’re in for a surprise.
Many prominent surveys have shown that most employees want a permanently hybrid work environment – or at least more flexible workplaces. This is a shift that has been coming for some time – the pandemic simply accelerated it.
For employees, hybrid workplaces combine in-person work and telecommuting. For organizations, this shift brings many questions about how to manage the new hybrid workplace. For many leaders, managing a distributed team of people engaging in various work modes – such as in-office, hybrid, remote and outside sales – is unfamiliar.
In a tight recruiting economy, the pressure is on employers and their HR teams to hire the right people and engage them in their organizational culture.
How confident are you in your employee classifications and the process you use to categorize them? Do you really understand the differences between exempt vs. non-exempt classifications when it comes to your white-collar employees?
A change in business hours, layoffs, a reduction in benefits, a department reorganization, an elimination of bonuses, elimination of casual Fridays: Change in business is as relentless as it is inevitable.
Small and midsize businesses have many challenges in common when it comes to HR technology. In most cases, these challenges can be overcome by using a single human resource management system – sometimes called human capital management (HCM) system – that can:
Are you uncertain about how to find the most suitable professional employer organization (PEO) for your company?
Have you explored all your options? After all, not all PEOs are the same.
Deciding which one offers the best service, the greatest value, and the type of expertise that your organization needs isn’t always so simple.
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel – COVID-19 vaccinations are ramping up and the pandemic may be over in the foreseeable future.
Undoubtedly, many aspects of how we traditionally carry out work had to change because of the risks of virus transmission. But the question remains, how will COVID-19 change the workplace for the long haul?
The latter seems to be the most likely scenario.
We asked eight Insperity HR gurus to give their predictions on how COVID-19 will change the workplace permanently.
We broke their answers into five categories:
Despite all the disruptions and stress that came with unexpected change and prolonged periods of uncertainty, many of these long-term impacts of COVID on the workplace may actually be positive.
Here’s what they had to say.
No longer will the status quo – the brick-and-mortar location for a company – be the norm for some businesses.
The ability for employees to work remotely and be effective has demonstrated that the previous standard requirement for on-site work may be an outdated concept going forward for certain types of businesses where an on-site presence is not critical.
Kim Franklin | Senior Human Resource Advisor | Chicago, Illinois
This forced experiment has been a true learning event for everyone and has changed the relationship between employers and employees for the better.
Companies have now realized that many of their functions can be done successfully and remotely.
Before the pandemic, many companies were hesitant to truly accept this concept. Being forced to adapt in real time opened company leaders’ eyes to this new way of working.
Managers had to shift their perspectives and expectations of employees and learn new skills. Many have been very pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
Bonnie Moynch | Performance Specialist | Houston, Texas
Employees and employers alike now realize that remote work is feasible in many cases. Remote work will continue to prevail.
For employees, this may help to reduce commuting costs and stresses, and improve work-life balance. For employers, this may allow them to reduce the costs associated with physical office locations – either by:
There may be no compelling need for an employee to return to working in a physical office. However, this adds the complication of how to manage employee performance, conduct and attendance remotely.
Mark Berry | Senior Human Resource Specialist | Bay Area, California
There will be a broader acceptance and embrace of a more virtual workforce.
Training has had to adapt for virtual environments, and that may stick. The days of gathering hundreds of people – or even just 20 or 30 – in one space for conferences, seminars and training may be a thing of the past.
We must be creative in figuring out interactive ways to engage employees while achieving similar outcomes as before. For example, what used to be one full day of training may now be three shorter days.
Additionally, managers must be able to lead remote employees well. They need to:
Michelle Kankousky | Senior Corporate Learning and Development Consultant | Houston, Texas
Balance and flexibility will be the new workplace mantras, and employees will become a more active partner in designing what that will look like.
Bonnie Moynch | Performance Specialist | Houston, Texas
The pandemic required businesses to have an increased flexibility with work hours, work-life balance and caregiver needs. Employers will need to sustain flexible work options to attract and retain skilled workers.
