Skills needed by HR managers in post-pandemic recovery

By The Standard and Newsday | Sep. 27, 2021 | 5 Min read

HR leaders must act as agents of change, a conduit that’s present throughout the process, from planning through to execution. Change management is a multi-faceted skill requiring a great deal of communication.

By Emmanuel Zvada

AS we edge towards life post-pandemic, human resources (HR) and business leaders alike are evaluating the skills needed to move from fight or flight mode to recovery, to finally begin rebuilding their organisations after an enormously disruptive year.

One thing is certain, however, to emerge successfully from the current crisis, organisations will need to nurture their employees’ digital, cognitive, social and emotional and adaptability and resilience skillsets.

While COVID-19 changed the working landscape and we continue to navigate our way through the pandemic day-to-day, it is also important to look ahead so we can prepare for the changes that are inevitably coming. This article discusses various skills required by HR in recovering from a pandemic.

Change management and communication skills

The COVID-19 crisis has made thoughts about change management omnipresent, even outside working life.

First, HR leaders must determine who needs what information at each stage of the change process, when they need it and why. Anyone who will be impacted by the change should have this clearly articulated to them, along with an explanation on why things are proceeding as they are — to ensure the process moves as smoothly as possible.

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The entrepreneur mindset

HR professionals have to speak the language of business and familiarise themselves with the entire ecosystem they operate in. The entrepreneurial mindset is about a certain way of thinking. It is about the way in which you approach challenges and mistakes. Having a business mindset is understanding strategy and implementing it in your business practices.

Some HR practitioners tend to focus on the day-to-day mundane tasks and deadlines, solving short-term problems, and implementing marketing tactics that are not even good for the business.

Strategic skills where HR should be proactive with the changes in the environment is also critical, They have to look at where the organisation is going and how to get there. HR professionals should understand the talent requirements more effectively.

Digital mindset and digital savvy

It is crucial to highlight that being digitally savvy is not the same as having a digital mindset. Being digitally savvy simply shows an individual’s ability to use specific technologies and allows them to develop a digital mindset more seamlessly, should they be willing to do so. In the digital age, however, not choosing to develop a digital mindset leads to disastrous consequences.

To help the entire organisation and all employees through digital transformation, HR professionals first have to get comfortable with the new technology. It is essential that they invest in their own learning and development, and get as much knowledge as they can to help their organisation in this digital age.

HR agility

HR agility is the capability of the HR function to respond more quickly and effectively to changing employee expectations, workplace disruptions, and business requirements.

Change has always been a constant but the frequency and the scale at which change occurs today is massive. HR professionals have to be flexible and ensure that the company develops capabilities as per the changing business needs.

As agile leaders, they should endeavour to create a culture of agility at organisation level.

HR professionals have responded to these challenges with agility, now technology and analytical insights are shaping how talent is nurtured in the organisation. The skills that HR should nurture in the organisation are a mix of technical and soft skills.

HR agility requires sincere teamwork with client functions, and it thrives on constructive feedback that is crucial for refining the approach taken to provide seamless services.

The most important thing to note here is that agility helps the HR department and the organisation as a whole move forward. Keeping pace with competition is key to the survival of the company, and in today’s rigorous working environment, increasing efficiency and productivity provide a foolproof road to success.

Agile HR realigns your organisation to respond to the dynamic changes in today’s business environment.

Instead of sticking to rigid plans, agile HR supports flexibility and innovation.

Future focused

Besides being adaptable, flexible and agile to the ongoing changes, HR has to prepare for the innovations that are yet to occur and the development that might define the future of work. This is where a strong knowledge of current trends and the potential they come with will come in handy.

Adaptability and flexibility

Being adaptive to change in the workplace is the foremost trait that HR people need to have. Flexibility is the idea that your plans can change very quickly, with notice or without. We cannot always predict when change is going to happen. That is why flexibility is. When you are flexible, you are versatile, resilient and responsive to change. You can adapt to unexpected demands in the workplace — sudden surges in work. The HR team should be able to understand when it’s time to modify old policies, create new ones and how to help employees embrace change.

Proactivity

If you are proactive, you make things happen, instead of waiting for them to happen. Active means “doing something.” On the same note pro- means “before.” So if you are proactive, you are ready before something happens. Proactivity is often considered more of a personality trait than a skill. However, it is certainly something you can develop over time. HR professionals are the connecting link between the employer and the employee, therefore proactivity can enable them to spot potential problems early and prevent them from escalating.

Analytically driven and oriented

Analytical means that a person is inclined towards analysis of “facts” presented, detail oriented means that a person orients themselves well with details discovered, and that they can more easily relate one detail to another through the process of analysis. Skills related to data-driven working and analytics have emerged rapidly in this age of disruption.

Most HR professionals are now required to be analytically-driven and oriented as well as able to use data analytics to make better decisions. This can involve the use of complicated predictive analytics on HR data, HR dashboards or the much simpler use of data to make better decisions.

As such, as we transition to a post-pandemic world, now is the time to shift and focus on developing both the hard and soft skills that will make a difference.

The writer may not be a fortune teller, but as a global HR partner one needs to have new skillset for post-COVID-19 recovery.

Emmanuel Zvada is an award-winning Most Fabulous Global HR practitioner 2020, HR disrupter and trusted coach. He writes here in his personal capacity.