Business leaders want to know, and two Singapore human resources training institutes have set up a ‘people continuity package’ for answers.
A digital platform to augment business continuity plans and ensure that business leaders have a solid, data-driven roadmap to improve employees well-being and productivity during the current pandemic has been set up in Singapore.
This People Continuity Package is the result of collaborations between Singapore’s Institute of HR Professionals (IHRP) and Singapore HR Institute (SHRI) with EngageRocket, a Singapore-based people analytics startup.
This is part of efforts for Singapore businesses to collaborate and fight this COVID-19 crisis together. Companies of all sizes across industries are welcome to apply here. The data submitted to the platform will be anonymized and aggregated with a comparative view against industry benchmarks. This software service will be made publicly available to Singapore companies for free from 13 Apr 2020.
The idea of the digital platform is to offer ideas on:
- How to be a responsible employer: What are some workforce principles that can help guide organizations in shaping a responsible course of action that balances short-term pressures against medium- to longer-term needs.
- Why and how you should review your HR policies and practices as a core pillar of pandemic preparation.
- Fallout from remote-working measures: how the honeymoon period of remote work could end for some employees and how to help them deal with isolation.
- Why technology is even more critical for business success in this new environment—how data analytics can help companies operate effectively during this crucial survival period.
- How data from the People Continuity Package will be anonymized and aggregated to build a benchmark on the pulse of the nation.
- The new normal at work: What we stand to gain and lose from the changes wrought by the coronavirus crisis—and what is impossible to predict.
Said Mayank Parekh, CEO of IHRP: “Many companies have rolled out their business continuity plans since late January and these needed to be constantly adjusted in response to government advisories and social distancing regulations. HR has found itself in the eye of the storm, directing the organization’s response, cheerleading their teams and sense-making with much uncertainty ahead.”
Shared Alvin Goh, Executive Director, SHRI: “COVID-19 has caused a phenomenal change in the way businesses are operating worldwide. Telecommuting may be a norm in the workplace where non-verbal cues will be lacking. The monitoring of employee’s well-being should be pushed to the front; creating a culture that values mental health does not need to be a costly endeavour. Instead, it will be a greater organizational cost if mental health of our employees are left unchecked.”
According to EngageRocket co-founder and CEO Leong Chee Tung: “It is important that Singapore businesses collaborate to fight this crisis together. We would like to contribute as much as we can to help Singaporean companies transition effectively to comply with the circuit breakers, and to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
