Tips for an effective workforce planning

We are all facing an unprecedented phenomenon with the COVID-19 virus, which led to big changes in our business life.

Many businesses in the fear of a possible recession have reduced their investments in hiring and purchasing goods, in taking minimum actions, cleaning up their balance sheets and considering of personnel layoffs.

Companies are forced more than ever, to evaluate their strategies, forecast potential risks and provide to their staff a safe and sustainable environment, where they can keep the same levels of productivity and efficiency.

Here are 5 tips to do that:

1. Create a structured “work from home” plan for your team

Now, where most of us need to work from home, is very difficult for businesses to keep track and check their personnel’s daily routine and levels of productivity. Therefore, is crucial to set up a structured plan of work, which requires daily meetings and catch-ups, constant reporting and the creation of project/task teams in order to be more efficient. It is important to build a system that enables a smooth but also controllable access to knowledge and data and encourage your team to work autonomously by reducing the levels of bureaucracy. 

2. Maintain your team’s performance

An important issue that organisations need to address and understand, is the significant impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on employees’ personal and work lives. Employees face the anxiety and fear of the pandemic and the frustration and burnout from the working-from-home condition. That is why organisations need to focus on employees’ emotions to restore productivity and deliver on employee experience. They must have a clear plan of action, give all the necessary tools and training while keeping them informed. While the operational part is very important, companies should show that they care about their wellbeing as well. Keep touch-base with your employees, be empathetic and reassure them to avoid misunderstandings and additional stress.

3. Invest in technology and infrastructure to support remote work and virtual collaboration capabilities

Keeping constant communication is the key to success. That requires having the right technology and tools in place to support your workforce. This means investing in collaborative file-sharing tools, video conferencing tools, and instant messaging. Create a virtual working environment where employees can still communicate with each other on a regular basis (daily catch ups) but also remind them how their work is contributing to the bigger picture.

4. Review relevant standard operating procedures and manuals and update them as necessary

Even if most of us weren’t prepared for a crisis of this magnitude, now is the perfect time to review and re-evaluate standard procedures which may now not be applicable and probably outdated.  Work with your IT Department and focus more on the digitalization of your company. Create a workplace where most of the procedures can be managed by a PC, a tablet or a mobile device in order to maximize productivity but also to keep a record of your company’s data. 

5. Monitor the situation and provide regular briefings on any emerging threats and issues

Always stay alert and be well informed about the current situation. Be ready to take immediate actions to protect your company about potential threats and comply with the regulations imposed by the government. Create a crisis team to monitor on a daily basis the environment of your business sector, monitor your competition and try to find opportunities where possible.