Remote work has climbed 44 percent in the last five years, according to current data. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, many businesses have implemented some type of remote working. Human resource departments are being forced to manage a distributed workforce of remote employees, some of whom may be located across the country, as a result of this massive expansion.
The rise of remote work has changed the game for HR departments all across the world. Regardless of these challenges, firms must give the same tools to employees whether they work in the office or from home.
Having an entrepreneurial mindset permits us to break free from the conditioning that would otherwise prevent us from beginning our own firm. That is, education institutions are designed to generate competent and specialized employees rather than creative start-up founders. We learn a certain position, get skilled at teamwork, and join the world of work with a precise set of processes to follow as well as established hierarchies. This frequently leads to a lack of critical thinking as well as a dulling of the development mentality, both of which are vital capabilities for entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship is not like any other profession. You will frequently be needed to perform many tasks at once, such as product development, sales, finance, and human resources.
What does human resources (HR) stand for?
The human resources department of a corporation is in charge of managing the employee life cycle. This involves employee recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, and firing, as well as benefit administration.
HR departments’ traditional responsibilities include:
- Organizing interviews, coordinating hiring efforts, and onboarding new staff are all part of the recruiting process.
- Maintaining employee records includes keeping track of each employee’s personal information and emergency contacts. HR is also in charge of company-specific statistics, such as employee evaluations.
- Payroll processing entails calculating each employee’s pay and taxes, as well as managing bonuses and other employee perks.
- Conducting disciplinary actions: assessing employee performance and providing feedback on how to improve, as well as enforcing disciplinary action as necessary.
- Proposing modifications or making official adjustments to company policies are examples of updating policies. Policies are usually revised in response to an event (e.g., in-office social distancing guidelines in response to COVID-19).
How has remote work influenced HR?
Remote employment has had a huge influence on human resources’ function in the workplace. HR managers are now required to support a virtual workplace in a number of ways.
Employee Participation
Employee engagement has been an issue for HR executives since the emergence of remote work. According to Gallup, high levels of workplace engagement frequently lead to improved performance, resulting in a company’s personnel being aligned, thriving, and purpose-driven.
Many employees may feel detached from their jobs or the corporate culture as a result of the shift away from office-based labor. HR has had to step up to provide virtual engagement strategies and remote employee assistance.
This includes the utilization of collaborative working platforms and tools, as well as unique employee activities and meetings. HR’s unique engagement strategies and benefits ensure that employees are engaged and on board with the company’s goals.
Communication
HR must maintain clear contact with employees at all times, as many have yet to fully adapt to working from home. Many offices had open-door policies and free-flowing communication when I visited.
HR managers have had to get inventive in order to sustain this culture in a remote office. This could entail fostering dialogues or providing employees with the tools they need to bring their company’s culture and style into the virtual world.
HR must communicate more than simply company updates in a completely online workplace. They must also keep track of how employees are adapting to their new remote work environment. This guarantees that HR is doing all possible to keep remote employees happy and productive.
Digital innovations
Human resource departments have had to lead with compassion and focus on employees’ emotional and physical needs in response to COVID-19. This could entail ensuring that staff have all of the essential equipment and resources to perform efficiently from home.
HR managers may be required to assist in the creation of a unified digital employee experience that employees can access from any location. New employee onboarding, training, and general team management must all be considered in this new system. This may entail purchasing new equipment for specific personnel (like monitors or laptops). To improve remote workflows, it could also mean investing in new software or management systems.
HR departments have also had to establish regulations to cope with employees who suffer additional costs as a result of working from home, such as phone and internet bills. Electronic pay stubs or travel expense claim forms, for example, can quickly decrease postal expenses.
Workplace performance
Remote HR departments must also develop appropriate benchmarks for measuring employee job performance virtually. Managers and HR are less aware of employees’ activities when they work remotely. As a result, staff triumphs or failures may be easily forgotten on a daily basis.
HR managers have been compelled to build new mechanisms for employee performance reviews and recognition as a result of remote workplaces.
