NEW: 18 Lessons from Management and HR in August

Our team brings you all the most vital news, trends, insights, HR courses and HR tech from management and HR in August

Boosting job satisfaction. Making remote work better (and more productive). And new HR courses and software to check out. We learnt a few more very important lessons in management and HR in August 2020.

If only because we’d passed mid-year and, despite there being a glimmer of hope that the worst of Covid-19 might be behind us, it’s clear that the world around us won’t quite be the same again.

In many ways, remote work is here to stay in a whole new way. But, once you look past the apparent constraints, all of that has just opened up a whole new world of opportunities for managers and HR in August. Here’s what we’ve gained.

18 NEW LESSONS IN MANAGEMENT AND HR IN AUGUST

hr, this, week, news, human, resources, management, updates, south africa, hot, topics, issues, today, whats happening, trends, policy, toolkit, webinars, events, conferences, ideas, roundup, coida, covid 19, compensation, jse, perantal, leave, gender, neutral, remote work, survey, now, normal, hsrc, medical, professionals, level, finance, fin, tech, app, sun, international, workplace, trust, company

1. NEW STUDY: HOW TO BOOST JOB SATISFACTION AMONG LOW-INCOME WORKERS

Turns out that 3 very specific things make employees happier at work. See the new research, plus discover 4 strategies for rolling them out in your company today in our post on how to boost job satisfaction in low income workers.

job, satisfaction, low, income, workers, earners, new, study, research, scientific, south, africa, sa, employee, happiness, productivity, work, performance, management, vigour, training, development, indicators

Also see how vital it is for business performance to create a culture of real work clarity.

work, clarity, employee, role, task, goal, work clarity, employee clarity, role clarity, task clarity, goal clarity, in the workplace, why don’t, ask, roles, responsibilities, in leadership, how do you, create clarity, at work, why is, important, how to establish, benefits of, advantages of, low productivity, performance, company culture, organisational development, company, culture, clarity culture

2. INDIVIDUALISE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Payroll software giants Sage Africa’s Marvin Opperman reminds us that Covid-19 could define what type of employer you are. How you treat your people now will resonate. And it’s important to recognise that HR’s role has changed quite a bit. With many employees still working from home, the old in-office employee experience measures won’t work anymore. It’s time to check in personally with each individual. Read more here.

hr, july, management, human, resources, news, trends, insights, south africa, tech, advice, hot, tips, ideas, courses, tech, software, employee, motivation, skill, training, development, recruitment, government, jobs

3. ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TAKE LEAVE IN LOCKDOWN

The idea of taking leave during lockdown wasn’t popular a few months ago. But now, insurer Alexander Forbes’s health-management pros are advising companies to recommend people take leave now instead of saving it for December. The reason? The compacting psychological stress of Covid-19. The team says that the pandemic has caused a huge upheaval in daily routines. And the December holiday might not be possible in the same way this year. Get insights here.

4. CREATE CERTAINTY WHEN FACE-TO-FACE IS A MUST

During Covid-19, most of us had to adapt to a new way of working. But what if your business requires face-to-face meetings? Or, if you need to bring people back to the workplace? Business agency consultant IAS CEO Johanna McDowell recently made public a video and post on Bizcommunity that might be useful for all businesses right now.

The crux of the message is that, in times of uncertainty, one can’t just sit and hope for things to get better. If you need to get people face-to-face in front of each other to keep business ticking, it’s much better to focus on creating certainty by focusing on what you can control. If face-to-face is not negotiable, trade down on meeting times (will 10 or 20 minutes max do?) and provide distance and sanitation. The idea is to create assurances for all parties, much like the safety measures when going back to work.

5. LEARN FROM THE PAST FEW MONTHS

Proof that flexi work works. An idea for optimising job training. And possible tax help for commission earners. What have we learnt during Covid-19? See the bigger picture with our collective views of all the lessons we’ve learned in management and HR in June and HR in July.

hr, june, management, news, insights, trends, tech, covid 19, corona, virus, south africa, workplace, employee, wellness, safety, health, policies, forums, uif, ters, lockdown, business, for, managers, retrenchment, self, management, free, tools, workplace, office, safety, health, makrosafe, return2work, human, capital, deloitte, report, survey, research, webber, wentzel, positive, contact, tracing

6. WHAT EMPLOYERS CAN DO TO MAKE REMOTE WORK BETTER

In its new Now Normal Survey, consultants IQbusiness found that the number of people working from home doubled during Covid-19, and just under 80% of respondents expect to keep working from home in the future. And, while some 40% indicated that employers could support employees better by promoting work-life balance, the report identifies work-life integration as a key means of engaging employees and limiting stress.

