The following list is a compilation of action items for strategic Human Resources response during the COVID-19 pandemic and other similar emergencies. With 50 years of experience in IT consulting, we have weathered the storms of the past five decades and believe that it is our responsibility to provide our expertise in organizational crisis management. In addition to our own knowledge, we have taken the input of other CEOs etc. We are pleased to share this under a Creative Commons license.
HR Department Emergency Checklist
The following items are not necessarily listed in order of importance.
Assess Impact to Existing Processes
- Make sure there are virtual systems of reporting “time worked” in place.
- Implement one-on-one meetings with employee and supervisor
- Set aside brief team meetings to address new challenges by the day.
- Review Workers Comp Insurance
- Implement a new onboarding process:
- How will Orientation and training be conducted virtually?
- How will forms get completed remotely?
- How will equipment transferred be conducted?
- Determine if there are any processes that require physical presence to perform: Who handles incoming mail? Printing checks? HR Records?
- Term Process – how will terms be handled – if in California need to include process for ensuring checks provided same day as term or incorporate expense
Evaluate Equipment and Infrastructure Requirements
- Ensure that your processes for issuing and collecting hardware at termination have been adapted
- Assure that employees can effectively connect with each other: Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc.
- Review billing for critical services
- Determine who will pay for services such as internet and phone
- Ensure the payments are made reliably
- Coordinate with IT teams to make sure employee data is safe during remote work, some training may be necessary
- Make sure employees have basic equipment at their home offices: paper, pens, a printer, etc.
Develop Collaboration and Team Alignment Strategies
- Consider how the transition to remote work and working from home will affect employees
- Will current employees be supportive of the remote work arrangement?
- Do they want to work remote?
- Social interaction at home can be limited and so employees may feel isolated
- Develop a plan for assessing employee sentiment and keeping them engaged through the process
- Ensure that plans take into account various time zones for remote employees
- Consider video messaging when discussing certain topics (remote communication limits non-verbal cues like smiles, posture, etc.)
- Spend time documenting processes and meeting notes
- Plan and budget face-to-face meetings on a quarterly or yearly basis
- Make sure sharing ideas isn’t a challenge. Consider a shared space for documents to exist where conference room collaboration once took place.
- Ensure you are actually an employer in the states you have remote workers