With just a few days to go before the decontamination, which marks a turning point in the management of the Covid-19 crisis, Human Resources departments will be hard at work organizing and implementing the upheavals that will impact companies.

Whether in terms of health vigilance, workstation reorganization or employee support, they will be in the front line to rethink working conditions as a whole. But their involvement will also be of considerable importance, as they will be the link between management and employees.

In the coming months, Human Resources Departments will be faced with an enormous task of reflection and formalization of unprecedented practices.

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Ensuring the physical and mental health of employees

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According to Article L. 4121-1 of the French Labor Code, "Employers are required by law to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and protect the physical and mental health of their employees".

After deconfinement, Human Resources departments will have to pay close attention to two areas: physical health and psychosocial risks.

Firstly, companies will have a role to play in combating the spread of the virus. To this end, the government has published a National Containment Protocol, which sets out clear and precise guidelines:

- Remind and enforce employees of barrier measures,

- Reorganize workstations to allocate a minimum space of 4 m2 to each employee,

- Manage the flow of people, both employees and visitors (customers, service technicians, delivery personnel, etc.),

- Organize the use of personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, overcoats, gowns, etc.),

- Ensure the protocol to be applied in the event of suspicion of Covid-19 in one of the company s facilities (isolation of the patient, tracking, etc.),

- Determine whether or not it is possible to monitor employee temperatures,

- Respect the recommended frequency of cleaning and disinfecting premises.

But what this protocol does not explore, and leaves to the discretion of Human Resources, is the whole aspect of psychosocial risks (RPS).

And yet, the upheaval caused by the impact of this unprecedented crisis on employees is already enormous. While the confinement itself may have been considered anxiety-provoking by employees, the return to work will be no less so: risks of contamination, new organization of work and premises, economic uncertainties, and so on.

Sowhy not offer an RPS support plan ? HR departments have a role to play in preventing the psychological collapse of employees, or simply in improving their well-being.

Firstly, by finding out how employees are feeling. Surveys with targeted questions can provide a barometer of morale and motivation.

Secondly, by informing them of the psychological warning signs that call for vigilance. Whether employees have joined the company or are continuing to telework, webinars or practical information sheets can help them to detect and better manage malaise.

And last but not least, by providing them with a listening system, preferably internal to the company. Whether it s a company psychologist, a toll-free number, or time for listening to each other before each team meeting, solutions can be proposed to relieve employees suffering at work through words.

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Restoring a corporate vision

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The crisis has hit companies around the world hard and without warning. Gone are the short- and long-term strategies determined at the start of the year! Not only does everything have to be rebuilt, but these upheavals are going to have to take place in a dramatically deteriorated economic environment.

The cards are going to be completely reshuffled. But perhaps this is an opportunity to put everything back on an even keel?

First of all, the crisis seems to have changed people s mindsets: the prevalence of the economy is over, and this time finances have been sacrificed to people and the preservation of lives.

The companies that have been able to bounce back quickly are also those that have participated in solidarity efforts, for example by modifying their production lines to manufacture masks or hydroalcoholic gel.

Corporate Social Responsibility, which has been a growing concern for employer brands for some years now, is set to become a central issue in tomorrow s business strategies.

In a deteriorating economic context, the entire corporate vision and policy will have to be rewritten. So why not include all employees in this redefinition of values and direction? Employees who, themselves, will suffer from economic uncertainty and a loss of meaning in their work.

Involving them in the co-construction of the company project can alleviate the lack of motivation of teams who are unlikely to receive bonuses or financial rewards for the coming year.

Developing the use of social dialogue, by involving the various stakeholders more massively in decision-making, is also an interesting avenue for preserving the company s social climate.

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Reorganizing work

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The upheavals are also taking place in terms of work organization.

Of course, telecommuting has made its massive appearance in companies. It has its good points and its bad, but from now on we re going to have to reckon with it. Indeed, after having been forced to familiarize themselves with a remote, digital way of working, are employees going to accept a return to all-presentationism?

If the improvised transition to telecommuting was not without its setbacks, it will now be up to HR departments to offer their employees guide lines and processes to facilitate its appropriation. They will also have to rethink the hardware, providing employees with the right tools (laptops, secure connections, company platforms for remote working, etc.).

But, as we saw above, the government s deconfinement protocol will also impose a total reorganization of workspaces. With workstations of at least 4m2 for each employee, employees will be able to take possession of transformed premises.

This also means that the physical organization of teams into silos, and perhaps even their size and structure, will be called into question. For how can such safety distances be maintained without pushing back the walls? The risk of separating Business Units is inevitable, and teamwork will have to be rethought.

We are being prepared to "live with the virus" for an indefinite period. These changes will have a lasting effect on our premises. And throughout this period, face-to-face and teleworking will probably have to coexist to manage space issues.

Relaxation areas, too, will have to be remodeled. In other words, all interactions between employees will have to be rethought and "formalized" by Human Resources teams.

Last but not least, the reorganization of work will also entail an in-depth overhaul of companies GPEC (Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois et des Compétences) policies. A wave of redundancies is expected, despite government measures designed to limit them. This will require a careful rethinking of the skills needed to support economic recovery and the new corporate vision. To control costs and preserve jobs, a new redistribution of human resources will be necessary.

More than ever, Human Resources departments will have to be agile, to make possible the profound changes in our working spaces and modes.

They will have to support employees and provide companies with clear, precise guidelines. In terms of mental and physical safety, they will have to diagnose risks, inform employees and implement action plans.

They will also play a key role in bridging the gap between management and employees, in order to define a new corporate vision, imposed by events. But this will also be a great opportunity to involve all employees in the strategy to be pursued.

And finally, they will be in the front line, as a new HR policy will be essential. Reallocation of resources and key skills, resizing of teams, definition of new performance indicators...

HR departments are going to be hard-pressed to implement these measures, to stem the epidemic and get the economy moving again. The flexibility of the adjustments implemented will be decisive in defining the post-crisis company.

Reorganizing work: safety, workspace, interaction between employees, telecommuting, GPEC, etc.