Human resources professionals are facing a range of complex challenges since the global pandemic began, according to a new survey by ADP Canada Co.
The majority (61 per cent) of HR professionals said their roles have become more difficult since mid-March. In particular, the pandemic has led to unique challenges for HR teams, with top issues including: protecting the health and well-being of employees (71 per cent); ensuring business continuity (65 per cent); supporting the transition to remote work (58 per cent); rapid policy changes (53 per cent); and supporting employee mental health (53 per cent).
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“HR’s role has become increasingly challenging over the last several months,” said Heather Haslam, vice-president of marketing at ADP Canada, in a press release. “The role of HR professionals is so much more than just recruitment and payroll — HR is critical to building a positive workplace culture, maintaining employee engagement and to the success of every organization.”
Indeed, HR teams have been dealing with a range of issues well beyond recruiting and payroll. The majority (66 per cent) of survey respondents said ensuring staff have functioning technology at home is a challenge during the pandemic. Keeping an eye on staff from a distance is also challenging, with 61 per cent saying ensuring staff are appropriately engaged remotely is hard and 58 per cent saying managing productivity and performance of workers at home is a challenge.
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