A New “Front” in the HR Perfect Storm
Well, it looks like even Wednesday Words can’t avoid the Coronavirus. No, not me, I’m perfectly healthy – just usual seasonal allergies. However, what has happened of late is becoming a new front in the HR Perfect Storm. HR Departments are front and center when it comes to this latest health crisis. Businesses are being challenged on many fronts from sales to customer service. For professional white collar jobs, companies are finding new value in remote work and virtual meetings. In this article, let’s focus on a few of the main business challenges that are presented during this health crisis: conferences, travel, meetings, customer service, and of course Disney.
Conferences
Not since post 9/11 have I seen business travel impacted as much as it has been with this virus. I was scheduled to attend Tech HR in Singapore last month. Thankfully, the organizers decided it best to delay the conference until the Fall. However, as the weeks passed, this is not a lone outlier. Analysts indicate that there will be a “significant impact” on the conference industry. Many organizations, including: Facebook, Disney, the Geneva Motor Show and potentially the 2020 Olympics have delayed or outright cancelled their events. Consider the dollars at stake for deposits, venues, audio/visual services, air and hotel bookings when deciding to cancel an event. Of course there’s the secondary impact to local venues, restaurants and shops that rely on out-of-town guests for revenue.
From a pure HR perspective, these decisions to pause and/or cancel conferences are somewhat minor. Development efforts may be delayed, but the risk of exposing large numbers of employees at a time is a preventative cost that is worthwhile. On the flip side, what happens if an event is not cancelled and employees attend, and get sick? What are the ramifications to the organization at this point? HR will may see an impact with prolonged absences due to the virus in situations such as quarantines or self-imposed quarantines due to exposure. This ultimately impacts productivity – hopefully only in the short term.
Travel
Salesforce just announced it is suspending non-essential travel for its 49,703 employees around the world. Amazon has also taken a similar approach deferring all non-essential travel, even within the U.S. to protect its employees. Airlines are feeling the impact on their revenues as many have offered full refunds on “non-refundable” tickets for virus prone areas; i.e. China, Japan, Korea and Italy. Most recently Emirates Air has asked some employees to take up to one-month unpaid leave as a cost cutting measure in this downturn. HR may need to review travel policy guidelines as well as protocols for travel restrictions. Ultimately HR should take the lead in consulting with the various department heads to understand the secondary impact of these bans on the business. Of course, my biggest fear in all this is how it will impact my mileage status!
Meetings
I’ll bet you’re going to see a lot more virtual meetings happening – within the same location! Much like post 9/11 when WebEx meetings saw a huge spike, we are seeing a rise in the number of virtual meetings occurring. Webcams continue to see a rise in use as they provide a more personal approach to an otherwise animated conference call. Norms such as shaking hands are giving way to “fist bumps” or just polite acknowledgement with a nod. Heck, even the NBA has come out telling players to “avoid high-fives.” In times such as these, I look for the best in all of us. Innovative ideas and opportunities to try different approaches to the “same ole” way of doing things can happen. Be creative in your suggestions, my sense is management may be more receptive than ever before.
Customer Service
Given the uncharted territory of this massive a public health risk, Customer Service will need to flex a bit to accommodate. We’re seeing this already with companies accommodating cancellations and refunds outside of the normal parameters. Call Centers and virtual Customer Service capabilities should see little impact. However, in this time of uncertainty I would like to ask readers for a little extra lee-way when dealing with Customer Service issues at local stores, restaurants and other venues. For many who work in these businesses and fear contracting the virus, they have no “remote” option. Let’s all make sure to provide a “Thank You” and Smile for those who work the front lines of retail and service.
And….Disney
I’m sure you’ve seen the news that both the Shanghai and Tokyo Disney Parks have been closed for an indefinite period. One can only imagine the impact that will have on the employees and operations. Its not likely that there are procedures in place for dealing with this long of a shut down of a park. One of the most unanticipated angles to all the news on the virus has been about the Cruise Ships. Unfortunately, this has given rise to some panic decisions adversely affecting reservations for the various cruise lines.
My family and I recently sailed on the Disney Dream and were completely at ease with our travel. In the past week, I have heard of many people cancelling their Disney Cruise reservations, including absorbing the cost of fees or loss of their deposit. Let’s not panic. Long before this virus, Cruise ships have had the Norovirus to contend with; which has helped them prepare better for this virus than most industries. Passengers are all given sanitary wipes prior to entering any dining room and for Disney, the ships are kept in immaculate condition; both from a mechanical and cleanliness standpoint. Even through all the news, we are still excited about the prospect of our summer cruise next year.
I think its fair to say that a lot of the concern is rightly justified. I also think that much like the standard flu that comes and goes, everyone should exercise the standard common-sense precautions in life; wash hands, cover coughs and avoidance of others if not feeling well. Like many events, the virus has exposed gaps in supply chains for medical supplies (even my wife’s dental practice is rationing face masks), initiated protocols (that mostly collected dust on shelves), and awakened many to some of the daily risks from cross contamination. Thankfully, while serious in some cases, this is inline with similar historic events and hopefully will be an afterthought in a few months. HR should ensure that lessons are being learned and opportunities not missed leveraging alternative work and meeting strategies. Thankfully summer is only a few months away!