How Will Coronavirus Affect Human Capital Management?

The public health situation posed by COVID-19 shows businesses must be prepared for the unexpected. As millions of Americans face disruption in their income and careers, business leaders should begin looking at the strategic picture.

Human Capital Management Is Already Changing Due to COVID-19
Even if COVID-19 subsides sooner than most experts anticipate, it poses challenges to the status quo. It may be years before we can measure its effects in detail, but some facts are clear.

Here’s what we can say as the situation continues to unfold:

1. Workforce Versatility Is A Must In An Uncertain World
Many organizations have chosen to forego a remote workforce, only to find they have few alternatives when emergencies happen. A blended remote and on-site workforce makes organizations robust. In times of crisis, this enables talent to remain connected to the job at hand. When all is well, it imbues schedules with flexibility and teams with resilience.

2. Benefits Will Become More Important To Employee Perception
The last decade has seen fierce debate about health insurance costs in America. COVID-19 is sure to renew those debates, but it will also cast new light on the employer’s role. Every dollar a firm invests in benefits enables personnel to respond more effectively to life’s uncertainties. Proactive human capital management is essential in optimizing the impact of those investments.

3. Human Capital Personnel Must Be Empowered For Greater Agility
Clunky, ineffective human capital management systems can’t empower professionals to support the talent in their organization. Ideally, human capital systems are streamlined using the best available technology. Processes and programs should be centralized under an “all-in-one” view that enables a single employee to administer the overall strategy.

4. Human Capital Must Be Integrated Into Your Overall Planning
Human capital doesn’t stand alone – no function is an island. It must be integrated into your operations and technology posture. Even when offices are closed, there is no reason human capital management can’t support the company’s goals. In crisis, for example, many organizations are relying on human capital expertise to redirect workloads from ill personnel.

5. Your Results Today May Predict Your Success Tomorrow
COVID-19 may be a once-a-generation event. But that doesn’t mean it’s all over when work resumes. The top talent you want at your business will research your response to the crisis: What you did right and where you fell short. Instituting best-in-class HCM means you can point with confidence to lessons you learned in the spring of 2020 for years to come.

Preparation Today Means Better Results In A Fast-Moving Tomorrow
No one could have predicted COVID-19, and no one can foresee all the ways it will affect the working world in years to come. But one thing is for sure: Implementing robust systems and processes today is essential to moving with the times, whatever they might bring.

Flagler Financial has the answers you need.

Our People Success Platform helps you administer all the elements of human resources for your enterprise. Time and attendance, travel, benefits, move management and more are all measured and collated, a wealth of data at your fingertips.

What’s more, clear and transparent access to human capital data will impress your key hires and build trust. And in a world that has been throwing curveballs faster than the average person can react, trust just may make the winning difference in your market.

To find out more or get started, contact Flagler Financial.