Although many in the workforce are eager to shed the stress of the past 12 months, we might consider bringing many of the things we learned with us into a post-pandemic future. The past year had its challenges, but it also brought transformative innovation in the form of remote work. As companies made the mass transition to working from home, so too did employees, who learned an entirely new way of working. These lessons won’t be so easily forgotten; nor should they be.
Companies should not get complacent as things start to shift back to “business as usual.” True innovation begins with reflecting on the past, not looking forward. By assessing the events of the past year and learning from the results, HR leaders have the opportunity to usher in a new era of the workplace.
The Future of Hybrid Work
Despite the challenges that accompanied such a large-scale change, remote work has been proven to be efficient and often preferable to in-person work. However, HR teams needed some time to get to a place where this is the case. Leaders had to learn how to engage remote workers and still make them feel like part of the team while also bolstering their productivity.
Leaders should look back at how successful they were in fostering a remote work culture to inform their strategies going forward. What did your teams need to be productive at home? What type of equipment was useful, and how often did employees require virtual check-ins with the rest of the team? If companies are going to build a powerful hybrid workforce into their long-term plans, leaders should be reflecting on what they learned over the past year and adjusting to best support employee success.
The Future of Company Culture
Company culture has become a driving force behind attracting and retaining employees. Creating a company culture that evolves with the workforce is something that will go a long way in adding value to the company. Doing so requires a constant reflection process to understand what employees value and how your company can evolve to meet those needs and desires.
Create time and space for employees to reflect on both themselves and the company at large. By building in time for personal reflection, leaders have the opportunity to encourage personal and professional growth in their employees while also discovering how to best support their teams.
The Future of Employee Health
As established many times before, employees had a harrowing year. From having to transition to remote work to learning how to juggle their personal life with professional, employees found their mental health put at risk time and again. Despite companies stepping up with benefits and other incentives, employees often have felt drained and overwhelmed.
HR teams have the opportunity to combat this by reflecting on their offerings and employee development programs. Is there a way to better support your teams to combat burnout? How can you drive results without adding stress to employees? Even though things are transitioning back to normal, it’ll still be important for companies to support their employees’ mental and physical well-being.
Having a robust reflection process is crucial for companies who want to drive results into the future. By looking at past outcomes, HR leaders have a whole toolkit to leverage to bolster success for both the company and its employees.
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