How are HR Roles and Responsibilities Changing in a Post-Pandemic Office

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely transformed human resources (HR) roles and responsibilities around the world. Gone are those days when the roles of HR professionals are only aligned with personnel and administration functions that were commonly seen as paperwork. Lines are blurring, and it’s becoming more challenging for companies to limit what HR should know and do.

HR professionals today are becoming specialists, mastering new skills and adapting to emerging trends in HR management. It’s important to understand these advancements and establish systems to adapt, or else, the company gets left out in their dreary pre-pandemic state. The answers to how, where, when, and even why works are done have changed, and it is HR’s role to find ways to adapt. Companies should welcome new technologies in HR as the traditional one-size fits all approach is no longer effective in a rapidly changing post-pandemic workplace.

Post-Pandemic Issues Faced by HR

As if the COVID-19 pandemic itself hasn’t caused much distress in the workplace, its after-effects are just as challenging for companies. HR professionals now are on the frontlines of identifying these pain points, crafting solutions, and rolling out a system for the entire organisation to follow. Here are some of the emerging trends in HR management and post-pandemic challenges practitioners are concerned about:

The challenges of hybrid arrangement

Which working days can an employee spend at home? What telecommuting system is most applicable to the needs of the organisation? How will timekeeping be institutionalised in this arrangement? These are just some of the questions hounding HR professionals as they face the reality of the permanence of hybrid work. Many employees prefer this model as it allows for a better work-life balance. The HR’s role is to ensure that the company is ready to take on this shift, continue productivity wherever the employee may be, and define “successful work” at this point. Some jobseekers also factor in this working model when applying to a company, so HR should take advantage of this to reel in the best talents.

The risk of the Great Resignation

Despite the global financial turmoil and post-pandemic uncertainties, employees are still highly considering jumping from one job to another. In this economy? Yes, definitely. In a worldwide movement known as the Great Resignation, there seems to be no stopping employees, especially members of Gen Z, from seeking the job they believe they deserve–one that values both their mental and financial wellness. Merely increasing compensation and improving benefits don’t cut it anymore. Solving this is exactly HR’s major concern. How do you balance providing the needs of an employee and that of the company? When is it safe to let them go, or how much effort should be exerted to keep them? The key is to establish a personal approach to dealing with each employee’s concern. Sounds like additional work?

The increase of employees struggling with mental health

There’s no denying that post-pandemic global and local events are affecting the mental health of many people. Just checking the news can get depressing for some, while others are feeling anxious about returning to the office after prolonged WFH. Many companies are just as concerned about their employees’ mental well-being, and HR has to step in to enact measures that ease situations. This may range from providing mental health leaves to organising sessions that alleviate work stress and anxiety. There is also more emphasis now on the life of an employee outside work and making sure that balance is achieved even on weekdays. What’s stopping a company from linking employees to life coaches or enrolling them on yoga sessions?

The varying employee expectations

It doesn’t come as a surprise that the pandemic brought about a shift in employees’ priorities as well. COVID-19 emphasised the most important things in life, and it would be difficult to shake those away from an employee and revert back to pre-pandemic thinking. Both jobseekers and employees now concern themselves with job flexibility, medical insurance, and work stability, among others. And these aren’t considered as benefits like before, as they are now perceived as rights of every employee. Even their families take a bigger part of the picture as they hold more influence in one’s decision-making. HR no longer just crafts the best package for an individual employee, but now shifts to a holistic approach that concerns family life.

HR Roles and Responsibilities in a Post-Pandemic Workplace

All the aforementioned issues continue to shape the role of HR in a post-pandemic workplace. Here are some of the constantly shifting responsibilities that HR holds as a response to the changing times:

1. Talent acquisition

Post-pandemic hiring is shifting to prioritising skills more than any other factor. HR now has to supply emerging 21st-century roles with the right talents possessing very specific in-demand skills. Education and other credentials may not just cut it anymore.

2. Diversity management

This area is concerned with ensuring the greater inclusion of employees from a wide range of backgrounds. The World Economic Forum 2021 Global Gender Gap Report has identified the slow progress of gender equality because of labour issues. There are still numerous roles that see more men taking the reins over women. HR’s role is to challenge this gender inequality and promote diversity and equity in the talent pool.

3. Employee relationship management

Are employees feeling valued? Are they being understood? HR practitioners are at the forefront of fortifying employer-employee relationships, and it is their task to hear and act on needs and demands. That connection has to be withheld despite the challenges of a fickle work environment and the continuing effects of COVID-19. This responsibility also entails executing any government-led regulations that benefit the welfare of the employee; those can be numerous considering the post-pandemic climate.

4. Performance management

How is the performance of an employee identified and measured in a hybrid work arrangement? How are workgroup dynamics developed despite flexible schedules? How are goals met in this post-pandemic world? All of these questions are directed to HR. Even through difficult situations, employees are expected to provide quality work, and it is the role of HR to fill in the gaps that challenge that possibility–or impossibility.

5. Compensation management

Will a pre-pandemic rewards system still work in the current situation? Not entirely, as job responsibilities are expanding just as much. Thus, employees are expecting changes in the way they are compensated through monetary and non-monetary means. At a time when the motivation to work is sparse and retention is challenged, this HR role is crucial in ensuring operations continue as normal as possible.

6. Training and development

It isn’t just the company that has to keep up with all the changes happening around. Companies have the responsibility to tag their employees along with them. And this might require making them go through different reskilling and up-skilling workshops. Transforming the workplace into a future-proof, digital-savvy one requires HR to provide learning and development opportunities to employees. It’s a strategy that not only helps in retaining talents but also in progressing the company’s services.

What HR Should Know and Do Now

There’s no stopping the work of HR in keeping up with the changing times and adapting to everything that sprouts as its consequences. The department should know that change is constant. And it is their role to develop the organisations’ ways of working that also put the employees’ welfare upfront. HR plays a key role in identifying the ways people can function best during a time when uncertainties mount. HR practitioners have to be quick and forthright but also creative, innovative, and flexible.

The role of HR in a post-pandemic world is to go back to its core–to put back the “human” in human resources. COVID-19 has emphasised that previous ways of working may have already veered away from prioritising the well-being of employees. This should not be the case as everyone slowly sets foot into a new world. Productivity will always be a priority for HR, but it is only appropriate now to couple that with compassion. A little more heart will go a long way.

Ready to dip your toes in the post-pandemic world? #LetsGetToWork and start by updating your JobStreet profile to inform employers of your current status.  You can also check out the Career Tools page to learn more tips on how to navigate your job path.