CORONAVIRUS
RECOVERY FROM LOCKDOWN – IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE
By Leigh Anderson, managing director, Bis Henderson Recruitment W
hen 6.3 million employees are on furlough, and 2 million have joined the ranks of the unemployed, it may seem perverse to suggest that a major issue for the recovery will be the recruitment and retention of staff.
Having the right level of staffing, with the appropriate blend of skills, abilities and attitudes, is a strategic issue in itself, and because only with appropriate staffing can other strategies be implemented. That is truer than ever as firms fight through, and hopefully out of, the Corona-induced recession. Companies whose strategies have been stable for years are now planning and implementing wholly new approaches in novel environments. More business activity may move online; distancing and the need to get more productivity from a reduced number of staff on site may accelerate automation and digitisation trends; business may become more collaborative with partners and in some areas even with competitors. New skillsets will be required, from the operator level right up to the executive and Board.
And even if most of those skills were present in the pre-lockdown workforce, how many of those that have been made redundant will be queuing up to re-join an employer that has, however reluctantly, ‘let them go’? How many of those working from home are disinclined to go back to the office? How many on furlough have re- evaluated their career goals and life plans? There
“ 8 JUNE 2020 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
will be those who are reluctant to return, because they are in recognised high-risk groups. Among those who have stayed at work, there will be cases of ‘burn-out’. Firms should be planning and acting now, through recruitment and retraining, the skills they will depend on in the recovery. Key to rebuilding the workforce will be to devise, implement and communicate a robust and effective ‘return to work’ plan that creates confidence by anticipating and assuaging the concerns of current and future employees. The logistics sector poses particular risks: many operations are labour-intensive, with a lot of movement, much common-user equipment, and many interactions and touch points.
Having the right level is a strategic issue in can other strategies be implemented.
”
People who are ill shouldn’t be coming to work, and there needs to be a culture within which workers do not fear being penalised for doing the right thing. Fast, affordable contactless temperature checks are within reach. Importantly, these checks, and indeed all the other measures, must be seen to apply not just to staff, but to visitors to the site too.
The employer must provide, instruct on and enforce the use of suitable, fit for purpose PPE wherever required. That includes situations where workers feel the need, even if objectively there is little or no risk. PPE also includes sanitisers and washing/cleaning facilities, both personal and for shared equipment such as keypads, terminals, lift truck controls and the like. Shared use of personal equipment such as headsets and other wearable items, and hot-desking, should be strictly avoided.
KEEPING A DISTANCE Staggering start and finish times reduces congestion and also can help spread peaks on public transport, likely to be a major disincentive to returning to work. Making car and bike parking easier will also help here. It may be possible to introduce one-way flows. Office staff will need to be ‘spread out’ more. Face-to-face meetings can be curtailed and some staff can continue to work remotely.
Washrooms are problematic - usage may
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
