People are key to any organization; people are at the heart of any success. A simple truth that is not always leading in managers’ thoughts and actions. It starts with calling people ‘human resources’, true they are, but it sounds impersonal and distant.

Certainly, in times of difficulty like we are all experiencing with the pandemic, ensuring people stay engaged and motivated even if they work from home is crucial for the well-being of company, management, and staff alike.

That starts with a good HRM system that gets the basics right. Think about time attendance, leave management and salary calculations. In times of stress and anxiety, staff should not have to be worried about errors and miscalculations. The basics need to run like clockwork.

Secondly, staff need to know they are heard. Even when everybody sits in the same office that might not be easy, with people WFH it is even a bigger challenge. An employee engagement tool like ZAPP Feedback can do wonders to learn what people in your company need, want, and think.

Finally, a word of caution, something that an HRIS cannot really help with and that is management of expectations. Owners, founders, leaders, and managers often work hard and long and expect the same of their employees. That is not realistic. Employees have a different stake in the company and have a different motivation to accept a job and to work. The solution is to ensure you make expectations concrete: set objectives, agree on KPIs, and of course manage all that in your HRMS.