International HR Day 2021: Human resource personnel cope with COVID-19 challenges, adapt to keep organisations strong

The past year and this year so far have proved to be tough due to the coronavirus pandemic and human resource personnel have sought to live up to the challenges. Ravi Maithani, Head of People and Culture, Tide (India) said the pandemic has brought a paradigm shift in thinking in terms of engaging employees as a HR leader.

"We have seen a radical shift from 'one size fits all' to people-centric policies and a need-driven approach. These include setting up a COVID-19 help desk, constant focus on mental well-being, add-on health insurances for employees and their families. The pandemic has seen employees looking up to HR for help in coping with the crisis as boundaries of professional and personal have fizzled out," he said. He said trust has evolved as an important factor. "With Work From Home (WFH) as the new normal, we as HRs are working hard to ensure that the work-life balance remains sacrosanct," he said.

Srividya Kannan, Founder, and Director, Avaali Solutions, said an organization "is only as extraordinary as its people" and HR personnel play a pivotal role in making this happen. "In the context of the current pandemic and associated crises, the role of HR has been more amplified in terms of working with businesses to adapt to the significant changes taking place. The role of HR personnel in the future of business will take centrestage as enterprises prepare for resilience and versatility to be relevant for the future."

Barun Mallick, HR community enabler, KEKA said last year they had taken a lead in reimagining the organization. "By not just only developing talent strategies but also understanding and addressing employee wellbeing is our topmost priority. HR department has been the driving force behind the building team process which is organised, productive and resilient. Educating management and teams about remote culture, making people shift toward an organizational goal, keeping them engaged all the time, this situation has illustrated the true value of HR," Mallick said.

Ashwin Sivakumar, co-founder and chief of digital business growth, Jugularn Social Group, said that core of any organization's growth is the human equation of trust, empathy and respect. "A brand's value hinges on the quality of people. The attitude, culture and depth in leadership set the blueprint for the entire organization. High-performance organizations are those who have a great mentoring culture," he said.