HR teams are under constant stress and pressure right now as we attempt to support leaders and employees through the crisis. But providing support to our clients is only a portion of our workload. HR Crisis Management is going to focus on that. How can we cope with the mountain of tasks, the barrage of competing priorities and the unrelenting pace and uncertainties of the crisis? Whilst it can be complex situation to simply transfer the tactics we deployed in previous difficult periods, there are some that we can re-use and adapt however some could backfire.
Speaking and thinking of Priorities, HR professionals are worried about how to add value to the business that has seen losses in last couple of months and according to Crisil’s analysis, the pain will worsen as India Inc. heads towards about 15 per cent decline in revenue and about 25 per cent fall in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda).
Think Global, Act Local and be Vocal could be the best strategy
One, the MSME segment needs to improve the sentiment around job security for formal and informal workers to boost consumption and the penetration into the areas which have not been explored so far. This could be done by Collaboration and secondly to hasten implementation of Aatmanirbhar scheme to ensure flow of liquidity to MSMEs is done in a systematic planned manner with Accountability.
In addition to above the Banks, Financial institutions or in short the lenders need to go beyond traditional and experimented credit processes since the recovery role is equally essential and plays an essential role in balancing both the wheels of a chariot. While doing so ,they need to pay attention to Operational Scorecards, Digital Platforms and Data monitoring etc. which would help them in sustaining the business in the years to come with HR strategies to be put on a yearly basis than on 3year or 5year period with one eye on the future .
One thing is for sure that most of us were not prepared for the unfortunate fallouts of COVID 19 Pandemic and every department of the Organisation forgetting all the peripheries of its departmental role has to pitch in for the MSME to resurrect and of course the extrinsic factors are equally important.
As for sectors, Crisil sees consumer discretionary, construction, and export-linked ones bearing the brunt. Small real-estate contractors into EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) projects, and ceramics and textiles makers have been significantly impacted so their credit profiles are the most vulnerable. The agency said revenue growth of MSMEs in the real EPC segment could almost halve with demand sliding even as rising costs, supply chain disruptions and labour issues exert severe pressure on margins. Lower utilization and partial absorption of BS-VI price hike could erode margins of auto-component MSMEs this fiscal despite lower raw material prices leading to some business closing down.
The stirring of MSME segment to bring forth the business model to normalcy is going to shake lot of Human Resources involved with a shock and pressure of proving their contribution and value addition. This in turn could give rise in critical Performance Appraisals monitoring and weeding out the nonperformers who have been part of the system due to legacy.
Layoff is not in very rampant in MSME segment as the owner is directly involved in the hiring of senior team and they more or less have an open door policy to connect .This proximity of the professionals to the owners does create undercurrents in the business and has its impact on the perception of the employees that the company does not care for them. The inner core team makes sure that the owner of the MSME does take certain bold decisions with cautious and calculated risks at times however if not communicated properly ,this could lead to unwanted stress in employees some of which lead to mental health issues. This mental health issues of the employee does not limit itself to the workspace but is quick to catchup on the personal space of the employee .HR professionals need to be connected with both bosses and masses to have the right balance and should have the intent to help both. The impact of the genuine efforts taken follows with both the stakeholders recognizing the value added by HR.
We at Synergy Talent Managers have facilitated management team to take a SWOT analysis and have a concrete agenda to work on!!
Going by the pace of things happening around, it looks like there will be no come back however India is known for its rebouncing back to normalcy in shortest possible time since the time and history tell us…
We in HR should be more forward looking, optimistic and should be able to connect the dots of Business and HR with value addition and innovation as the platform to move ahead.