Two Human Resources Concerns as we approach March 2021

 I have been speaking with a number of companies over the past few months and I have noticed that there are two areas in particular that seem to becoming ones of concern for human resources professionals.  They may not be full blown issues yet, but they are being closely watched.  

They are the following:

1.    Long Standing Employees who survived Covid layoffs, may not have a long term future.

There are still many employees working for companies where their fate is unknown even though they may have survived the round(s) of Covid cuts.  Typically, companies cut in the following order.  Part Time Employees, Employees with poor performance, Employees with partial job descriptions (where their mandate can be rolled into another role) and then Employees with moderate performance. 

These aforementioned employees were typically spared during Covid downsizing because they have been loyal soldiers who also tend to be more expensive to package out by a company so some companies will delay such a decision until absolutely necessary.

 At this point however, companies are learning with more clarity that the landscape has changed faster than expected and may even have a handle on where they need to invest.  Technology now seems to be running downhill in full acceleration.  Many of the employees in this category may not have a long-term home as simply being able to embrace new software and technology is no longer sufficient.  Companies require experts in specific areas of technology in order for the company to thrive and to keep up with their competition.  Retraining or even trying to redeploy these employees may not be a reality.  Many companies may find themselves needing to bite the bullet and package out some of these employees in just a few months.  They will then attempt to hire the qualified talent at a time which will be much more competitive and expensive for that very talent as slower moving companies eventually realize where they also need to invest.  This approach means the company will lose critical time and ramp-up momentum once Covid is in the rear view mirror. 

2.      Is corporate culture now overrated?

This area has been such a major focus for so many companies over the last 5 years.  The thinking has been that companies should continually invest in this space as the people, the environment and a corporate personality will encourage high performance and drive employee retention.  Subsidized cafeterias, employee lounges, game rooms, and employee bars are all some of the office amenities that have been added.  Charity fundraisers and employee community initiatives have also provided a nice change of pace. 

With a good percentage of  employees being shifted to a work in a home office, many top performing employees purchasing homes outside of the city, and more people gaining a better understanding of their ideal work/life balance, many of the benefits previously stated are sometimes becoming obsolete.   An employee can now either work for company A, Company B or Company C from their living room table.  It literally makes no difference for some people as long as they achieve their ideal work/life balance.  Many employees feel (and have even expressed on company surveys!) that they are now feeling little connection or a reduced loyalty to their company since they have started working from home.  This could be a major issue for companies moving forward. Does this mean that companies will have to do more and spend more to drive corporate culture? Will it even mater? Time will tell, but one thing is clear, a company that pays less than their competitors but has a great office culture, may find themselves rethinking their strategy.

Farewell,

Mike

Recruit King Search

mike@recruitking.ca 

 647-348-8584