24 minute read
When crisis strikes
As the world wrestles with the continued impacts of Covid-19, HR leaders are at the helm, navigating their organisations through treacherous waters.
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BY VICTORIA WILLIAMS
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, HR leaders have had an increased responsibility as the custodians of the people agenda. Every decision they have made has had a multiplier effect on the families of staff, the communities employees come from, and the business itself.
Organisations experienced fallout from Covid-19 across a wide spectrum, from being completely disrupted and shut down, to continuing at least somewhat as usual, right through to being busier than ever before.
The HR response to the crisis has fallen into four important areas: physical health and well-being, remote working, issues related to jobs and work continuity, and an urgent need for mental health support for employees. Many companies had remote work policies for at least some of their employees before Covid-19, but few were prepared to have their entire staff working from home full time.
For Deb Hileman, president and CEO of the Institute of Crisis Management, a key distinction between the Covid-19 crisis and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 is that the impact of Covid-19 has been broader and more sudden. “We saw economies crash overnight with many industries irrevocably changed. In the United States, several historic retail brands have filed for bankruptcy. Millions of people have lost their jobs forever. Leaders need to understand the depth and breadth of the crisis, and lead with empathy as they make difficult decisions.”
Professor Nicola Kleyn, dean of Executive Education at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, believes that the biggest impact of the crisis has been the destruction of the social fabric of society. “Covid-19 has revealed extreme inequality and poverty. The stress on the system has led to a rise in social unrest. Globally, we see greater populism from citizens and a greater authoritarian response from governments.”
Nicola is the co-author of When Crisis Strikes, together with journalist Francis Herd. The book looks at a variety of crises in the age of social media in South Africa and abroad, with examples of who got it right, who got it wrong and how they could have done better. She is also a judge of the 2020
Inge Walters
CHRO Awards. For Nicola, a key difference between a corporate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic is the duration of the crisis. “A corporate crisis typically doesn’t last for several months. We don’t have any certainty on when this crisis will be over. There are so many unknowns.”
Transparent, regular communications
As with any crisis, having clear communications is key. “We’ve definitely heard the importance of a lot of clear, transparent, and, maybe most importantly, very human communications,” says Inge Walters, an independent leadership practitioner and co-creator of The IgniteHer women’s development programme.
In times of crisis, Deb believes that employees tend to be overlooked. “This internal stakeholder group tends to be shoved down the priority list. Leaders make the mistake of not sharing information timeously enough. They need to be challenged to keep communicating regularly as well as finding new ways to communicate,” she says.
Nicola believes that one of the biggest mistakes that leaders can make is to go deep into a problem-solving zone at the expense of communicating
Nicola Kleyn
and engaging with all stakeholders. “This is not the time to lock yourself away from the world. You need to be a visible leader. This an opportunity to deepen relationships with people. This involves constantly engaging with shareholders, customers and employees.”
Many HR leaders have had to restructure or retrench within their organisations. Inge believes that the leader needs to know that clarity is kindness when delivering difficult news. “There is a real danger of over-communicating by justifying actions or filling silences. It is important to also give space for the listener to process the bad news and ask questions.”
The role of the leader
HR has a key role to play in developing leaders, ensuring they are successful and holding them accountable. Karina Jardim, Executive at MAC Consulting Human Capital Management, believes that HR leaders need to act as the compass for the C-suite. “The CHRO needs to work very closely with the CEO. This is the perfect time for HR to reset the organisation – to consider if the culture, purpose and values are still relevant or if they need to change. The worst mistake an HR leader can make at this time is to simply be an instruction taker.”
Leaders require enhanced skills in managing from a distance, motivating employees toward a vision amid ambiguity, providing calm and clarity, aligning work among team members and building community. A common challenge for leaders is maintaining cultural connection within the organisation and helping employees fight off those feelings of isolation or disconnection. “Leaders can play a role in normalising what is happening and help team members to articulate their emotions. They can also encourage employees to check-in with one another on a regular basis,” says Inge.
“This crisis provides the ideal invitation to leaders to go deeper into their leadership abilities. This is the time to connect with other leaders outside your organisation. To see shifts in the environment and collaborate to shape where things are heading. A common mistake that leaders make in a crisis is to radically change their leadership style. Good leadership is still good leadership. Being courageous, curious and compassionate is important at any time,” says Inge.
