Article: COVID-19 learning - People-centricity is more important than ever before

Employee Relations

COVID-19 learning - People-centricity is more important than ever before

A few months ago, many of us thought that the long battle with the coronavirus was nearing an end.
COVID-19 learning - People-centricity is more important than ever before

The availability of the vaccine was a silver lining, but India had an unexpected encounter with the second wave of the pandemic. Although people faced a lot of difficulties, it was inspiring to see how corporates stepped up to nurture each and every employee and supported their families to traverse this uncharted terrain. 

Renewed approach towards employee safety & well-being

With people spending most of their day working from home, striving to balance their personal and professional lives, companies stepped up in several ways to help ease out the issues faced by them. Employers went the extra mile to understand their people’s unique needs and introduced employee-friendly policies to support them. While in the pre-COVID era, companies focused on their employees’ health, the coronavirus led corporates to adopt a distinguished approach towards ensuring employees’ holistic wellness, keeping in mind their physical and mental well-being. With the help of technology, HR leaders devised creative ideas to make the employees feel united as a team with exciting activities. With the second wave of the pandemic, organizations left no stones unturned to support the employees as well as their families with innovative people-centric initiatives. These were developed with the intent to enable employees to be healthy, productive, and professionally motivated. 

Happy & healthy employees equal to sustained growth

The best organizations in the world have succeeded at the back of a robust talent team. Many studies show employee-centric organizations are more productive as it fosters a healthy working environment. When employees are motivated and engaged, they feel more connected with the organization and do their best to contribute towards the company’s progress. Corporates realized that maintaining a happy and healthy workforce would mean a more motivated and dynamic group of people. Hence, employers not only introduced health & well-being initiatives, but several enriching policies to help them learn and grow both personally and professionally. Food for brain and mind is extremely important. Corporates opened the gates for employees to acquire new skills by tying up with Ed-Tech companies so that employees get a chance to upgrade themselves and stay relevant in the marketplace. New knowledge implies a better way of contributing towards the organization and the overall economy at large. Employees used their extra time in hand to upgrade themselves by taking up courses such as AI, ML, Digital, Finance, Blockchain and many more. Organizations played a pivotal role by investing in their people’s overall development and ultimately creating a stronger workforce with sharper skills.       

Employee assistance in times of crisis

As the entire world fights the pandemic together, companies promise to stand by their employees and their families throughout this phase. While a lot of things are not under anyone’s control, the fact that someone is always there by your side can be a huge relief. While the unfortunate incidents may not be compensated for, yet companies pledged to keep no stones unturned to support their extended families amidst the crisis phase and beyond.    

To offer a helping hand, corporations provided for families of the employees who were harshly affected by the pandemic. While some corporates announced sponsorships, many companies focused on the children’s education and provisions were made to continue the employees’ salary for a certain period of time. These initiatives were a result of thoughtful assessment of the overall situation and were introduced with an aim to cushion the pandemic-led stress for the employees and families. 

As people are the core asset of every organization, it is vital to safeguard their health and well-being to promote employee efficiency. Employee training and skilling programs offered by the corporates were instrumental in driving workforce efficacy so that they can have an edge. The pandemic has caused disruptions and people, governments and organizations are trying to do their best to overcome the hurdles. The time is now for organizations to rethink digital and business strategies in the context of people and allowing them to be more productive, integrated and connected. It is overwhelming to see companies being considerate about the ways in which they can empower their people to overcome these challenging times. Safety, holistic wellness and employee happiness quotient are key tenets towards building a healthy workplace environment.

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Topics: Employee Relations, #GuestArticle, #COVID-19

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