The importance of adapting to circumstance

Uploaded

1st April 2020

Read time

2 minutes

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring guest posts from members of the Connectr team on their area of expertise. Kicking off the series, our first contributor is our Head of People, Jenna Cotton. Jenna has always been a real cheerleader in the office, and she’s carried this through the current crisis with calm and ease! Here’s her advice on people management during the pandemic.

HR is ever evolving

The challenges that HR professionals take on are so varied that no one day is the same. However, Covid-19 has brought about an unprecedented amount of change, which has needed the world to deviate, adapt and be agile in its usual ways of working like never before. It has caused the need for HR professionals to really step up and lead their people through this time of uncertainty and upheaval.

What can we do?

My view is that if you look after your people, they will look after you. They are key assets to your company and its success. Therefore, for a HR leader to be successful, there needs to be support and focus around the well-being of your people.

In these unusual times, employees look to seek comfort through consistent communication, and a voice of stability. The role of HR will now be to adapt to deliver this.

We need to be there to give advice and support on adjusting to new ways of working, and to be understanding of employee needs. Each individual has differing circumstances, so it’s now more important than ever to be flexible.

HR needs to be thinking proactively and strategically in order to deliver on the needs of the business and its people. There’s an ever changing landscape of information, and it’s our job to be experts on it.

The biggest message at this time is not to hide away behind the headlines. Be there, be seen, and be involved! Support your people and they will support you.