Building workforce resilience key to weathering the storm and coming out stronger

2020 will forever be remembered as the year that pushed businesses and their leaders to the limits. The global pandemic, which started as a health crisis and turned into an economic one, has challenged the majority of businesses more than any preconceived crisis plan possibly could. As the CEO of a cloud company recently put it, “Some companies have had to deal with a global crisis, a macro economic meltdown, distributed and remote teams, and pivoting an entire corporate strategy on a dime. But no one has done this all at once.”

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen bold leadership in action as leaders around the world have had to make some of the toughest decisions of their careers regarding the future of their workforce. We’ve seen mass layoffs, extended furloughing, employees being asked to work reduced hours and adapt to remote working. Industries that took the first hit are now seeing their supply chains impacted. Furthermore, companies are being held to account for not only how they treat their existing employees, but exiting ones too.

While every business is being impacted, what’s crucial now is how companies prepare to come back stronger, or how - as Patagonia’s CEO recently put it - they ‘reimagine’ themselves. That starts with how they think about their most important asset, their people. 

Here are some top priorities leaders are considering as they look to rebuild their businesses and strengthen workforce resilience: 

1. Taking care of their workforce: Employee well-being has always been high on the C-suite agenda, but now it is a top priority as leaders pay close attention to how their people are adapting to working remotely, and gauging their views on an eventual return to work. According to data from Glint - the people success platform from LinkedIn - the biggest issue threatening employee well-being currently is burnout. This is according to analysis of nearly 3 million survey responses from more than 700,000 employees from companies around the world since mid-March.

Those fortunate enough to work from home during the pandemic are struggling to set clear work/life boundaries and are feeling new pressures of “digital presenteeism”. This is impacting the productivity and engagement of today’s workforce. Additional research from LinkedIn and the Mental Health Foundation finds that more than half (56%) of HR leaders in the UK are concerned that there will be a rise in staff absence due to employee burnout. 

With businesses likely to be in a state of “virtual working” for some time to come, and potentially longer-term as some trends stick, it’s important for companies to regularly check-in with their people during this time and not rush this crucial listening phase. Employee insight can help inform not only the path forward in terms of what the “next normal” will look like, but also the pace at which businesses can move to get there. Those that move too quickly without the trust and support of their people will be negatively impacted.

2. Realigning people as business models evolve: It’s been impressive to see the speed at which companies large and small have managed to evolve their business models to adapt in a COVID-19 world, pivoting their workforce accordingly. We’ve seen traditional retailers significantly expand e-commerce capabilities, consumer goods companies introduce direct to consumer offerings, and the hospitality sector find creative ways to continue operating during this challenging time. This has been reliant on companies being able to rapidly redeploy their people to meet new demand. 

One of the biggest barriers that often prevents companies from doing this effectively is that they lack real-time insight and a holistic view of the existing skills within their organisation today.

Having a clear understanding of the existing hard and soft skills within the organisation, and the roles that require similar skill sets can help companies determine workforce readiness, quickly manoeuvre their people and set them up for success on the right priorities. 

3. Developing people to fuel future growth: For the majority of companies, hiring may be paused for some time to come. This doesn’t mean businesses can afford to stand still when it comes to workforce reskilling, particularly as the global pandemic is likely to accelerate digitisation and automation. Now is the time for companies to anticipate in-demand roles needed tomorrow to deliver on future customer needs and identify where the skills gaps are. This will help them to intelligently build their future workforce. 

It’s been positive to see people using this time to invest in learning new skills - professionals consumed more than 7.7 million hours of LinkedIn Learning content in April alone. Companies too must play a more active role in helping their people to develop and reinvent themselves, which is crucial to staying nimble.

Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends report finds that 53% of HR leaders say that between half and all of their workforce will need to change their skills and capabilities in the next three years. Furthermore, nearly three-quarters (73%) identify organisations as the entity in society primarily responsible for workforce development - more so than employees themselves, or educational institutions, governments, or professional associations or unions. This is a primary driver of the societal pressure organisations are facing to address workers’ long-term employ-ability. It’s up to companies to make a difference. 

Preparing to lead as the economy rebounds

People are the driving force of every company, the source of innovation and competitive advantage. The decisions being made now will have an enduring impact on businesses for years to come. Now more than ever it’s crucial for businesses to put people first to build back better.

I’d love to hear about how you’re adapting your workforce strategy to build resilience and come out of this testing time stronger. If you’ve got learnings that can help other leaders inform their own strategies, please share your insights in the comments below.  

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