Ways to Retain Your Employees During

COVID-19

1. Maintain Business As Usual

Yes, we know the world is anything but usual right now. This is exactly why your
employees need to feel like at least some things will stay the same – such as their
jobs.

Keep up your regular meetings with team members (at a distance now, if they’re not
normally). Keep filling the pipelines with plans, and make sure you and your team are
still focusing on their long-term personal development. Ongoing training is now even
more important, to give your team a sense of direction and, at the very least, distract
them from potential catastrophic thinking. We will come out of this, and keeping your
team focused on what lies beyond the social-distancing finishing line – however far
ahead that seems – is the key to ensuring you all make it across that line together.

2. Address Uncertainties
It’s normal to feel uneasy in these times. Sooth your team members by reassuring
them that their fears are normal, that they are being heard. Schedule in time to talk to
each of your team members individually about their worries, and call on the help of
your HR department and other relevant professionals to let them vent their fears and
frustrations.

3. Be Flexible

Your co-workers are likely dealing with unusual situations working from home: the
need to home-school, children going stir crazy, potential illness, or caring for sick
loved ones.

Trust that, if someone needs to take a little extra time now to take care of things at
home, they will make it up to you. The more understanding you are about their
situation, the more likely they are to want to repay that understanding with extra
productivity. Work with your team to find a schedule that works for you both.

4. Encourage Engagement

When employees don’t feel engaged is when the job search usually begins. One study
showed that 56% of employees who don’t feel sufficiently engaged will look for
another job, and 73% of actively disengaged employees will want to leave your
company.

Even when working remotely and having no real face-to-face interaction, you need to
have procedures in place to keep the level of engagement high. Have regular virtual
meetings, and not only business meetings.

And remember to have some fun, too. Employees who feel socially connected to their
team are more likely to stay connected to the company as a whole.

5. Be a Leader, Not a Boss

People follow leaders, not bosses. In fact, many people who leave their company cite
their managers as the reason for them leaving. Managers who are bossier than
productively leading the way forward.

First, be a leader within your company and team. Make sure you have a strong
purpose and communicate what you stand for. Treat your employees with respect and
make sure you truly listen to them, ensuring they are really heard.

But also lead the way for other leaders. Develop other leaders within your company to
lead their teams. Empower your people, and help them empower each other.

How One Company Is Taking Care Of

Employees During COVID-19

In these uncertain times, how you treat your employees will be remembered for years
to come. How businesses respond will have a lasting impact on employee behavior
including, engagement, productivity and loyalty. Health and well-being, financial
stability, and job security are top concerns for employees right now and employers
can help address those fears in meaningful ways.

Some employee benefits include:

1. All employees making less in annual base compensation will receive a tax-free
financial assistance payment to help cover unexpected costs related to working
from home.
2. 100% coverage for diagnostic testing and the associated visit related to COVID-
19.
3. Immediate paid medical leave for any employee diagnosed with COVID-19.
4. Employees with monthly or quarterly incentive plans were assured that company
would account for COVID-19 impacts to operations.
5. Access to free mental health professionals, via phone or text, through the
Employee Assistance Program.
6. Free financial planning support, including access to certified planners and credit
monitoring.
7. 100% coverage for virtual doctor visits and online health care services.
8. Paid caregiver leave for employees caring for an ill family member.
9. Well-being modules and challenges geared to staying physically and mentally
healthy at home

CASE STUDY
How companies are helping employees in
response to COVID-19

COVID-19 has put all the companies on the edge and has impacted the world of work
significantly. Millions of jobs are at risk and many businesses are on the verge of
shutting shop. Amid all this chaos, many organizations are giving financial aids,
organizing learning programs and also keeping a track of the mental well being of
their employees.
Amazon, Facebook, Walmart, Reliance, PepsiCo, and Paytm - what is the one
common thing between all these companies? The answer is, at the time COVID-19,
all these companies are standing with their employees, and they have got their back.
These corporate giants are hiring, supporting their employees with financial aids, and
working towards the safety of the employees.

Paytm, Founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma has announced that he will not take a salary
for the next two months, and he committed the money to the needs of Paytm staff
amid the pandemic. Sharma was inspired by Marriott International President and CEO
Arne Sorenson, as the Chief Executive Officer of Marriott will not be taking a salary
for the rest of 2020.

A company is only as good as its people. And the people represent the actual image of
the company. In this time of crisis, companies around the world across multiple
sectors are providing financial aid, giving bonuses, paid leaves, and leaders are
stretching themselves by not drawing salaries for the coming months.

Employers stand for their employees

In a letter to the employees, Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos, said, "Across the world,
people are feeling the economic effects of this crisis, and I'm sad to tell you I predict
things are going to get worse before they get better. We're hiring for 100,000 new
roles and raising wages for our hourly workers who are fulfilling orders and
delivering to customers during this period of stress and turmoil. At the same time,
other businesses like restaurants and bars are being forced to shut their doors. We
hope people who've been laid off will come work with us until they're able to go back
to the jobs they had."

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the company is hiring more workers, and
employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine will receive up to two
weeks of pay.

PepsiCo will also pay 100 percent of their pay to those employees who are in
quarantine. The company announced that it would provide enhanced benefits to all
U.S.-based employees and additional compensation to U.S. frontline employees – the
women and men who make, move and sell products – amidst the novel coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.

