Changes in a post Covid-19 world. Are we virtually here to stay?

Whilst I prepare to applaud the simply amazing commitment, dedication and sacrifice being shown by all those battling on the frontline of this Covid-19 crisis, particularly within our NHS and key services, I would also like to give a huge shout out to all the 'People' people who are working tirelessly behind the scenes, in organisations up and down the country, to plan and provide the practical, psychological and emotional support and guidance their workforces urgently require as we all try to adjust to unprecedented levels of change and disruption to our daily lives.

A webinar I attended yesterday highlighted the critical role that HR leaders have to play in the current crisis, not only in terms of navigating and overcoming the multitude and complexity of immediate challenges in simply keeping their workforce safe and hopefully able to continue their activities, but also in understanding and leveraging the opportunities and benefits that some seemingly enforced changes may offer in terms of organisational culture change, long after this crisis has passed.  

Whilst the focus of the particular discussion yesterday was around mitigating the impacts of a crisis such as Coronavirus on organisational talent processes, I felt some of the key themes, particularly the way we are enabling ourselves en masse through virtual technology, have the potential to underpin long-term changes to the way we traditionally approach a wide range of activities in a post Covid-19 world. Some key discussion points included:

·        Virtual is rapidly becoming the new normal and this is a great opportunity for us all to catch up with our Gen-Z colleagues in terms of our tech-savviness (or at least to close the gap a little!)

·        We have an opportunity to learn from other colleagues, for example from those in Talent Acquisition, how processes that have traditionally relied on physical presence can be adapted successfully to a virtual setting

·        Successful adaptation from the physical to the virtual needs to be by design, not simply by default. Don’t expect a process to automatically work in exactly the same way in the virtual world as it does in the physical. Look for opportunities to simplify processes, shorten sessions, increase interaction and improve emotional connection

·        Participants may often feel safer in traditional approaches due to the value we place on physical presence to create intimacy and trust. A mindset shift will be required before we feel a similar degree of safety and openness in a virtual environment

This virus has, in a very short space of time, created a common purpose amongst us and presented an opportunity to try new things. Even my dear 75-year-old mother has finally taken the leap from ‘eartime’ to FaceTime (bless her!). However, to fully benefit from the organisational and cultural opportunities available through embracing the virtual world will require a fundamental mindset shift for many of us.

On top of everything they are already trying to help us deal with at this time, our People leaders and specialists have a critical role to play going forward in supporting us to review our traditional beliefs, become more open minded and prepare for things to not always work right the first time we try. And who knows, when this is all over, we may well all have become virtual by design, not just by default.