… It has helped build a relationship with my whole team, and I have even noticed the quieter employees becoming more productive.' 'I now have it a part of my monthly strategy to reach out to all employees to just ask simply how are they getting on. I realized that as an HR manager, I was lacking the initiative to reach out to all employees. The generally quiet ones jumped at the opportunity of my reaching out to really pour out their hearts, their fears and worries. I really wasn't expecting some of the responses I got. 'During the pandemic, I decided to reach out to everyone individually to simply ask them how they are getting on. … I didn't mind we are not a company that requires constant meetings and activity on communication channels. Our New York-based company is global, and there are many employees who are generally happy to be left to their devices when working on projects. 'I have learned that even the quiet ones need to be connected with. Jim Hefti, vice president of HR for Advanced Technology Services, based in Peoria, Ill. Before the pandemic, we only sporadically had executive-level communications to our teams, but ever since the pandemic began, we've had at least biweekly communications from our executive leadership team.' They not only needed to hear about the actions we were taking to keep our employees safe, they also needed the communication to feel connected to the business. 'One thing that became abundantly clear from the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was the need for regular communication with all of our 3,000 employees. Elizabeth Sander, SHRM-SCP, HR consultant and CEO of Juliette Works in New York City 'Whereas my conversations about employee engagement and burnout prevention used to primarily be with HR executives, last year I had more conversations about our mental fitness programs with board members, CEOs and other executive leaders.' … Prior to the pandemic, wellness programs were considered an employee benefit, but throughout last year, managers had to take employee wellness into their own hands and make it a core business priority. Working from home during the pandemic has meant more pressure and more work hours for many employees. But now we realize that what they actually meant was the ability to fit their work into their lives in more manageable ways. 'Before the pandemic, we thought employees asking for 'flexibility' meant working from home. SHRM Online collected the following responses about how the pandemic changed the way work gets done. So what have HR professionals and their organizations learned from this experience in the last year? Workplace connections that had occurred casually in the lunchroom or in the office corridor were no more, and meetings were held virtually. Employees who had never worked remotely found themselves working from home for the first time, sometimes while juggling caregiving responsibilities. Suddenly, travel was limited or canceled completely.

The COVID-19 global pandemic turned the workplace on its head a year ago.

One total lockdown lessons world