The additional compensation covers more than 90,000 frontline employees at both
PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) and PepsiCo Foods North America
(PFNA). It consists of a minimum of an incremental $100 per week for full-time
employees over the next month. PepsiCo also announced it would hire 6,000 new,
full-time, full-benefit frontline employees across the U.S. in the coming months.

Global retail chain giant, Walmart has responded to COVID-19 with more hiring and
paying extra bonuses to the employees. As part of responding to the current
environment, Walmart is also hiring 150,000 new associates through the end of May
to work in stores, clubs, distribution, and fulfillment centers.

The company is providing a cash bonus for hourly associates in a time of an

unprecedented national health crisis. The bonus is for all U.S. hourly associates in
stores, clubs, supply chain, and offices. The bonus will be $300 for full-time hourly
associates and $150 for part-time hourly associates and will add up to more than $365
million.

“Appreciating the effort of the employees, Doug McMillon, President and CEO of
Walmart, said, "Walmart associates have gone above and beyond the call of duty in
serving our customers during these unprecedented times. We want to reward our
associates for their hard work and recognize them for the work that is in front of us."

The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate Reliance Industries issued a statement where

it said that all employees who are earning below Rs 30,000 per month would be paid
twice a month to protect their cash flow and mitigate any overwhelming financial
burden.

Facebook is also giving $1,000 bonuses to its employees to support them during the
coronavirus pandemic. The company announced that they are offering $1,000 to use
for whatever the employees see fit to support themselves and their families in
adapting during this period.

Other organizations from different sectors such as FMCG, Banking, and Retail are
coming forward to take care of their employees with all the measures they are capable
of doing.

The crisis is taking a toll on the corporates but some of them are going extra mile to
make the situation normal for their employees. Shree Ramkrishna Exports has paid
full salary for the month of March to the entire workforce of around 6000 employees
(Including Contracted Workforce). The company is not setting off any eligible paid
leaves which respective employees are already having in their account.

Mental wellness
Panasonic has come up with multiple virtual programs to engage the employees one
of the specific initiatives are HR Business Ambassadors. These are in regular touch
with all employees to keep a check on their wellbeing and ensure their safety in this
critical hour.

Smartphone brand, itel is constantly driving responsible communication and internal

engagement campaigns to help employees cope up through spiraling negative
thoughts about this uncertain time. The company is organizing comic styled tips &
tricks to efficiently manage work from home. The mobile brand has also introduced
fitness challenges, quiz and games to keep the employees fit and stress-free.

In order to maintain the well being of the employees, ITC Hotels is maintaining a
personal connection with the employees. Each HR Manager calls a minimum of 10
employees daily to enquire about their health and safety and that of their family
members. More than 1200 employees have been reached at their homes & extended
necessary support.

Amway is continuing with the increments, promotions, and recognition as per earlier
plans. Despite the tough times the employees have received salary corrections
effective 1st April 2020.
The company has constituted a COVID-19 Crisis committee comprising select
members of the leadership team. The committee is responsible for charting out and
guiding the crisis strategy for the employees. The company has rolled out virtual
engagement programs, external webinars on a variety of topics to learn new skills and
also introduced employees mediclaim plans that will cover treatment costs arising on
account of N-COVID.

In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, the L&D team of Clix Capital has launched a
channel on the Learning Experience Platform, specifically dedicated to Wellness. This
channel is regularly populated with content like- motivational videos by senior leaders
on themes like how to make WFH productive, articles on mental well-being by
reputed publications etc.

Digital software networking company, Amdocs has taken the precautions to ensure a
safe and healthy workplace at their offices globally while maintaining an open
channel of communication and updates with the employees. To add another layer of
support to help the employees during these complex times, they launched the
Virtually Together website, and have made large parts of it available to the wider
community as it can help everyone. Virtually Together incorporates a wide range of
solutions for working from home, wellbeing and for parents at home with their kids.

Learning hour
Learning and upskilling has become paramount in this time of crisis. All the leading
companies are opting for virtual learning classes and trying to get the maximum
leverage out of this lockdown. These courses give employees enough time to upskill
themselves and stay relevant for the future.

Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages has launched a virtual employee engagement

programme that seeks to involve our colleagues and their family members online for
their physical, and mental wellness. The company is also conducting virtual town
halls at all levels of the workforce to keep everyone updated of the latest and seek
their inputs on the best course of action, at a given time.

McDonalds India has adapted many of its classroom training modules digitally, and
introduced e-learning modules, quizzes, masterclasses by managers and many more
creative learning sessions, which employees can access on their phone while in
quarantine at home. This initiative by the company is aimed to make sure that the
team continues to learn and grow even when they are staying home.
Apart from ensuring the mental wellness of the employees, ITC Hotels has rolled a
number of e-learning courses targeted at specific roles and levels through primary
channels of E-Learning. to provide an opportunity for self – learning which can be
accentuated through anytime app-based hosting.

Clix Capital is also hosting live e-sessions on their learning platform on topics such as
P&L Training, Managing personal finances etc. The company is also encouraging
employees to sign up for an online course in their domain on platforms like Coursera
that will add to their existing skill set. The company will bear the cost of the course
and the certification, if completed within the designated time frame.

With multiple measures being put in place, the entire world is hoping that this crisis
will come to an end soon. And when all of this will be over, every organization will
be remembered for what they did during the crisis for their employees. They will be
remembered for how they sailed through the tough times and fought this long battle.
This is not the only crisis that has occurred in history; such crises will come and go; it
is about what we learn from this as we prepare for a better tomorrow.