85% of HR Professionals Report A Rise In Their Workload Because Of The Pandemic: Report

YourDOST, one of India’s first and largest holistic emotional wellness organisations, has released a report in collaboration with NHRD and Great Place to Work® India. The report is based on a survey covering 250+ Human Resource professionals, across India. 76% of HR professionals believe that the pandemic led to a rise in the importance of the HR function. 96% agree that their leaders understand the importance of the HR function for a business.

The report titled ‘The Changing Landscape Of People Management - an HR perspective’ discusses the pandemic impact on the workforce in terms of attrition, new hire, employee engagement, and how organisations tackled it. Considering the impact on the health of the employees, the report highlights the introduction and bolstering of wellness initiatives as a key priority for organisations.

Pandemic impact on the workforce:

The next wave hitting the corporates globally is ‘The Great Resignation,’ wherein employees voluntarily leave their jobs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 52% of HR professionals surveyed have also seen an uptick in employee attrition in their organisations. One of the other impacts of remote working has been burnout, with over 70% of respondents seeing a jump in levels at their organisations. One of the most essential aspects of the pandemic, which is here to stay, has been remote working and its challenges with employee engagement. 57% of HR professionals found it challenging to instill company values among new hires. It is not that cultural beliefs and values are not being reinforced. Organisations need to re-imagine the systems and processes in a remote and hybrid setup for the new hires experience and imbibe the values. Nearly 46% of survey respondents state that employee engagement has fallen in their respective organizations.

Impact on HR Community

HRM personnel have played a critical role during the pandemic in ensuring the wellbeing of the workforce. 85% of HR professionals report a rise in their workload because of the pandemic. Remote

Working/Coordination, Increased Health Concerns, Business performance were the top 3 reasons that stood out for the increase in workload.

The survey shows that employee wellness is an integral part of HRM in organisations. With the hybrid culture coming in, HR personnel is prioritizing Employee Insurance, Rewards and Recognition, and Employee Mental Health. 41% of the respondents identified the introduction or increase of Wellness Services for Employees as a step taken to overcome pandemic challenges at their workplace.

Puneet Manuja, Co-founder, and COO, YourDOST, said, “With the continuation of the hybrid model, organisations will continue to face difficulty in employee engagement and integrating new hires into the company culture. If not done well, this might result in much higher attrition levels at organisations in the months ahead. With companies having access to talent without geographical constraints and vice versa, building micro-cultures at a team level will become the key. This can only be achieved by looking at a holistic approach to organisational culture. The HR community has been the frontline warriors of organisations. We see their role becoming much more critical if the trend continues.”

Corporates have already taken to emotional wellness programs for their employees. YourDOST added over 200 new corporates in the last 1 year itself and witnessed a triple-fold jump in utilisation of services from employees.

“HR managers will have to walk a fine line between retaining the humane side of the business while operating in an increasingly virtual world. With technology posing many barriers in human connection, it will become doubly crucial for HR managers to cultivate more vital soft skills like empathy, communication, decision-making, and problem”-solving said, Nathan S.V., Partner and Chief Talent Officer - Deloitte India and National President - National HRD Network

The focus on Employee well-being is among a few positive changes that the pandemic has induced. Our annual research identified Employee Wellbeing as a key differentiator for Best Workplaces in India and Asia and these organisations have focused on creating cultures that ensure a healthier and happier workforce. It is heartening to see that Leaders at the best workplaces have it among their top two priorities. This is definitely a strong step for India Inc. said Preeti Malhotra, Practice Head – Wellness and Partnerships at Great Place to Work® India