How Has Remote Work Changed the World of Human Resources

The covid-19 outbreak brought about a massive change in every aspect of our lives. The rapidly moving world had to put on sudden brakes with the advent of the global pandemic.

This devastating catastrophic event has collapsed the economy of the whole world that has left everlasting marks on every sector. People around the world were confined within the boundaries of their homes for about a couple of years.

Yet thanks to the internet and technology that helped us to survive these hard times and enabled us to adapt quickly to the dramatic changes brought by the pandemic.

The Rising Trend of Remote Work

The covid times have diverted the attention of companies toward the health and well-being of employees to revamp their productivity, adaptability, and creativity.

The mode of working in various sectors has now switched from onsite to hybrid or entirely remote. Covid-19 has also changed the preferences of job seekers and employees for remote work. According to a report, the interest in a remote job position has risen from 35% to 51% following the critical covid times.

A survey shows that a whopping 97% of employees are in favor of working from home after a prolonged quarantine. 51% of people claimed themselves to be more productive at remote jobs.

Remote Work and Human Resources

HR professionals play a central role in determining the most productive way to work in post-pandemic times. However, remote work has opened new challenges for the department of human resources.

Employee Engagement

Remote work has made the role of HR more crucial in terms of fostering engagement among employees with their work and the company’s goals.

It has been proven that employees that are engaged with their work are more productive, which correlates directly with business growth and success.

An effective strategy that needs to be developed for better engagement with employees is to keep them updated with upcoming events, new initiatives, business goals, and the next moves of the company.

Engaged employees tend to achieve higher performance, which ultimately drives a purpose-driven and aligned culture among employees.

Communication

The most probable drawback of remote work is ineffective communication, which may give rise to certain misconceptions among employees.

Remote employees are less likely to be devoted to the company’s goals than onsite employees. Many remote employees are likely to feel disconnected from their jobs or even their company culture as a whole.  

To maintain a thriving working culture that aligns with company goals, HR managers need to establish free-flowing communication with remote employees. They need to monitor how employees’ performance is impacted by remote work for the establishment of a productive remote workplace.

Similarly, managing the employees’ attendance at their homes is far more difficult than physical workspaces. When you cannot see the employee, there is no way to be sure that they are at their station. However, certain online attendance recorders and keylogging tools can be helpful.

Strategic Leadership

The rising trend of remote work has evolved the traditional roles of HR beyond hiring, employee management, releasing paystubs, and establishing a productive working environment. HR managers now need to develop effective leadership skills to survive and thrive in the world of the remote workforce.

To deal with the remote work challenges, HR managers need to emphasize professional development among employees. HR managers being strategic leaders, need to encourage employees to build a strong network within the organization. They should appreciate the efforts of employees and highlight how they contribute to the growth of the company.

Employee affiliation and engagement will be strengthened through strong professional connections within the organization.

1. Expanded Search & Recruitment

Hiring suitable employees for the organization is one of the most important responsibilities of HR professionals that decides the future of the organization. The process of recruitment is also not free from the impacts of remote work. Hiring processes are no longer location-based. Effective communication and collaboration allow people to offer their services to a particular organization from any corner of the world.

Human Resources faces challenges managing a remote workforce, even though remote jobs provide easy and quick access to qualified talent beyond geographical boundaries.

2. Digital Technologies

Another challenging factor that hinders the way of offering work-from-home facilities is making efficient use of digital technology to create a productive remote workforce.

The human resource department is responsible for meeting the technological requirements of employees by providing essential tools and equipment to create a seamless virtual employee experience. They need to ensure that their employees can still be productive by leveraging digital technologies.

It also involves access to reliable management systems to improve remote workflows.

3. Productive Employee Experiences

Managing remote workforces for HR requires measured planning, execution, and organizational agility across the enterprise.

Ensuring a productive employee experience for human resources experts is way more critical in post covid times than in times before covid-19.

Creating productive experiences and offering competitive benefits can help you improve the existing talents and hire new ones.

Conclusion

Remote work has changed not only the way employees work but also how new talents are hired. Covid-19 has greatly promoted the concept of working from home, which has switched traditional offices to remote places.

Under these circumstances, HR professionals also need to recreate the company’s policies for their existing employees and newly recruited employees with remote work.