Nicola acknowledges the conflicted position that leaders may find themselves in. “Leaders have to balance optimism and hope, a sense that we will come through this, while acknowledging the real challenges, pain and discomfort of Covid-19. If leaders can’t show empathy, they can’t lead under these circumstances.”
Deb believes that this is an opportunity for leaders to demonstrate their humanity and frailty by dropping the authority persona. “Sometimes our expectations of leaders are unrealistic. Employees are very responsive to leaders who show their vulnerable side.”
A mental health crisis
Globally, employees are reporting mental health issues related to the pandemic. “We are only beginning to understand the intensity of the mental health crisis related to Covid-19,” comments Deb. Nicola also anticipates a wave of incidents of post-traumatic stress among employees during and
post the crisis. Here HR can offer support in everything from employee assistance programmes and access to psychologists, to programmes for mindfulness, exercise, nutrition and financial counselling.
Karina feels that the key mistake organisations make is to expect their employees to separate their personal and professional lives. “Employees should be allowed to bring their full authentic selves to work each day. This includes being able to have bad days. The lines between work and home life have completely blurred – many employees are working 24/7. Here HR has a role to play in forcing people to take leave to reset and recharge.”
Burnout is also a real danger for leaders at this time. “Leaders must keep their strength up. This involves knowing limitations and managing stress. It is important to look after oneself first. This could include meditation or taking quiet walks by oneself,” adds Deb.
Preparing for future crises
Deb sees two distinct camps of organisations: those who are investing in future crisis preparedness and those who don’t see the need to prepare. “Smart organisations recognise that they need to have a plan in place to deal with a crisis. They need to train and teach people how to use the plan and update this plan on an annual basis.”
Nicola believes that this crisis provides the perfect chance for leaders to take stock. “The role of the leader is to learn from this crisis and determine what permanent changes need to be made. Leaders need to build adaptive capacity and organisational resilience.” Here she thinks that South Africans are particularly strong at adapting and dealing with volatile environments.
For Karina, preparing for future crises involves building up resilience within organisations. Typically, leaders struggle to admit that they battle with resilience. “Leaders need to be coached on developing resilience. It takes discipline not to panic when confronted with a crisis or a major change. Instead of going into ‘fight or flight’ mode, leaders need to be able to pause, think and plan the next steps. If you spend your time in constant crisis mode, you are not going to survive as a leader.”
Karina Jardim
A world post-Covid
The working world post-Covid promises to be quite different from that of the past. Karina predicts a continuation of today’s remote working together with many companies restructuring the operating model. “Working under Covid-19 has really shown which positions are essential and those that add no value. Here, HR will play a crucial role in rethinking and restructuring organisations.”
Nicola believes that the Covid-19 pandemic will have several positive long-term effects. This includes more acceptance of the intersection between personal lives and work. “Many women hide their home responsibilities. This pandemic will promote the lowering of these barriers and this will be positive for women with children.” She also believes that this time is an opportunity for individuals and organisations to create long-lasting goodwill in the communities they serve. “Impact can be so meaningful – there are so many ways to reach out to people and deepen human connections.”.
WHERE HR & COLLUSION COLLIDE
Compliance Online’s Minette Smit and Marylla Govender explain why it is unwise to ignore competition law as an HR professional.
BY MINETTE SMIT AND MARYLLA GOVENDER H R professionals currently have a lot to navigate. Covid-19 resulted in many planned and unplanned changes in how workforces are managed. However, during these times it is important not to lose sight of other important compliance obligations, such as those relating to competition law.
A relatively recent development is a renewed focus by international competition law regulators on competition between employers in the job market. In the past two years, regulators in the United States have increasingly focused on how employers conduct themselves in job markets and this interest has spread to other regions and countries, including the EU and the United Kingdom. The
South African competition authorities are alive to global developments and will certainly have these developments on their radar.
Most HR professionals are aware that collusive agreements between competitors is anti-competitive and, more recently in the context of COVID-19, that companies which engage in exploitative pricing practices, will likely find themselves on the wrong side of the Competition Act, with serious financial and reputational consequences.
Notwithstanding, competition law compliance has traditionally not been a high priority area in the day-to-day responsibilities of HR professionals. Many HR professionals are not aware that competition law also applies to certain employment practices and are relevant to aspects such as agreements between companies to fix employees’ salaries/working conditions, agreements to not poach each other’s employees, as well as the way that sensitive business information relating to salaries and employee benefits, is shared – especially during merger negotiations.
