HR in the age of remote work
Make no mistake about it, working remotely is here to stay. It began during the early days of the pandemic, when everyone who could work at home did, out of necessity. It proved to businesses that were resolutely committed to face-time in the office that work could indeed get done at home, and to the great surprise of many, the work oftentimes got done more efficiently at employees’ kitchen tables and home offices than it did in the workplace. Employees loved the work/life balance that working at home provided — being there to help their kids with schoolwork, spending all day with their pets, being able to do a quick load of laundry in the middle of the day or take a break to clean the kitchen, and the big one — no commute.
Gallup reports that 58% of employees in the U.S. are always or sometimes working remotely now, and most want to continue to work from home. For HR, it means adapting policies and procedures to accommodate those employee preferences. Welcome to the age of remote work. Here are some tips for navigating this new world for HR.
It’s OK to be fluid about certain policies. This pandemic keeps changing, so having hard-and-fast policies about things like work-from-home or vaccination requirements for your staff doesn’t make sense. It’s OK to give your staff a framework, with the understanding that things are subject to change. Let them know you have their needs and best interests in mind in whatever you do, and they’ll roll with any changes that come down the pike.
Revise your hiring strategy. Remote work has given companies an enormous opportunity to cast their hiring net wide. Very wide. You are no longer constrained by hiring people only within commuting distance. Think of the rich pool of talent you can choose from when your pool is the whole country. From recruitment to onboarding, having an HRIS Like Benetech simplifies, streamlines, and automates your hiring process, which is crucial if you’re taking advantage of that wide net.
Adapt your interviewing techniques for the remote era. Yes, most of us are more than proficient on Zoom or other video platforms, but creating the best video-hiring experience for your candidates is key to recruiting the best people for the job. Train managers and anyone else who will be involved in the interview process in video interviewing best practices.
Make time to focus on company culture. With everything on HR’s plate, it can be difficult to find the time to focus on nurturing and growing your company culture. It’s more crucial than ever when many or all of your employees are working at home. Gone are the days of water-cooler chats, grabbing lunch together, and even having in-person team meetings. It’s all about strengthening connections between employees and management, and it takes some creativity to forge those bonds when you’re not doing in-person events, large company gatherings or even an impromptu free lunch on a Friday. Encourage virtual happy hours or craft sessions. Ask managers to organize team lunches, with the company picking up lunch for the team.
Adapting to HR in the age of remote work is going to require more focus than ever. Where can you find the time? The key is automating everything you can, like payroll, benefits, onboarding, and other talent management functions that used to take up much of HR’s time. Call us anytime you’d like to find out more about how Benetech’s One Team, One Technology can help.
