Here's how COVID-19 has redefined the Fundamentals of HR Operations | HROne

New Delhi [India], October 1 (ANI/Target Media): For several decades, every business across India operated for growth and development.
There were continuous movements to cross boundaries, move out of home, create better external environments.
In simpler words, moving in and out of homes, offices were the primary needs of every human being on this planet.
And then Covid-19 happened and everything changed in a blink of an eye. It is no news that the coronavirus pandemic has been a curveball that led to a host of transformations in the corporate world. From people shifting to remote working setup to more businesses using technologies such as HROne, a lot has happened lately. Many companies are still struggling to adapt to the new normal. Let's face it, this is the reality now and everyone has to live and work around this pandemic.
All that said, let's dive into the blog and have a look at how this global pandemic has exactly affected the fundamentals of human resources processes.
The Reaction
Following the outbreak of Covid-19, everything started seeming to have undergone a paradigm shift. Every organization, be it small or large, was left with no other option but to change the way they operated, functioned, and carried out their routine processes. Truth be told, corona virus has been a leveler. That means it has affected every aspect of human lives, from the strata of society, different races to age groups. Needless to say, one of the biggest impacts of COVID-19 has been on the professional lives of individuals. Without a doubt, it was not at all easy for anyone- HRs, employees, and employers alike. Every industry underwent a sea-change in how it carried out operations to acquire, engage and retain talent in a traditional office.
Amid all this chaos, the human resources fraternity had to go beyond their limits to manage routine business processes. Since no one was prepared for such a situation, every HR professional felt a little helpless and confused in the initial days. Since anything like this pandemic never made rounds in MBA or BBA course material, no HR knew how to respond to it. And this is what made it interesting, challenging and we dare to say- "exciting" as well. Exciting in the sense the journey where businesses were figuring out how to respond or how not to, how to adapt, and most importantly, how to continue working in the new normal.
New Practices
So, it is clear that last year was acutely difficult for businesses as they witnessed the acceptance of transitions in Business and People practices. Need to mention, the coronavirus pandemic not just came with shocks but a lot of benefits as well. Say, for instance, with companies switching to WFH setup, they were able to hire talents, irrespective of their geographical location. As a result, it was no longer necessary for an individual to be in the same city as the company to get selected. On the other hand, companies were able to hire new people from anywhere, anytime. This is just one example, there are more ways how this pandemic has favored businesses across India.
Role of Technology
Gone are the days when technology was a future thing. After coronavirus caused havoc in the business world, firms were forced to incorporate various technologies to continue their routine operations. Almost every employer started to investing in HR software. Such technologies were, undoubtedly, the paramount solution to a lot of challenges that HR teams faced. The pace at which companies were implementing automated HR systems to solve people's problems, the faster they were able to improve the performance and efficiency levels of their employees. With HR departments embracing and incorporating technology in their processes, companies were no longer witnessing any problems in terms of productivity or adaptability.
Take a look at some of the top ways technologies supported businesses in this tough time:
Recruitment management software assisted and simplified virtual hiring for companies
Onboarding solutions aided companies to integrate their new hired better
Communication tools as well as video-conferencing applications helped teams, across geographies to connect and interact better
Artificial intelligence-powered bots were used to enhance and gauge the level of engagement among virtual workforces
Several learning solutions helped companies to train and upskill their employees
As mentioned earlier, organizations that invested in one of the top-notch HR software India has been able to build a better work environment and improve their ROI along the way.
New Learnings
Before COVID happened, almost every business in India was apprehensive about the whole Work From Home concept. They certainly thought that remote working will have an adverse impact on the productivity of their employees during wfh. Fortunately, this myth was busted after the global pandemic, coronavirus. Even several studies have stated that efficiency levels of working professionals were significantly improved during lockdowns. Employees have shown dramatic improvement and commitment to their roles and duties. That being said, companies just need to have faith in their employees and trust that they will do the right thing. Questioning their abilities will never bring out the best side in them. So, instead of racking brains to find out complex engagement methods, employers/leaders should ask employees- what will help them feel comfortable and connected to their jobs and the company?
Now, to get an answer to this question, companies need to rely on a two-way communication model, which is sustainable for every future challenge as well. Most importantly, employers/leaders/HR managers should try to give ear to their employees, understand their problems, and address them at the right time.
Staying Agile, Today and in the Coming Years
Now that we learned about post-COVID happenings, it is time to discuss the future. One of the competencies every business must imbibe today is AGILITY. Agility is not just vital but also necessary for every working professional. Human resources processes as well as people practices should be agile enough to adapt to the changing business environment in the coming times. It is high time for businesses to leave their age-old rulebook behind and start embracing the new normal. The workforces today are acutely different. Unlike before, they want to be challenged. Taking the same point into consideration, companies should pivot their business models, external environments, and economic factors that can affect their businesses on a consistent basis.
In essence, there is a need for human resources to be flexible as well as agile to build and define comprehensive, effective people strategies. This way, businesses will face no difficulty to align with the transformations and adapt without being too late.
We hope this blog helped you to know how the global pandemic, COVID-19 has redefined the fundamentals of HR operations in India.
In the initial time of this pandemic, the majority of the companies across India had to undergo a sudden shift to remote working models and readily implement and adopt a host of technologies and platforms as a knee-jerk reaction, most of which helped them to come this far. At present, as the pandemic chaos is slowly but steadily giving way to clarity, Indian businesses should make peace with the fact that the right approach to stay ahead of the curve is to plan and strategize efficiently. For more details Visit:

This story is provided by Target Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Target Media)