Hey friends, I hope I find you and your family safe and well in these tough times. In this AMA I got to talk to Dillon Chen and Crystal Huang from ProSky, two experts on all HR & Recruiting matters. We will be talking about some of the common problems that you might be dealing with now, and offer some solutions that can help you stay afloat. Here we go.
You’re in the following situation, you are an employer and you have to lay off people because you’re close to going bankrupt, is there an alternative to that? Government? Insurance? Is there a way one can prevent situations like these in the future?
Instead of a straight layoff, you might want to choose to furlough an employee instead. This enables the employee to return to work at a later date, while still keeping their health insurance. Employers will not pay a salary to the said-furloughed employee. If things don’t improve for the company, the furlough may be converted into a layoff.
During the current pandemic, the government has offered assistance like PPP loans. Since you can’t always count on government assistance, many businesses might benefit from having a line of credit available before another crisis affects their business.
Although it’s not a great alternative, reducing pay or hours and offering more unpaid leave to employees are some options that companies can consider before laying off employees or declaring bankruptcy. Decrease office expenses by cutting back on certain benefits and implementing a remote workspace. If employees are close to retirement, see if they are willing to take a voluntary retirement package and train their successor using succession planning.
What about If you don’t have any other choices other than laying off someone? What’s the best way to help your ex-employees get on with their lives and help them mitigate the stress and the hardships of getting a new job?
When you have to let employees go, make sure you let them know how you can help with their future careers. That might be through reference letters, recommendations, or connections to other potential employers. Laid-off employees might be hesitant to ask if you don’t offer.
Discuss different career pathway options with them using their input and help them make plans for their future. Give them constructive feedback and suggestions to help them get a new job.
Given that a lot of people would lose their jobs because of the COVID pandemic, what would your strategical advice to them be?
Let people know that there are expanded unemployment benefits (additional $600 a week from the federal government) due to the pandemic from which they can benefit while they plan the next step in their career. This relieves some of the pressure during the job search that might lead to a rash decision.
Encourage them to take the time to upgrade their personal skills or learn new skills that will improve their marketability in the future. Going through training and self-growth programs to learn behavioral or technical skills will make them stronger applicants and more desirable to companies they apply to.
What do you think the repercussions for the job market would look like? Do you think there would be more opportunities on the job market now than before?
The COVID-19 crisis has led to devastatingly high levels of unemployment. Due to the fact that many of these job losses resulted from an elective decision to close businesses, many of these jobs will likely return relatively quickly as the pandemic subsides. Workers who have been laid off should watch their industry closely and be ready to apply when those jobs return.
There will definitely be an upward trend in hiring once the pandemic is over. Many talented candidates will be searching for jobs. Companies should work on improving their hiring strategies in advance so that they are ready to attract and retain top talent.
There may be different job opportunities available. For example, many agencies are hiring for contact-tracers. In cities where quarantine conditions are more serious, there may be more options for delivery and customer service.
Competitors who are in better shape may be actively recruiting and poaching employees in the same industries who are getting laid off. Reach out to them and be proactive. Even if they are not hiring right this minute, they will be in a few months and may even offer you a better package. However, the grim fact is that many jobs that were lost may be lost for the long-term. Job seekers will need to be more flexible and creative in their job search.
Do you think that there will be long-term changes to certain industries? Those that got hit the hardest — Airlines, Hospitality, Dining etc?
Most definitely! Similar to post 9/11, we will see new procedures and maybe even new fees long-term with airlines. The upside is that we should expect to see more sanitary procedures carried here on out.
For many other industries, we will see an uptick in automation. Companies understand now that in an event like this, sometimes, physical employees and work cannot be maintained which will affect their operations. They may look to see what automation can do for them and how it can lower their costs. As a result, job descriptions will be redefined and some jobs may be lost to automation.
We are also seeing trends in companies working to develop friendly environments for remote work. An emphasis on tools and systems to enable that to happen will continue to be maintained and even increased upon.
Companies are also using this downtime to strengthen and update company procedures, especially those of Human Resources. We will see companies devoting more resources to organizational development to improve their organizational structure, get ready for future issues, and work on retention vs recruiting.
Some of the changes we’ve seen businesses make due to the pandemic are likely to stick around even as the spread of the virus slows. This is because businesses will not want to deter the most cautious potential customers. Some changes which can benefit businesses in general (like new online ordering or delivery systems put into place by restaurants) might become permanent.
What’s your opinion on the preception of remote work? Do you think that companies would be more open to it in the future as their business would not exist if it wasn’t for the flexibility it offered? Do any other interesting novelties in how we work come to your mind?
I believe that what COVID-19 has done is to show us that remote work is very possible and will not hinder the productivity of a company.
Not only will we see higher-ups change their minds on remote work but we will see employees demanding it more. We predict there will be an increase in flexible schedules and task-based performance evaluation methods.
More emphasis on tools that will hold employees accountable on a continual non-physical basis will be applied. Demand for remote team and communication software, such as Asana, Slack, Zoom, and the ProSky platform, have all proven extremely effective during this time in creating great remote work environments as well as holding employees accountable while personalizing their career ladder experience in the organization.
Organizational structures as a whole will change and affect the way companies work in order to accommodate a mix of remote-working/flexible schedule workforces.
With the mandatory quarantines, both companies and employees have had to adapt to remote work with varying levels of success. If they had similar or increased levels of productivity and effectiveness during this time, they will definitely be more open to it in the future. In addition to the success of these trials, businesses will likely take into consideration their preconceived notions regarding working from home.
Epilogue.
Wow, that was pretty insightful! Big thanks to Dillon Chen, Crystal Huang, and the whole ProSky team for making this fantastic “field manual” with us. If you’re interested in reading more on HR and Talent related topics from them, and other industry experts, visit their profile on Parrity.com
Personally, I really hope we get to see more people working remotely and enjoying the better work-life balance it offers. Companies should definitely use this experience as a learning one and understand why it doesn’t make people unproductive, no quite the opposite, it makes them more productive.
And If you’re worried about your job, or just have been laid off, get going, stay positive, be proactive, and try to find the opportunity in all of this. As Albert Einstein said — “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
Thanks for tuning in! Coming up in our next AMA will be Stefan Katanic from Veza Digital, we will be talking about how startups and entrepreneurs can adjust their marketing and strategies to handle the difficulties of the current situation.
Yours truly,
Lubo & the Parrity team.