Note: Consider helping equip your team with the skills to work remotely through a self-management course.

7. HEALTHCARE WORKERS EXTREMELY STRESSED & ANXIOUS

A new survey by South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council shows that 55% of medical professionals in SA feel confident about their level of training and knowledge about Covid-19. This was lower in nurses, among whom only a quarter said they knew how to treat and declare a patient recovered. And this is contributing to fear of contracting the illness and spreading it to their families. See the report here.

Of the 7 000-plus medical pros surveyed, 20% said they were operating under “severe psychological distress”, with fully half experiencing some form of distress – especially nurses. The report notes an apparent link between distress level and knowledge level.

8. REMOTE WORK + MORE FAMILY TIME MEANS MORE PRODUCTIVITY

A new study titled Remote Working in South Africa 2020 by World Wide Worx on behalf of IT solutions company Cisco Systems, has shown that companies who allowed staff to work remotely during the pandemic saw a 29% increase in productivity. In fact, those that already started experimenting with work from home before the pandemic saw productivity climb up to 70%. See the report here.

This correlates with another new research paper that found that, even before the pandemic, that flexi work boosts employee engagement. And further underlines how important it is to focus on helping teams work more effectively from anywhere. If you haven’t done so, consider investing time in equipping your team with vital remote work skill through our new self-management course.

9. WHAT DOES A RESILIENT ORGANISATION LOOK LIKE?

Accounting firm BDO’s Nadine Rix says that the idea of resilience for organisations has become a buzzword since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. She notes that, before 2020, most searches around resilience related to personal studies and books, with very few talking to companies. She recently expanded on the idea of what it means to be resilient as a company – see her thoughts here.

circle, of, courage, four aspects, resilient, in the, workplace, resilience, teams, people, employees, workforce, at work, four, aspects, components, used for, template, workshop, important, examples of, emotional, work related, for business, belonging, independence, mastery, generosity, dr, martin, brokenleg, bendtro, van bockern

You might recall that resilience is one of the key teachings that we ate LifeXchange Solutions are about. Remember our post on resilience theory? We explained resilience at the hand of external theories like the circle of courage and then showed you how we developed a model specifically for businesses through our own human development cycle.

So, if your organisation needs to work on resilience, we can help through neuromanagement, as well as management training and organisational development.

10. ONBOARDING IS NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

Focus on introducing tech. Create an adaptable company culture. And make sure everyone’s on the same page. Consultants Kriel & Co’s Francois Kriel reminds us that international figures expect Covid-19 to be a part of our daily lives until at least 2021. And says that, in the time of remote work, your onboarding now becomes a vital part of your staff retention strategy. Get more insights here.

11. WATCH: KEEPING A CULTURE OF TRUST IN A CRISIS

The science & importance of trust in your company. And why it’s vital to understand and invest in it even during a crisis. Watch the recording our recent webinar on creating a culture of trust for insights and a special introduction from a legal expert in conscious contracts.

12. STUDY: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TRAVEL WILL BOUNCE BACK

It did so after 911 and the 2009 recession. And, despite the fears, independent science news source, The Conversation Africa, says there’s reason to believe that international travel for business will be back on track somewhere in the next 5 years. This according to new research – see the report here.

MANAGEMENT & HR TECH FOCUS

13. MORE BENEFICIAL PAY WITH THIS NEW FINTECH

SA Microsoft service pro, Raeesa Gabriels is looking to help break the employee-debt cycle with a new fintech product for employers, Level Finance. The idea is that the 30-day payment cycle is not manageable for all levels of employees. Many lower-income workers are being crushed by loan shark debt in South Africa. And this product seeks to change that.

By breaking the 30-day pay cycle into smaller, almost daily values, and giving employees access more regularly, Level Finance seeks to help companies create a new payment system that’s more beneficial for employees. See their website.

14. SAY HI TO BOB HRM SOFTWARE

Another of 2020’s top-performing HR software solutions according to softwareadvice.com, is bob. It’s a pretty sleek HRM solution designed for team sizes 50 and up, although geared more towards medium-sized businesses.

Apart from all the usual HR essentials you’d expect – onboarding, benefits, leave etc. basically making your HRM paperless – bob also offers solutions that help you bring values into the workplace, as well as develop a more transparent company culture. Discover bob at their website.

