The Covid-19 pandemic is a new experience for all of us.  Corona – no less than a shockwave for me!  To cope with the situation, there was no other way than accepting the option of working from home as a new arrangement.   The situation created a state of panic, fear, anxiety and stress among staffs including myself.  Within the numerous issues, supporting employees to get into new transition and face an abnormal situation was the top priority of HR. It became extremely essential for HR Unit to be available for the employees and help them through these difficult times.   

Putting People First: To reestablish a culture of the people-first organization, we put efforts to get understand the needs of the staff during this pandemic.   The first motto was to help the staff to work from home without any hassle.  Each staff’s need was assessed to make them digitally savvy and keep connected for better output and reporting.  Requirements such as laptop, desktop, mobile, Wi-Fi, etc. were made available for the staff to promote a culture of safe working from home. It helped us to retain our best talents and attract new talents as well. Through regular interaction with the team, the confidence of the staff for taking up ownership increased. A strong collaboration, commitment, togetherness and we as a team enhanced.

Team culture in workplace: During the pandemic, the staffs have been passing through a panic situation. Regular interaction with staffs helped them to ventilate their stress and anxiety. The Leadership Team and Managers played a very important role to overcome the situation. Through regular meeting and interaction with staffs in the form of ‘town hall meeting’, the decisions of the organization are being informed them. This way, not only the staffs developed a common understanding on what is happening across the organization, but also their voices were heard. The culture of appreciation for good work done by staff members created an underlying message that “we are together” during any crisis. Motivating staff and spearheading the way forward have been demonstrated during this pandemic by the organization leaders and managers. 

Employees’ Wellness: With the spread of Coronal pandemic, things changed overnight. Many of us still find it difficult to draw a line between personal spaces and working from home. Employees’ wellness was a clarion call of the hour. Taking care of physical and mental health for the staffs became the top priority. As a people-first culture organization, the Management regularly interacted with the staff and counselling sessions were being organized. Special focus was given on the female staff; the senior women staffs regularly interacted with the women colleagues to know their state of mind and to make them feel that they are not alone. To minimize the stress level, the staffs were offered counselling sessions by the professional counselor.  

Employees’ Safety: Envisioning the safety of employees would become the prime concern of the organization, HR team has initiated to partnering with other wings to define ways of ensuring safety and social distancing compliances at the office premises. Regular disinfection of premises and office rooms has become an essential component of keeping employees safe. The staffs are bring provided with masks, hand washes and sanitizers to make them safe in office hours. Amid a rapidly unfolding health crisis, HR functions have geared up to provide critical communication on safety protocols, hygiene practices, emergency numbers, list of hospitals, guidelines for quarantining and isolating etc.