Concerns regarding anti-competitive labour practices were brought into sharper focus when the US Department of Justice and the US Federal Trade Commission issued a joint statement in April this year. In this statement, the agencies reiterated their no tolerance approach to companies and individuals who use COVID-19 to harm competition by
entering into unlawful wage-fixing and no-poach agreements with their competitors.
This risk is not theoretical, there are practical examples
This renewed focus of competition law on HR practices emanates from a 2018 case, when the US Department of Justice reached a settlement with Knorr-Bremse and Wabtec, two of the world’s largest rail equipment companies, which had for years maintained unlawful agreements not to compete for each other’s employees. Insofar as the employment market for rail industry workers was concerned, it was found that these “no-poach” agreements, “limited their access to better job opportunities, restricted their mobility, and deprived them of competitively significant information that they could have used to negotiate for better terms of employment.”
The aforementioned case comes some years after US-based technology companies, most notably Google, Apple, Intel, eBay and Adobe, were found to have made secret deals not to hire each other’s engineers. While these agreements may have had the effect of ensuring that new products were more consistently brought to market, it was found to have an adverse impact on employees’ job prospects and incomes. Much of this was uncovered through embarrassing emails from the top management of these companies who appeared to be knowingly colluding to impede their employees’ job mobility. On a practical level, this took the form of agreeing not to cold call each other’s employees.
Similarly, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, as well as the Hong Kong Competition Commission, have highlighted their concerns relating to potential anticompetitive conduct in hiring employees (including agreements on employment terms and conditions).
It is important to point out that in the context of merger enforcement, the impact of a particular merger or acquisition on employment and conditions of employment has been an enduring focus of the South African competition authorities. It is now not surprising and not uncommon to see merger remedies involving a strong public interest component which is linked to employment. This is well illustrated in the mergers involving Momentum/
Metropolitan, Massmart/Walmart and more recently in Pepsico/Pioneer Foods.
What should be done at a practical level?
It is important to remember that one of the basic principles of competition law is that reaching a collusive agreement with your competitor is illegal. Within this context it is important for HR professionals to provide the required guidance to ensure that the company does not engage in the following conduct: Discuss or enter into agreements with its competitors to fix salaries, other aspects of compensation and employment terms. Discuss or enter into agreements with its competitors not to solicit or hire each other’s employees. Not exchange business-sensitive or competitively sensitive information with competitors without obtaining legal advice. When participating in industry surveys or benchmarking exercises, ensure that the proper competition law compliance protocols are followed. If your company is entering into merger negotiations, remember the public interest (i.e. employment effects) obligations required for notifications. However, do be careful about how you disclose sensitive HR data about your company before the merger is implemented.
It is always good to have an awareness about how competition law can have an application on one’s role as an HR professional and to seek legal advice if further clarity is required.
Are you equipped to offer employees holistic support?
The Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly influenced how companies operate, their commercial viability, their ability to support their people, and more. The question that now faces all employers is this: are you offering your employees enough A s some employers have found out the hard way this year, the strength and fortitude of your workforce can tip the scales on your company’s success or collapse. Seemingly overnight, businesses both large and small have found themselves also the overwhelming impact on their company and staff. “The pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works, the likes of which we have never seen. Ways of doing business are evolving and the market is becoming more competitive in a post-Corona world holistic support to survive – if not thrive? navigating an extraordinary operating environment – making the acquisition and retention of key staff in which management teams are expected to deal especially critical,” notes Nonkululeko Pitje, head of not only with the personal impact of Covid-19, but Healthy Company at Discovery. “Many workers have been thrust into new and often stressful ways of working – and it’s up to employers to find solutions that best support their staff.”
An integrated approach is required
“Our scenario planning capabilities show how important it is to actively plan around employee retention and hiring,” says Nonkululeko. “It’s especially important for companies to realise that standalone solutions – like encouraging remote working, distributing health information, or providing PPE equipment – have very limited impact when offered in isolation.”
The virus and the resulting economic fallout have affected people and their families in many interconnected ways, she explains. “Employees need to be equipped to navigate the additional stressors and complexities of working effectively during a pandemic, before issues like financial insecurity, physical and psychological health, poor time management or a lack of accountability, family demands or harmful lifestyle behaviours derail their wellbeing and productivity.” This calls for an integrated, holistic approach that caters to the many aspects of employee wellbeing, including, for example:
Ongoing Covid-19 screening and prevention:
This could include access to credible information, support services and app- and website-based pre-screening tools to screen employees for Covid19 symptoms.
