Our key takeaway from recent virtual group discussions was trusting your employees and monitoring outcomes rather than inputs is the best way to boost business during and following the pandemic. A disconnect between management and employees will cause a business to fail. Read on to the end to find out how you can be a leader who fosters a community of trust and gets the best out of your team.

Each week, we are joined by global HR leaders to brainstorm, share learnings, and collect insights on how organizations can come out on top of this crisis. You can also be a part of one of our upcoming virtual group discussions. Check out our upcoming events here!

Here's what we learnt from this batch of sessions:

#1 Make Mitigating Risk for Frontline Employees Your First Priority 

One of our attendee's firms focuses on field employees interfacing with doctors, which obviously puts them at risk of contracting COVID-19. Make sure your company provides all employees with necessary health resources, whether it be sanitization tools, advanced medical care benefits, and protective equipment. It is pivotal to be employee-first during a crisis that helps your business runs smoothly.

#2 Control What You Can Control, and Admit that Some Factors Are Outside Your Control

As proactive leaders we all want to feel like we're in control of everything at all times. One of the biggest learnings our attendees cited was that COVID-19 has taught us that the theory of absolute control is a fallacy. With so much global uncertainty, keeping your head down and focusing on what you can do today to help the business succeed is a winning mindset and will help build an employee first culture.

#3 Develop New Functions to Make HR a Strategic Partner for Business Growth 

Many attendees are beginning to create new positions in their HR departments, like Chief Health Officer, or Chief Engagement Officer, to help further delineate roles and make sure HR is as agile and versatile as possible. Streamlining processes and building capabilities is the best way to make HR a crucial strategic partner both now and moving forward. Trust us, this is easier than it sounds. 

#4 Give Your Employees WFH Training and the Tools They Need to Win while at Home

So many aspects of WFH fly in the face of the skills many employees have spent decades establishing, so teaching them new ways to do business remotely is crucial to help them transition. Some of our attendees have offered sessions on working from home and managing a family, introductions to new softwares, routine building while working from home, and more. In addition, some firms provided laptops, VPNs, and upgraded internet plans to their employees to ensure seamless performance and fortified cyber security.

#5 Build Trust with Your Employees to Ensure Strong Outcomes and Keep Engagement High

Now, as leaders, it's crucial that we work on our precise communication and functional empathy to keep our teams engaged and motivated. In a time of chaos knowing that your boss has your back is a huge part of emotional safety at work. Learn more about the best way to build trust with your team here.

These sessions have so far been a treasure trove in terms of learnings and we will ensure the word gets out for every organization to implement and navigate this stressful, changing period together.

We would love to thank the HR leaders who make time to do their bit for their people and business as we cope with COVID-19 together.

• Tanushri Nair, AVP HR & Administration at Sage Publications
• Annesha Kar, Lead Performance Management, Employee Engagement and Communications at Zydus Wellness
• Asokan Kunnathully, Head HR - India at Amicorp Group
• Ketan Dalki, HR Manager at Contract Pharmacal Corporation
• Monica Goyal, HR - Director at Indifi Technologies 
• Shashi Iyer, General Manager - Compensation & Benefits, Hr. Ops, & Systems and International HR at Tech Mahindra
• Shambavi Mehrotra, Talent Acquisition Lead at Telebu Communications
• Akshada Kadam, AM-HR at Ferring Pharmaceuticals
• Ritu Maan, Employee Engagement Lead at the GMR Group
  
• Lovina XIe, HR Business Partner at DHL Supply Chain
• Roopa Menezes, Senior Human Resource Manager at Neilsen
• Khushboo Gul, HRBP- APAC at ByteDance
• Ankita Dixit, HR Manager at Ultratech Service
• Sheethal B, Sr. Manager of Global Recruitment at Affine Analytics
• Mohammed Taha, Talent and People Operations Leader at Headout
• Asokan Kunnathully, Head HR- India at Amicorp Group
• Priyanka Agarwal, Regional Talent Manager at RB
• Sonam Gupta, Director of HR at Tavant
• Sulbha Rai, HR Head at Renewbuy Insurance
• Rahul Bajpai, HR Head at CoWrks
• Bharat Joshi, GM HR at Practo
• Vinesh Nair, HR Head at Practo
     

Participate and share your insights and learnings in our Virtual Group Discussions. We would LOVE to hear and learn from you. Check out our upcoming events here!