The second wave of the pandemic needs a combined response from the government, civil society, citizens, and Corporate India. Organizations are grappling with a never-before crisis, to try and protect and support their employees and their families across the country. IndusGuru Network Partners undertook a Research Survey aimed at creating a quick reference guide to help leaders understand “emergent” people and organization practices to protect and support their employees. IndusGuru is an online platform that curates and connects Independent business experts for project opportunities

The survey showed that 28% of organizations report an impact of 2-5% of their headcount being affected by Covid. 46% of organizations report an impact of >5% of their workforce being affected.

Source: IndusGuru Research 

The 2nd Wave Impact is seen across all sectors – non-essential service sectors which had opened up in Jan-March, and then locked down, have been severely impacted too

Conducted between 6th and 13th May, 2021, the report provides a rough guide for leaders – to benchmark their practices with other organizations, and potentially adopt some relevant learnings for their own workforce. It also provides insights on the key HR and Organization Practices that may emerge over the next 3-12 months and more.

Here is a quick look at some of the findings from the survey-

• Large organizations have adapted their people and HR practices significantly since the 1st wave of the Pandemic – primarily around WFH and Flexible working arrangements. SMEs and smaller organizations have some distance to cover 
• This adaptation has led to business operations and results being relatively stable in the 2nd wave – but this wave has unleashed a humanitarian crisis on a national scale across sectors and organization types. The largest number of organizations report 5-10% of their workforce being affected by Covid – 3 times the national average case-load.
• As national health infrastructure groans under the strain - organizations have immediately responded by taking on several roles of a Primary Healthcare provider/ First port of Care for their employees and families.
• More than 50% of organizations report that employee health, morale, and engagement are their #1 concern over the next 3-12 months.
• Critical organization priorities reported for the next 3-12 months include –enabling vaccination access for all employees and strengthening health and safety protocols, mental health support, flexi attendance & leave policies, supporting families of deceased employees. Vaccination for employees is top of mind for most businesses. 2/3rd of all respondents report that providing Vaccine Access will be their top-most priority over the next 3-12 months.
• Digitisation as a means to build resilience, is a top priority, beyond the core-people agenda.