How to Make Sure Your HR Systems Are Ready for Future Crises

COVID-19 has highlighted the lack of preparedness of most companies to deal with such a situation and the immense pressure that it put on HR departments in such an unusual and sudden situation.

The common issues found with business transition during COVID-19 include:

Outdated or non-existent personal information that delayed communication
No or outdated policies for remote working
Managers feeling unequipped to adequately support and respond to the needs of their direct reports
Employees with incorrect equipment/access rights for home working
No single source to get information from
No mechanisms for employees and managers to ask questions and get fast responses
Slow, generalized communication out to whole workforces

How Self-Service Portals Help in a Crisis

Self-service portals empower the employee and ensure they always have access to information they need most. Each of Applaud’s self-service portal features can be used as a standalone, or in conjunction with each other to best serve the needs of the user and help ease the workload within the HR department at an extremely busy time.

These features include:

Code-free implementation – Make a wide range of changes quickly and easily, - without having to wait for developer assistance
Feedback and pulse surveys - Experience dashboards to collect feedback and view survey results anytime

HR Crisis Management Plan

Use the following tips to build a custom plan tailored to your business:

Create and store an instantly accessible ‘template communications’ file which only requires placeholder information to be updated before it can be sent
Ensure employees have everything they need to work from home and have rehearsed the set up in case they need further equipment or support
Incorporate problem-solving and compassionate training into your L&D calendar for managers so they are better prepared to support their teams
Arrange an audit of all policies, catalogue them and make them accessible to all staff so they can easily find them without contacting HR
Review the flexibility of your HR portal to ensure it has all the features you need and can be modified quickly without the need for a developer
Create a knowledge hub where information and FAQs can be accessed easily
Run quarterly drives to ensure personal information is up to date using voucher codes accessible only from an up to date phone number
Arrange a practice run once a year where all staff have to work from home at short notice. Use this to find areas for improvement and make the experience less jarring for staff if they need to use it for real

Implementing a crisis management plan early and ensuring all staff are prepped for the change will reduce calls and queries to the HR department; helping you avoid an overstretched service desk.