4 Ways HR can help during the Coronavirus crisis

Pandemic is a rather terrifying word, bringing to mind the Spanish Flu, Black Death and other terrible global diseases that decimated populations. While such pandemics have happened in the past and there are possibilities of them happening again in the future with antibiotic resistant strains of infectious diseases, or ancient viruses released from melting icecaps, the COVID-19 pandemic is not a cause to be terrified. It’s a highly infectious virus with a low mortality rate, classified as a pandemic as it has spread to over 150 countries.

There’s no reason to run around like headless chickens in a panic, or horde all the toilet paper you can as if it’s some kind of protective barrier, but there are some things HR professionals can do not only to slow the spread of Coronavirus, but also to keep employees safe, happy and motivated.

1: Don’t Overreact

Since the COVID-19 strain of the Coronavirus originated from Wuhan, China, many people have taken the knee-jerk response of avoiding anything Chinese. Across Australia, Chinese restaurants have suffered massive losses due to associated fear, and the trickle on effect is having an impact on suppliers and other vendors.

Businesses have to be careful not to fall into knee-jerk overreaction that can quickly become a slippery slope into discrimination. One way to achieve this is to make determinations on actions rather than people. You can recommend that anyone who has travelled to china recently work remotely, but you can’t recommend that Chinese people work from home, even if some of the other employees are scared of their proximity. It’s your job to let the other employees know that ethnicity has nothing to do with the spread of the virus, only location.

Recognising employees for their measured response to the crisis and maintaining good work practices can also keep them from making knee-jerk decisions or overreacting to problems. Frequent and meaningful recognition can reinforce the values and mission statement of your company, prompting recognised employees to take the same measured, balanced approach to the crisis as you are demonstrating .

2: Telecommuting and Working from Home

Before you can institute a mandatory work from home policy, or even allow people to choose to work from home you need to make sure you have the infrastructure in place to allow for people to work remotely.

While some businesses require on site and face to face work, there are many businesses and jobs that can be accomplished from anywhere so long as the required tools are available. These tools include the computer, internet connectivity, web meeting platform, online messaging & a project management system.

Shared documents and virtual workspaces, as well as virtual meeting utilities can ably fill in for face-to-face meetings and collaborations. Virtual meeting and work spaces can prove to be a great way of allowing people to interact without the worry of contracting a virus.

It’s important to remember that having people work from home can be an isolating experience, especially when that isolation is being used as a kind of preventative quarantine. Maintaining employee recognition practices with employees working from home will let them know they are not alone and not forgotten. Maintaining morale during a crisis is paramount when it comes to reducing employee stress. Recognition can help remote employees keep focused on the work, not the pandemic, helping them navigate through this worrying time.

Employees new to remote working may find it difficult to find structure and purpose in their work, especially if they don’t have a dedicated home office or other area they can set aside strictly for work purposes. This can lead to a decrease in productivity, poor time management, a sense of confusion or futility and low employee morale. Maintaining contact and recognising the work that a remote employee does can lend structure to their work life out of the office, reminding them of their day to day routines, and that even though they may not be in the office they are still a valuable part of the organisation. 

3: Keep Both Yourself and Your Employees Informed (but verify sources!)

Keeping up to date with what is happening with the virus, and disseminating that information to employees is a great way to maintain morale and keep abreast of any developments that may require an updated response.

Understandably, the Coronavirus pandemic is the biggest news story around, with up to the minute updates on infection rates, death tolls, travel bans, event cancellations and more. Unfortunately, not all of this information is entirely reliable. While the underlying facts may be true, many newspapers, websites, TV and radio channels thrive on sensationalism, and that’s the last thing you or the employees should be ingesting. Sensational stories rely on cultivating and manipulating emotions, especially anger and fear – the recent panic buying of hand sanitizer and toilet paper is a symptom of this.

Make sure you’re taking your information from verifiable sources like WHO, CDC, CSIRO or an accredited and well respected media outlet or medical site.

4: Keep Calm and Recognise Employees

Don’t panic. If you have a plan in place there’s no need for knee-jerk reactions, sudden policy changes or brittle emotions. Show you are in control of the situation and you can keep others from panicking. One of the key ways you can achieve this, and keep employees safe, calm and motivated is to recognise and reward their efforts.

Forced solitude, from self-quarantining to working from home can be extremely isolating and have negative effects on mood, performance and stability. Keeping up regular contact and recognition efforts can go a long way to alleviating many of these problems.

Employees don’t have to be in physical proximity to foster a feeling of closeness. This can be achieved through regular contact and recognition. Letting employees know that their efforts have been noticed and are appreciated can foster a sense of closeness even when the team is working remotely. This closeness can keep a team together and focussed during a trying time and inspire them to support and uplift each other. Also continue normal business practices of employee recognition such as, celebrating employee service anniversaries.