Caroline Hernandez | Human Resource Advisor | Los Angeles, California
Employers have learned an important lesson on flexibility and extending grace. On video calls for conducting business, it’s common for a child’s face to suddenly appear on the screen, a dog to bark or a baby to cry. Working around an employee’s family responsibilities in a crisis situation has fostered innovation and creativity.
The post-pandemic period may reflect a hybrid of on-site/off-site employees, investment in technology to ensure seamless transitions when business needs to adapt quickly to change and, through it all, balance personal and work life.
Kim Franklin | Senior Human Resource Advisor | Chicago, Illinois
Employers who prefer to have their employees on-site may consider providing motivation for employees returning to the office.
Allowing flexible schedules, such as one or two days of remote work and three or four days in the office may be sufficient to appease those who wish to remain home.
Arranging social gatherings in the office can also be a draw to bringing employees back to work. Hosting a lunch meeting or just bringing in lunch and giving employees an opportunity to gather on a regular basis may also be a good incentive.
Kelley Zanfardino | Senior HR Compliance Analyst | San Diego, California
Technology has played – and will continue to play – a key role for many companies in maintaining the ability to work without experiencing a significant, negative impact on how they conduct their business.
Kim Franklin | Senior Human Resource Advisor | Chicago, Illinois
The workplace quickly adapted during the pandemic to extensively use audio and video conferencing to replace face-to-face meetings across a broader range of situations – and with employees who may not have ever used that technology before.
We will continue to see increased use of audio and video conferencing. In some cases, this technology will be more efficient in reducing travel time and expenses.
Mark Berry | Senior Human Resource Specialist | Bay Area, California
Because COVID forced many businesses to close or adapt operations, leaders had to leverage technology to come up with alternative ways of doing business that, as a result, streamlined processes and services. The most cost-effective solutions may be sustained into the future.
Caroline Hernandez | Human Resource Advisor | Los Angeles, California
There may be new requirements targeting time off for employees – whether that’s mandatory sick leave or public-health leave.
Some locations had laws of this nature already in place, often as part of a mandatory sick-leave law. Other locations may not have included public-health issues in their sick-leave laws – or they don’t have an applicable law at all.
All employers will need to maintain awareness of any legislation that arises from the pandemic, and adapt accordingly.
Kelley Zanfardino | Senior HR Compliance Analyst | San Diego, California
The COVID-19 pandemic may change the workplace by forcing businesses to reconsider safety protocols and procedures. They may have a newfound appreciation for OSHA and safety expertise. As a result, we could see increased budgets to invest in safety specialists and sanitation services for their businesses in the future.
Likewise, HR professionals have become essential – more than ever – in helping to navigate COVID-related laws and guidance at the local, state and federal level.
Caroline Hernandez | Human Resource Advisor | Los Angeles, California
The shift to long-term remote or hybrid work arrangements will further blur the line between the personal and the professional.
Companies will need to consider how they protect data – both electronic and physical – when it’s accessed from a home environment. For example:
On the flip side, employees should be careful to not disclose more of their personal lives than intended. For example, what’s visible behind them on a video call?
Long-term change driven by the pandemic is providing incredible opportunities to balance our work and personal lives. We just need to make sure that we redraw and reinforce the appropriate boundaries to protect everyone.
John Rhoades | Managing Director, Data Privacy and Technology Compliance | Houston, Texas
When it comes to assessing how COVID will change the workplace permanently, HR, performance, and data privacy professionals agree:
Overall, COVID may have wrought havoc on a global scale, but fortunately there seems to be a silver lining poised to leave a positive legacy on the workplace.
To get the latest updates on how COVID-19 is changing the workplace, visit the Insperity COVID-19 Resource Center.
Employers and business leaders must decide how to handle COVID-19 vaccinations for employees. It’s a hot-button issue that’s complicated by an array of factors. And, as with so many issues businesses have faced during the pandemic, there are no easy answers.
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