Reflections of the past year can either be silenced by COVID or celebrated by the human spirit. It depends on what defines us.
As an HR Leader, I can either be defined by COVID or find solace and wisdom in the many hours of conversations with employees regarding life during COVID: the working moms-juggling and having to choose 2/3 pay for 2 jobs (home schooling children, plus paid job to feed those same children), the newly hired employees-signing up to a totally new position and culture via zoom, and the senior employee forced to leave work rather than be given the option to work differently and less since exposure for this employee may be more deadly. Although there are more and varied scenarios then the three posed here, these are three recurring scenarios, faced by many HR leaders.
I believe I have learned more from employees through listening than correcting. I have also maintained that although high tech may be the wave of the future for HR, ensuring high touch and that the HUMAN stays at the forefront of Human Resources, is and will continue (especially now), to define those many high impact moments. 911 first crystalized this for me and now the COVID pandemic has reenforced and affirmed such moments. I am an east coast person who found myself living and working in San Francisco (in retail) during 911. My then west coast team of HR employees could not imagine what we could do in San Francisco when we were not present at the sites in the path of tragedy for two stores (NYC and Washington, Pentagon Mall).
I quickly mobilized my HR staff and others as we began to make calls to all the employees (over 1000) after closing the impacted retail spaces. When we could not reach employees (including those traveling), we contacted their emergency contacts. It was quickly understood through the responses this team of employees received on the other side of the phone call, the importance of this act. Fast-forward to the COVID pandemic. From March through December 2020, I placed over 50 employees out on COVID leave (although gratefully few had COVID and none from exposure on the job).
Just like with 911 – I conducted personal one-on-one calls to nearly every employee in our agency, asking about the employee and members of family and friends. It is amazing that the same reactions for the act became a topic of conversation. I have learned in each scenario that leaders must take action to crisis, never sit back and wait. Like many in my field, although not good at sitting back, being the calm listener, even if just for a small and finite period of time, can do wonders for both parties in coming to solace, if not resolution. Events like 911 and COVID will continue to define and readjust what we are now and know about the future. For me, it has been a positive affirmation of what I have known all along, placing HUMAN at the center of HUMAN Resources (where it has always belonged but not always been prominent).
Michelle is Principal of Stiletto Management, a Consulting Company providing HR business thought and practices. Write her at www.stilettomanagement.com or [email protected].