15. TOP TECH PERFORMER: BAMBOO HR

One of the top-performing HR software providers this year, according to SoftwareAdvice.com, is BambooHR. Mainly geared towards providing smart solutions to small and medium companies, they offer a range of tools, from hiring and onboarding to employee data and payroll. And it’s all cloud-based and designed to be easy to use. Discover more here.

And the BambooHR team’s hearts seem to be in the right place, too. Take a look at their short video on the value of work-life balance:

See all the latest exciting & unique HR Software.

MANAGEMENT & HR COURSES

16. THE SMARTEST UCT-CERTIFIED HRM SHORT COURSE STARTS SOON

10-WEEK SHORT COURSE, GET SMARTER
Implementing effective HR strategies. Creating an empowering work environment. And an official certificate from UCT in Human Resource Management. You can now enrol for a UCT-accredited HRM course through Get Smarter. It’s a fully online course that’ll take only 10 hours per week for 10 weeks to complete, but it’s official and recognised through UCT. See more here.

Next enrolment: 7 September 2020
Cost: R14 500 (various payment options available)

17. COACHING IN THE WORKPLACE

12-WEEK SHORT COURSE, SACAP
Coaching your team. Growing yourself. And developing your leadership skills. The pandemic has pushed what companies require from managers. Which is why the South African College of Applied Psychology recommends its online course titled Coaching In The Workplace. It’s a 12-week short course, with international accreditation and featuring advanced educational technology. See more here.

Next enrolment: 14 September–4 December 2020
Cost: R16 000

18. SABPP ACCREDITATION IN PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

You can now get SABPP accreditation as a manager or HR with a unique 1-year mentorship-based course anywhere in the country. It’s the only fully supported online and practical course of its kind, and you’ll learn the latest in NLP and behavioural psychology, plus gain 10 months of practical mentoring experience. Available in English or Afrikaans, you can get more information and sign up here.

hr, course, sabpp, accreditation, accredited

Next enrolment: August & September 2020
Cost: R600pm (bursaries available)

ABOUT OUR #HRNews PROJECT

Every 7 days, we filter and collect the most vital news and insights in our posts on what’s new in HR This Week. And then, to promote real long-term thinking and growth, we collect those weekly insights into a monthly collective like this one. We welcome your ideas on topics to include here – email solutions@lifexchange.co.za.

And follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn and keep up with the latest in HR News. And discover LifeXchange Solutions, a change management company.

You might also be interested in…

The science of business growth? Get key insights with HR, people and management research.

management, research, studies, science, topics, examples, role of, journal, importance, of, nature, purpose, why, what is, business, hierarchy, talent, flexi, work, job, satisfaction, workers, employees, company, staff, hr, leaders, resilient, strong, women, engaged, motivation, mental, brain, how, mind, works

See the 2 things this new study says helps you build more resilient women leaders.

resilient, women, leaders, business, company, leadership, at work, what does it mean, resourcefulness, training, study, new, science, positive, affect, affectivity, mindfulness, training, who is, how do you empower, what skills do you need, what is, female

See all the lessons we got in management and HR in June, as well as HR in July, HR in September and HR in October. Also see the big trends in HR in November.

flexi, work, boosts, employee, engagement, new, study, research, sajrhm, south, africa, journal, human, resources, hr, advantages, flexible, working, arrangements, fwas, types of, benefits, ideas, impact, productivity, hours, good, what are the benefits

Get 10X performance skills at a special price right now: We’ve just launched a brand-new online self-management course. And check out our awesome self-management tips.

Discover the power of neuroscience for business through neuromanagement, our lauded neuromanagement workshops and neuro mentoring training.

strategic, thinking, domain, strengths, cliftonstrengths, strengthsfiner, finder, clifton, gallup, domains, job types, identify, people, in your, company, analytical, futuristic, context, ideation, input, intellection, learner, business, what are strengths, list of strengths, strengths based development

See the difference in your performance management with strengths and our next-level strengths-based development and advanced organisational development.

influencing, strengths, domain, cliftonstrengths, strengthsfiner, finder, clifton, gallup, domains, top 5, list, influence, what are, in terms of, influencing others, how do you, find, four domains, leadership, activator, command, communication, competition, maximizer, self-assurance, significance, woo, job types, identify, in your, company, business, what are strengths, list of strengths, strengths based development

Plus: Check out all this year’s upcoming management and HR webinars.

hr, webinars, webcasts, management, business, 2020, webinar, free, seminars, for, credit, site, videos, topics, 2020, details, logins, info, how to, latest, new, best, cliftonstrengths, strengths, self management, hr works, purpose, at work, organisational, horizontal

Connect and share your journey with us:
Facebook | Linkedin | Twitter | Instagram