QUESTION ONE $[40]$

Read the following article and answer the questions that follow:

The new top challenge for HR teams: Get comfortable with being uncomfortable

The pandemic and economic uncertainty makes long$-$range employee planning more difficult.

The emphasis, for now, is on agility to respond to the unforeseen.

HR teams played active roles in $2020$ as companies reacted to the COVID$-19$ pandemic and

engaged in workplace equity conversations brought on by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Those who helped their companies adapt the fastest to the fundamental changes caused by

these events were the ones that ultimately thrived.

But a new test awaits HR teams in $2021.$ Leaders will be tasked with holding their

organisations accountable to greater diversity and inclusion $($D&I$)$ efforts. At the same time,

many challenges remain in keeping employees engaged and their well$-$being high in both

remote and hybrid workplaces.

The accelerated changes that upended organisations at the start of the pandemic will remain

in $2021.$ But now that workers have adapted to these shifts, HR teams must rethink their talent

approaches. Visier, my HR tech company, surveyed HR thought leaders from our clients and

leveraged third$-$party research and identified these three top challenges for people managers

in the coming year.

PROBLEM$-$SOLVING THROUGH UNCERTAINTY

Your HR team cannot fall back into strategic workforce planning that scopes years$-$long

initiatives. These plans need to instead focus on weeks$-$ and months$-$long plans with agility at

their core.

Looking back at previous recessions, we know that businesses with an agile approach to

workforce planning emerge stronger from a crisis than their competitors. HR leaders should

mirror these examples by preparing for multiple scenarios. Whether your organisation

experiences splits, zero growth, slow growth or rapid growth, understanding all possibilities

will help your organisation remain resilient.

Leverage workforce planning technology to generate hypothetical situations you can build

contingency plans around. Also, develop skills information on employees to determine multiple

business needs they can fill outside of their typical role, based on the demands of the business.

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People analytics$$the practice of collecting and transforming HR data and organisational data

into actionable insights$$can help identify candidates for reskilled positions needed by your

organisation.

D&I ACTION, NOT TALK

D&I initiatives must be a core component of all enterprises. Companies that fall short on these

efforts risk incurring fines, bad press and class action lawsuits. In fact, new SEC rules and ISO

metrics are being used to promote better accountability and reporting in workforce

management. Additionally, both employees and the public are demanding corporations

address outstanding core issues around D&I.

Your company probably already has a wealth of data that can help create an impactful D&I

strategy. Layered operational analytics like hiring, promotion, and pay equity data can help

determine real areas of improvement. And tools such as employee pulse surveys and

behavioral resources like organisational network analytics can uncover insights directly from

employees.

Employee data can provide answers to your organisation$$s D&I questions. With clear answers,

you can make talent decisions that improve your entire employee lifecycle. Use data to go

beyond blanket numbers and dissect the various factors related to all of your company$$s

workforce groups. Closely examine your business processes to stay ahead of risks that could

negatively impact your diversity efforts and keep leaders accountable. D&I should be a total

business initiative, not just an HR initiative.

NEW EXPECTATIONS AROUND EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

The employee experience left the confines of the office when teams shifted to working

remotely at scale in early $2020.$ Office culture was brought into homes, which meant employee

well$-$being and safety needed to be fostered at a distance. As a result, employees now need

to know your organisation supports them as they navigate at$-$home childcare responsibilities,

increased health risks and a weakened economy. If not, you risk losing workers to a more

flexible and supportive career option.

Company cultures are typically built with an organic, habit$-$based framework. To better meet

employee needs in a remote or hybrid work environment in $2021,$ implement a culture$-$by$-$

design approach. Take the elements signature to your company$$s culture and identify

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opportunities to retain them in our current work environments. Successful execution of culture$-$

by$-$design lies in a people$-$first approach fueled by data insights.

Combine data from sources such as human capital management platforms, well$-$being tools

and employee engagement surveys to determine where employees need your support. These

insights can help address personal stres