With all the recent economic, political and financial unrest, I am sure there is at least one thing we can all agree on: it feels good to have closed the books on 2020.
As spring approaches and our thoughts turn to fresh beginnings, it’s useful to consider how turbulent our lives have been from a social and business perspective. Multiple crises require organizations to look more deeply at four key domains to ensure they have taken appropriate measures to safeguard their people and processes:
- Human Resources policies and procedures
- Risk management – measurement, management and mitigation
- Training, education and development
- Workplace culture
Read more:
Organizations have different needs and priorities across each domain. As a result, how they are prioritized will be distinctly unique to your own organizational needs.
Human Resources policies and procedures
This is a good time to review and update your employee handbook and its related policies. In all likelihood, the pandemic has significantly altered the way your business operates. As a result, policies and procedures should be updated to reflect the new reality.
Ensure your company language aligns with remote work guidelines. Human Resources should evaluate existing
Risk management: Policies, procedures and controls
Although organizations continue to be challenged by the pandemic, this is no time for panic. Taking time to review your existing risk management program strategy — policies, procedures and controls — will contribute toward peace of mind that the business is in shape.
Inventory your risk management program to determine if your coverage is adequate for the current business climate. This is a turbulent time for the insurance market. As a result, completing a thoughtful risk management and insurance program benchmarking analysis will provide a helpful overview of what is covered, what is not covered and any unique coverage needs that require attention.
Read more:
Insurance and non-insurance related policies should be reviewed as part of a comparative analysis with best practices. Your risk management partner can assess and guide you through an existing program, coverage and non-insurance related strategies for measuring, managing and mitigating risk.
Review procedures established by your organization to ensure they remain relevant for the current business climate. Are your business procedures consistent with current and emerging business needs? For example, have you formalized your telecommuting policy and procedures employees must follow
Read more:
What controls have been developed to aid your organization with workplace safety, occupational health requirements, employment practices, driver safety and long-term work-from-home arrangements?
Training, education and development
Training, education and development must be assessed independently.
During the pandemic, organizations should continue
Tests, quizzes and fun exercises such as a hazard hunt questionnaire to be submitted within a week of the education, would be an example of how you could involve an employee in building their understanding of a subject and how it is relevant to the workplace.
Read more:
Development places emphasis on building employees’ capacity to learn and apply new concepts during situations not previously experienced. To
Workplace culture
With many employers adopting remote working arrangements as a result of COVID-19, it is easy to run the risk of not having contact with colleagues for a prolonged period of time.
We can be so consumed with getting work completed on the computer, we can miss out on simply picking up the phone and calling a colleague to see how they are doing that day or asking if they need anything. Maintaining organizational culture is important.
