After several months of living in a pandemic, the time has come to analyse and summarise the actions taken under enormous pressure at a time when the “safety first” slogan gained a completely new meaning. During a panel discussion organized by the SPCC, representatives of Poland’s largest Scandinavian employers talked about their experiences and forecasts for the future. Among the participants were:

Aleksandra Rychta, HRBP Director Operations BA Europe, Electrolux Poland,

Katarzyna Broniarek, Director of Communication, IKEA Retail (Ingka Group),

Robert Żelewski, HR Director, Mowi Central Europe,

Michał Wiznerowicz, HR Director, Nordea Poland.

 During the meeting, companies Morgan Phillips Group and Enhance presented a report entitled “New Normality in the Labour Market”.

HR after the pandemic – new challenges

When discussing the changes brought about by the pandemic, remote working is most often mentioned. The remote switchover of office workers was very smooth in most cases, but the crisis has also created many other, new challenges for the HR departments.

Reorganising work and providing employees with physical security was only the first step, and it became just as important to help them find their way in the new reality.

 
And reasons for anxiety are plenty: the fear of job loss or working longer hours for a lower salary was experienced by nearly 39% of respondents to a survey conducted by Morgan Phillips three months after the beginning of the lock down. Factory workers and employees in large-format stores worked under great pressure; the omnipresent “stay at home” was not addressed to them, so employers had to make every effort to provide them not only with safe working conditions, but also with psychological comfort.

How did the HR departments in Scandinavian companies cope with the new challenges?

Each of the panelists stresses the importance of direct, effective communication with employees. Katarzyna Broniarek, Director of Communication at IKEA Retail, notes that the IKEA intranet has never been so crowded before. Employees have access not only to information about professional issues, but also to a knowledge base on COVID-19, which is an invaluable aid in the age of fake news. Employees can also participate in online sessions which help them cope with stress. IKEA has also set up a special fund to support the employees who are particularly affected by the crisis caused by the pandemic.

Only a tiny fraction of the employees could switch to remote working. Aleksandra Rychta, HRBP Director Operations Europe at Electrolux, stresses how important it was to maintain regular contacts with the employees of the temporarily closed Electrolux factories.  An application created for this purpose proved to be helpful, but phone calls made by team leaders and direct superiors played the key role.

Mowi Central Europe, a company active in the processing of Atlantic salmon, employs over 4.000 people in Poland. Its food processing plants maintain high hygiene standards; the pandemic has not changed much in this matter. Robert Żelewski, HR Director at CE Mowi, points out, however, that the crisis has charged employers with many new responsibilities, from arranging parking spaces and covering taxi costs for employees who are afraid to travel by public transport to providing psychological support. Żelewski predicts that some of these tasks will remain in the HR departments’ scope of duties for good.

The employee market?

In a survey conducted by Morgan Phillips Group, 61% of respondents said they were ready to change jobs, and 18% of them were actively looking for a new employer.

Michał Wiznerowicz, HR Director at Nordea, observed that in the initial period after the introduction of the restrictions, the candidates were less open to change jobs. However, over time, recruiters have noticed a growing interest in Nordea’s offers. In case of the lowest positions, this change can be attributed to the redundancies in the retail sector. In addition, increasing uncertainty in the market has prompted employees to seek employment in a stable, reliable financial institution.

In Poland, Nordea provides services to group companies operating in other countries. Switching to remote working was not difficult. Now, the entire recruitment process and integration of new employees is also carried out via the Internet, which opens up the possibility of employing people living outside the city in which the company has its office.

What will remain?

The authors of the Morgan Phillips Group study took a closer look at the factors that will play the most important role in the future labour market. The undisputed winner is flexibility – according to 65% of the respondents it is the most desirable skill. The respondents stressed also the importance of the ability to use new technologies (49%) and the relevance of learning speed (46%).

There is no going back to the pre-pandemic situation. We have all learned new things and will expect greater flexibility both as employers and as employees. The digital tools we have already mastered will continue to accompany us. But we won’t abandon our offices. According to Aleksandra Rychta, the hybrid working style will be maintained, where possible, and the “work-life balance” will be replaced by “work-life integration”.

The pandemic proved that employees do not need constant control to perform their tasks effectively. Michał Wiznerowicz believes that employers will now trust their employees more and reduce micromanagement.

For companies with a Scandinavian background, social responsibility is an important foundation. This responsibility also applies to relations with employees, claims Aleksandra Kazimierski, Managing Director at Morgan Phillips in Poland and member of the Board of the Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce.

“The pandemic outbreak was a kind of exam for all organizations. Trust, as well as close and honest communication, are invaluable in crisis situations.  Companies that bear this in mind came out of this extremely difficult test on the winning side. It was in these organizations that team leaders were able to effectively support their teams.  Covid-19 has proven that investment in employee development means real benefits for companies, and when the crisis comes, it may turn out to be crucial for the company’s survival”, concludes Aleksandra Kazimierski.