Managers worry about the employees during the crisis, and who worries about the managers?

The pandemic has shown that people are quick to react to the changes when they understand why they need to occur, an example of which is working from home, it was said at the “Human Experience Live” conference, the largest virtual event organized by SAP, which brought together HR professionals from all over the world. The role of HR professionals, as well as experienced managers, in ensuring unobstructed business operations during the crisis was highlighted.

– If you had proposed in February for all employees to start working from home within two weeks, almost nobody would have accepted it, but the circumstances have changed. The employees reacted well to this change. Their opinion was: companies trust us more, they give us more flexibility – said Steven Hunt, Chief Expert, Work & Technology SAP North American Innovation Office.

He added that the technology had helped managers to become more emphatic and employees to identify more with the manager.

– We have realized that it`s ok to have a life outside work. There have been situations where, during Zoom meetings, you see your leader and see their children walking through the apartment and think – they`re like me. Also, talking about how we are all going through the same thing and listening to the employees has also helped preserve the business spirit – Hunt added.

Still, he points out that working from home has also brought new dilemmas, one of which is a question that employees ask themselves: Have I done enough?



Sabrina Dick, HR Director, SAP Central & Eastern Europe, said that companies in Central and Eastern Europe had been reluctant to implement remote work before the pandemic, but also that the labor laws had not envisaged such a possibility.

– Covid has changed this. The states told them to do what they had to in order to keep their people safe, while also maintaining the production – Dick pointed out.

Emphatic managers adapt to the crisis more easily

According to her, working from home has led to new challenges and roles in which everyone has had to find a way to cope.

– When you`re working from home, your family is there and you have to be a professional and a husband/wife and a mother/father, a teacher... It was very stressful and it required support from the supervisors – Dick says.

In the first weeks, managers focused on the employees, providing them with flexibility, support and conversations.

– The managers were forgotten in that whole situation, so we started turning our attention to them after a few months. Those managers and team leaders who are emphatic by nature adapted more easily, and the role of HR professionals, who helped the managers, was also significant – she said.

She expects the practice of remote work to be kept in some companies even when the danger is no longer there.

– People are more efficient than before. I believe that they won`t get back to work just to sit with their colleagues. Sometimes it`s more acceptable to sit in a quiet environment. The close relation between the management and the employees will also loosen when we go back to our routines, but it will certainly remain stronger than it was before the pandemic – Dick concludes.

Changes in the labor market

Remote work has made the labor market global, as you no longer have to seek workers in your local environment exclusively. However, that also makes it more difficult to keep talented people within the company.

– It`s a positive change, but it will be harder to keep the talented people. If there`s a closer connection with the manager, people will more gladly stay at the company. It is said that employees don`t leave companies, they leave managers, and I`d say that employees leave companies with bad managers – Hunt concluded.

The role of HR professionals

Two months after Jakob Kiblboeck was appointed Head of SAP SuccessFactors, Central & Eastern Europe, the world entered the lockdown, which brought new challenges.

– This has been an unusual year. My team is spread throughout various countries and we have switched to virtual cooperation. The transition has gone well. Still, I`d like to be able to board a plane and get close to my colleagues and my clients – Kiblboeck said.



According to him, in January and February, the topic discussed by HR professionals in companies in Central and Eastern Europe was how to attract and keep the best people. With the arrival of Covid, the topics changed, and the role of HR increased.

– HR has never faced a greater challenge. Talent management has not changed a lot. Everyone still wants the best people, and this is a great opportunity for HR professionals. They now need to take their place at the table, to make sure that the management hears them – Kiblboeck says.

He points out that leaders now need to be supported in an adequate way, and according to him, it can only be through HR.

A dilemma for the management: hire a new worker or re-train an employee

In the situation in which there are more people in the labor market, when people are more open to changing jobs and even industries, when the competition is bigger, the dilemma that companies` managements often face is whether to hire a new worker for a certain job or to retrain an existing employee, said Andree-Anne LeBlanc, Head of Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa – Higher Education, LinkedIn.

– In the situation when the competition is bigger, the decision to keep your own people is the right one and that is why it`s important to learn within the company. The employees will know that you are investing in them, and that way you are also sending a message that you trust them – LeBlanc said.



She points out that letting go an employee in order to employ another always costs the company more.

Anna Pancheva, HR Director, Videnov Group, points out that, in Eastern Europe, nearly all companies have had to adapt to digital business.

– The year 2020 taught us that we have no time to lose. Implementing changes is complicated for any company, but we always remind that we are running a marathon and not a sprint – Pancheva said.

Iuliana Guriuc, Managing Director, tts Romania, agrees and adds that HR in Eastern Europe is making increased efforts to find, but also keep, talented people.

– The organizations which accept the culture of learning are more successful, as shown by research. It is often asked: Why should we invest in the education and training of the employees? What if we make an investment and then see them leave? Another way of looking at things is: What if you don`t invest and they stay? – Guriuc concludes.

HR today

Modernizing human resources often requires organizations to streamline processes and unify data across multiple systems and countries to deliver more intuitive, engaging experiences that boost productivity and support employee development. All of this is happening under the sign of the paradigm shift from classic Human Resources to Employee Experience – a process in which SAP is a pioneer.

HXM is not about making incremental improvements; it is about redefining HR technology as we know it and going beyond the limits of traditional HCM platforms. HXM brings experience to the core of technological processes by incorporating experience data and creating individualized interactions. With localization in 99 countries, SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite is used by more than 7000 companies, providing flexible, scalable solutions while supporting employees along their individual career journeys.

Ivana Milovanovic

SAP West Balkans Beograd

SAP North American Innovation Office

SAP Central and Eastern Europe

SAP SuccessFactors

LinkedIn

Videnov Group

tts Romania

Iulia Guriuc

Anna Pancheva

Andrée Anne LeBlanc

Jakob Kiblboeck

Sabrina Dick

Steven Hunt

Human Experience Live

pandemic

work from home

remote work

human resources

HR role

coronavirus