7 in 10 HR leaders are 'satisfied' with the way their organisation is managing the crises
Leaders at Chinese organisations said all of them have put measures in place to counteract the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their business, according to a new survey.
About 70% of HR leaders are satisfied with the way their organisation is managing the crisis.
In addition to quarantine requirements by the Chinese government, 90% of organisations said that they are providing their employees with protective equipment, and 81% have established emergency ‘outbreak’ teams.
More than a third of organisations (35%) said that they are also providing employees with psychological counselling services in this difficult time.
HR departments across all industries and company sizes have been forced to adjust their approach and focus more on short-term tactical tasks that deal with the virus outbreak, with long-term strategic work taking a back seat.
About half (53%) of leaders regard telecommuting as the first measure that needs to be adjusted, as nearly one-third of HR leaders are worried about employee efficiency as they work remotely.
Halting recruitment (44%) is also one of the most considered measures to deal with the epidemic, although this will likely result in a serious lack of resources and high demand for talent in the near future.
The study by Korn Ferry also found that while 90% of organisations believe that the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively impact their business and directly affect their revenue in 2020, more than half of leaders (51%) were confident that the overall market would recover within six months.
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“Business leaders will need to balance empathy with business continuity and the ability to rethink what performance means in the post-coronavirus world,” said Michael Distefano, President at Korn Ferry Asia-Pacific.
“As the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is expected to be high but short-lived, leaders need to ensure that they put the right measures in place to deal with the immediate impact of the crisis, and at the same time take a long-term view to ensure their organisations are set up for the inevitable market recovery.
“For HR leaders, this means ensuring that whatever adjustment they make to their approaches and policies now, does not stifle their organisations’ growth in the future.”