The COVID-19 pandemic shook global economies and organisations alike, quickly reshaping working practices and employment markets across the globe. Malta was no exception. Local organisations continue to tackle the emerging challenges of the pandemic while ensuring their businesses remain sustainable in the long-term. With organisations now on the cusp of recovery, the role of HR is becoming even more crucial. Although, the questions are endless when it comes to envisioning the impact and role of HR post-COVID-19, the future of HR will likely take centre stage by redefining the organisation, driving people transformation and enabling change.
1. Redefining the organisation
A. Human-centric culture
B. Organisational structures
There will likely be a major shift towards highly flexible, nimble and agile organisational structures that allow for the effective redeployment of workers. HR will need to support businesses in redesigning these structures and job roles while also leading the reskilling of existing employees to seamlessly transition them into their new roles. Both organisations and their employees will need to adopt a more flexible and adaptable workforce culture to sustain the ongoing changes we all continue to face in the ever changing world of work.
C. Well-being
HR must maximise employee safety by focusing on physical and mental well-being. Besides the implementation of measures for a safe employee experience, such as social distancing and improved sanitation within the workplace, HR should also establish mental wellness programmes. Such programmes can include offering support services to those who need it and raising awareness by disseminating valuable information through internal campaigns, manuals and guidelines.
2. Driving people transformation
A. Reward & performance management
The pandemic outbreak is realigning employee’s benefits to market realities through adaptive rewards schemes. Locally, HR is transitioning to an outcome-based performance management system where employee’s performance is no longer based on visibility at the office and measured solely on their outputs. Alternatively, the introduction of personalised compensation schemes will allow employees to design their own benefits packages suited to their needs.
B. Digital upskilling
Learning and development is rapidly becoming an integral part of the HR agenda. HR should consider upskilling their current workforce with transferable and unique skills that ensure they are ready for the post COVID-19 era. In fact, when local organisations were asked in PwC’s 2020 HR Pulse Survey, how the development of their employees has changed during the pandemic, only 25% of respondents stated that the way in which they develop their employees has remained unchanged. This highlights that organisations have realised that there is a need to not only focus on the development of their employees but also on the way in which that development is carried out.
3. Enabling change
A. The changing world of work
The extra necessity to change due to the global pandemic has put organisations in a situation where they are now facing a new business landscape. Consequently, they should consider reimagining their recruitment without any geographical constraint. HR should also leverage analytics to forecast and determine strategic talent acquisition, development and post COVID-19 management decisions, while monitoring employee’s performance and productivity.
B. Digital now, not tomorrow
Disruptive technologies will help improve all HR functions. Big data and data analytics enhance the recruitment process by helping identify top talent as well as forecast workforce capability and capacity requirements. Similarly, reskilling and upskilling of employees through virtual and digital learning platforms has become the norm, with organisations no longer needing to invest as much in the infrastructure and logistics necessary for ‘live’ training. According to PwC’s Malta’s 2020 HR Pulse Survey, 53% of respondents stated that training and development activities are now being conducted online. As such, adequate HR resources and digitalised HR processes could be key areas within local HR functions to focus efforts on moving forwards.
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