must learn from our responses to COVID-19 disruptions . Industry analyst Josh Bersin outlines 10 key practices that lay the foundations for business resilience .
In August 2020 , the Josh Bersin Academy contacted 1,349 HR leaders and professionals around the globe , within multiple industry segments , to identify the HR- and business-response practices with the highest business impact . The survey was designed to analyse 53 practices , encompassing areas such as leadership , culture and communication , learning and talent strategies , pay and benefits plans , remote work , workplace configurations , and HR skills and capabilities .
Ten practices were found to have highest business impact in areas such as financial performance , customer satisfaction , workforce engagement and retention , and societal impact , namely :
• Focusing support on employee health and safety
• Aggressively listening to the workforce to define return-to-work plans
• Creating integrated support for families and the worker ’ s entire life
• Reinforcing and invigorating focus on purpose and mission
• Communicating and supporting agile teams to deal with ambiguity
• Quickly adopting technology to develop new products and services
• Rapidly , creatively and strategically hiring new , needed talent
• Leveraging contingent and part-time workers
• Facilitating and supporting teams to experiment and learn quickly
• Simplifying and speeding up performance management
At its core , the pandemic is an economic transformation , not just a public health problem
As results were analysed , Bersin and his research team realised that these 10 practices laid the foundation for business resilience . They also serve organisations well when dealing with any unplanned situation – such as a hostile takeover or a financial crisis . The research clearly showed that regardless of industry , geography , or company size , business resilience has three major aspects : employee health and wellbeing , business agility , and job and workforce transformation .
Based on survey responses , the research team found four levels of pandemic-related response , ranging from the implementation of purely tactical responses to those that lay the groundwork for business transformation . The stages break out as follows :
Stage 1 – Hope for the best :
18 % of responses fell into this category , which is focused on financial survival , maintaining day-to-day operations , and actions related to employee furloughs or layoffs .
Stage 2 – Care for the people :
The largest percentage of respondents ( 46 %) were at this stage , where organisations are focusing on keeping employees , customers and suppliers safe from infection .
Stage 3 – Drive agility and culture :
15 % of respondents were at stage 3 , where the emphasis is on educating and supporting employees to move fast , develop cross-functional solutions , and stay resilient and productive .
Stage 4 – Transform and reinvent :
21 % of companies fell into the highest stage , which focuses on the reinvention of hiring , job design and pay , to transform into new business and operating models .
Economic transformation
At its core , the pandemic is an economic transformation , not just a public health problem . While many job roles have declined in need , others have had to be ramped up quickly for continued business success .
For example , Sainsbury ’ s had to hire many new delivery drivers and in-store support people for various grocery services related to the pandemic . A healthcare provider rapidly staffed up critical-care staff and also cross-trained many people for potential shortages in various departments . Southwest Airlines promised its employees there would be no layoffs or furloughs in 2020 and was able to find new work for people using its Loan Your LUV platform , an internal gig work programme that the company has successfully used for more than a decade .
Across industries , geographies and organisations of different sizes , the most successful businesses are the ones that focus on people , balancing financial survival , tactical health and safety necessities , and day-to-day business continuity with strategic and forward-looking people practices , employee empowerment , and a strong focus on mission and purpose .
Josh Bersin is an internationally recognised analyst , educator and thought leader in the global talent market . He is Dean of the Josh Bersin Academy , the world ’ s first global development academy for HR and talent professionals at all levels and across all industries .