Health screening and prevention tools: This could include physical health checks for common chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as access to wellness specialists like dieticians, biokineticists or doctors for at-risk members.
Mental wellbeing tools: This could include an array of tools that support employees’ overall mental health, such as access to counsellors, helplines, legal advice, mindfulness apps, and life coaches. Perhaps one of the most valuable forms of support that employers can offer is financial wellbeing support, says Guy Chennells, head of Employee Benefits Products at Discovery. He believes that while access to budgeting tools and financial advice can go a long way in helping employees manage their finances better, behavioural incentives and tailored employee solutions are especially effective.
Incentivising healthy financial choices
“In times like these, when so many changes are outside of our control, it’s especially important to focus on those factors we can do something about,” says Guy. “For example, Discovery’s employee benefit solutions drive healthy savings behaviour by motivating employees to save more, for longer, and manage their health and wellness. When they do this, we are able to reward their behaviour by adding boosts to their retirement savings.” “This has a two-fold effect – in the present, it motivates people to make smart lifestyle and financial choices, which empowers them with the knowledge that their actions matter. It also results in physical health benefits, mental resilience and improved retirement outcomes that will hold them in good stead in the future.” Guy is not only focused on the direct benefit of better health and financial decisions, but on changing each person’s trajectory so that they can get on track to the
retirement outcome they want, regardless of where they are today.
One employee at a time
“For example, we offer customisable pension and provident retirement fund solutions under an umbrella fund arrangement that encourage employees to reach their retirement goals with unique rewards, benefits and digital engagement. This provides people with their own personalised contribution plans to close their retirement savings gaps, where the contribution increases only take place to coincide with future salary increase. This is more relevant than ever as Covid has put a dent into many peoples’ plans and they need a responsive, personalised plan to get them back on track.” “Giving your employees the choice to automate contribution increases to align with their salary increases puts the power in their hands by making it easier for them to save towards their futures and respond effectively to the curveballs of life,” Guy adds. “Forward-thinking financial choices like this, made by millions of employees around South Africa, will play an essential role in building a more resilient and economically secure nation for us all. All employers have a role to play in this kind of nation-building, so it’s worth equipping your business for the task.”
Leading with compassion
Google’s HR Cluster Head for SSA Avanthi Maharaj says joining the company was a dream come true as her role offers her the opportunity to build a team across Africa to fulfil extraordinary ambitions for the continent.
BY VICTORIA WILLIAMS
Avanthi joined Google as the SSA people partner in October 2019 and was promoted to the HR cluster head for SSA in May 2020. In her current role, she is responsible for South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. Google’s total African team is roughly 150 people strong with goals to grow headcount and open new territories over the next few years. The internet services giant is focusing its attention on untapped African markets to bring more people online – this is part of the organisation’s ambitions to bring the internet to the next billion users.
“Joining Google was a life-changing moment for me. It has been a huge learning curve. We are on an absolute trajectory of building the Africa vision and strategy. We want to bring Google to Africa in a way that is accessible to everybody. The knowledge that people have of Google on the African continent is minute compared to that in the rest of the world. Google is not just a search function, we have so many other products and business initiatives underway,” says Avanthi.
Permission to dream big
Avanthi hails from the small KwaZulu-Natal town of Verulam. While she was growing up, her family owned a shop in Durban. She has memories of studying for her matric exams in the car outside that shop. Her career ambitions came from her mother who encouraged her to achieve academically.
“My inspiration came from my mother. She was a traditional Indian woman who was locked in a culture that was not supportive of women in the workplace at that time. She pushed both my sister and me to break that traditional mould of being a housewife or being married at an early age. She was fiercely independent and wanted to make sure that I had no dependencies when building my career.”
Avanthi realised early on that she wanted to work with people and considered social work and psychology as possible avenues. She qualified through UNISA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Psychology and Industrial Psychology and later a
Certificate in Human Resources. Her first job was as an administrator at UNISA in 1996. Here her mother was once again supportive: “They phoned on a Friday to say that I got the job. The only catch was that I needed to show up for work on Monday morning. My mother and I got on a bus to Johannesburg the very next day.”
While she enjoyed her job at UNISA, she soon realised that she wanted to build a career in HR. Her route into HR was through recruiting working at recruitment agencies. She then transitioned into a role at Absa, where she was responsible for HR management of a large IT team. “My love for IT has stayed with me throughout my career. I started as an IT recruiter and I navigate to roles that have a bit of that element. This is why Google is a good match for me,” says Avanthi.
A defining role
Avanthi’s career-defining role was at Mastercard where she was the HR director for SA and SSA. She travelled extensively across the various Mastercard African territories and built her ‘cultural muscles’ with on-the-ground experience with her African colleagues.
“SSA roles in South Africa are like hen’s teeth. There are very few companies that would take a chance on someone without sub-Saharan Africa experience. I had a fierce passion for and determination to break into the SSA realm. I wanted to learn and understand what is happening on the continent,” she comments. Her husband was a true champion of her vision as travelling was a major aspect of her role. “Knowing that my kids would be in the best hands of care and that I had his unconditional support was a huge help!”
For Avanthi, the role offered both incredible personal growth and the chance to define her philosophy as an HR leader. “Ajay Banga, the CEO of Mastercard used to say ‘I want to be the hand on your back to push you forward or catch you when you fall. Not the hand in your face to push you down.’ The fundamental goal of HR is to grow and build our people. My approach to HR is exactly the opposite of hiring and firing. It is a relationship and a dialogue between an employee and an organisation.”
Google in a time of Covid-19
The wellbeing of employees and their families is a top priority for Google. “When I joined Google, I was impressed by how inclusive and welcoming the organisation is. The employee wellness programme was very visible from the onset – looking after employees is a key differentiator,” says Avanthi.
She doesn’t foresee a speedy return to the office despite the easing of lockdown restrictions. She believes that the organisation was ahead of the curve in terms of planning their response to the virus, saying staff are equipped to work from home for the next six to 12 months. The company has provided a $1,000 allowance to each employee to allow them to equip themselves with a comfortable work-from-home space.
Google has also granted 14 weeks of ‘carer’s leave’ for employees to take in the event that one of their family members contract the virus or if they
need time off to sort out schooling arrangements for their children. We don't believe that there is a one-size-fits-all approach, and we look at every request individually. Some Googlers will need more time off than others, depending on the specifics of their situation. “We understand that this is business unusual. It is such a privilege to know that your job is safe, you can still deliver and also look after your family. This ‘carer’s leave’ has resulted in huge employee goodwill and commitment. We are trying to make a better Google by being there for Googlers in the moments that matter the most,” says Avanthi.
Google prioritises employee wellbeing and psychological safety. The employee wellness resources, tools and communities available at Google are extensive. During Covid-19, the company has run online training on how to manage work life balance, psychological wellbeing and the prioritisation of work tasks. “Google has not asked employees to manage their psychological wellbeing in their own time. Your psychological wellbeing is part of how you deliver in the workplace. If we don’t take care of that element, we won’t get the best out of our employees,” says Avanthi.
Key to helping staff navigate the Covid-19 pandemic has been keeping the doors of dialogue between leaders and employees open. “The engagement of leadership to staff has been phenomenal; empathy and compassion has been the golden thread which held the conversations together over the past months,” says Avanthi. She believes that having an open-door policy has been invaluable: “Our employees know that they can pick up the phone at any time. They know that they can share their concerns with zero judgement. It’s an ongoing engagement, not just a superficial occasional check-in with employees.”
Making time to unwind
Avanthi admits that finding a good work-life balance over the past few months has been challenging. “It is hard to shut down when you have a vested interest in the wellbeing of so many people. It is also tough to disconnect when your home office is a few steps away from your bedroom.” When she is not working, she spends time with her son and daughter and steals moments late at night to binge-watch a few Netflix series. She especially enjoys sci-fi and crime series.
Avanthi Maharaj
HR Cluster Head, SSA, Google
Work: Avanthi is an accomplished and seasoned Senior Human Resource Partner with a passion to lead, inspire and develop others. She has over 15 years of HR experience and, prior to her current role, spent a decade in senior roles at Multinationals such as Citibank (Assistant Vice President - Senior HR Business Partner) and Mastercard (HR director, SSA). Education: BA, English, Psychology Industrial Psychology (UNISA), Certificate in Human Resources (Unisa), Diploma in Project Management (Damelin)
