AN ASSIGNMENT

ON
“COVID-19 and its impact on HRM practice”
Course Title: Strategic Human Resources Management
Course Code: HRM-612

Submitted To
Farhad Hossain
Assistant Professor
(HRM)
Department of Business Administration
Leading University, Sylhet

Submitted By
Ahivusan Talukder (Tipu)
ID-2011017042
MBA Program
Department of Business Administration
Leading University, Sylhet

Date of Submission: 19th Sep 2020

Leading University,Sylhet
LEADING UNIVERSITY, SYLHET
 Table of Contents

Chapter Particular Page

Name
Chapter- One 1-3
1.1 Introduction 2
1.2 Limitations of the Study 3
1.3 Sources of the Data 3
Chapter -Two 4-6
2.1 What is Corona virus disease 5
2.2 Symptoms of Corona virus 5
2.3 Self-care Treatment of Covid-19 6
Chapter- Three 7-15
3.1 The impact of Covid-19 on human resource management 8
3.2 HR Strategies for a Post-COVID-19 Workplace 10-12
3.3 What an organization Can Do at Work 13
3.4 Covid-19 Policies and HR management plan 13
3.5 Rules for rapid spend reduction 14-15
3.6 Risk management as an efficiency HR leader 15
Chapter- Four 16-19
4.1 Recommendation 17
4.2 Conclusion 18
Reference 19
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CHAPTER- ONE
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1.1 Introduction

The new corona virus, now known as Covid-19, was first encountered in November 2019, and has
gone on to affect over 3,02,00000 people in over 180 countries around the globe, causing more than
3,02,000 deaths.

The virus can cause pneumonia-like symptoms. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer
coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral
pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If
people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs, as well as
fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died
were vulnerable because of existing underlying health conditions.

The name Covid-19 was announced on 11 February by the World Health Organization. The director
general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: ―We had to find a name that did not refer to a geo-
graphical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable
and related to the disease, Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be in-
accurate or stigmatizing.

We don‘t yet know how dangerous Covid-19 is, and we won‘t know until more data comes in. The
mortality rate seems to be around 2%. For comparison, seasonal flu typically has a mortality rate
below 1% and is thought to cause about 300,000 deaths each year globally. Saris had a death rate of
more than 10%. Another key unknown, of whom scientists should get a clearer idea in the coming
months, is how contagious Covid-19 is. A crucial difference is that unlike flu, there is no vaccine
for the new corona virus, which means it is more difficult for vulnerable members of the population
– elderly people or those with existing respiratory or immune problems – to protect themselves.
Hand-washing and avoiding other people if you feel unwell are important. One sensible step is to
get the flu vaccine, which will reduce the burden on health services if the outbreak turns into a wid-
er epidemic.

Like other corona viruses, it originated in animals and then migrated to humans. In this case it ap-
pears to have originated in the city of Wuhan in China. Many of those initially infected either
worked or frequently shopped in the Haman seafood wholesale market in the center of the city,
which also sold live and newly slaughtered animals. China‘s national health commission confirmed
human-to-human transmission of the virus in January. New and troubling viruses usually originate
in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are other examples, and severe acute respiratory syndrome and Mid-
dle Eastern respiratory syndrome are both caused by corona viruses that came from animals.
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1.2 Limitations of the Study:

We won‘t say that our study and the decisions we made are self-sufficient. That doesn‘t mean
that there was any dearth of professionalism and eagerness to reach to the solution, rather it
means that we had to face some obstacles. Those were as follows:
We had no experience about such type of study before.
Necessary data and information are neither adequate nor well finished.
The duration that is for assignment program is not enough to learn about ethical this
topic.
The assignment has encountered these limitations that may have hinder progress. But with
constant effort, our goal was to minimize the negative efforts of these limitations.

1.3 Sources of Data

In this assignment we have collected different information from different secondary sources
of information. We collected different data from different books, browsing internet (second-
ary source). We paid more attention to secondary source to collect updated information.
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CHAPTER- TWO
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2.1 What is Corona-virus Disease?

Corona viruses are a type of virus. There are many different kinds, and some cause disease. A new-
ly identified corona virus, SARS-CoV-2, has caused a worldwide pandemic of respiratory illness,
called COVID-19.

2.2 Symptoms of Corona virus

COVID-19 is a respiratory condition caused by a corona virus. Some people are infected but don‘t
notice any symptoms. Most people will have mild symptoms and get better on their own. But about
1 in 6 will have severe problems, such as trouble breathing. The odds of more serious symptoms are
higher if you‘re older or have another health condition like diabetes or heart disease. Here‘s what to
look for if you think you might have COVID-19.

2.2.1 Common Symptoms

Researchers in China found that the most common symptoms among people who were
hospitalized with COVID-19 include:

• Fever: 99%
• Fatigue: 70%
• A dry cough: 59%
• Loss of appetite: 40%
• Body aches: 35%
• Shortness of breath: 31%
• Mucus or phlegm: 27%

Symptoms usually begin 2 to 14 days after you come into contact with the virus. Other
symptoms may include:

• Sore throat
• Headache
• Chills, sometimes with shaking
• Loss of smell or taste
• Stuffy nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea
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2.2.2 Emergency Symptoms

Call a doctor or hospital right away if you have one or more of these COVID-19 symptoms:
 Trouble breathing
 Constant pain or pressure in your chest
 Bluish lips or face
 Sudden confusion
You need medical care as soon as possible Call your doctor‘s office or hospital before you
go in. This will help them prepare to treat you and protect medical staff and other patients.

Strokes have also been reported in some people who have COVID-19. Remember FAST:
 Face. Is one side of the person‘s face numb or drooping? Is their smile lopsided?
 Arms. Is one arm week or numb? If they try to raise both arms, does one arm sag?
 Speech. Can they speak clearly? Ask them to repeat a sentence.
 Time. Every minute counts when someone shows signs of a stroke. Call 911 right away.
Lab tests can tell if COVID-19 is what‘s causing your symptoms But the tests can be hard
to find and there‘s not treatment if you do have the disease. So you don‘t need to get tested if you
have no symptoms or only mild ones. Call your doctor or your local health department if you have
questions.

2.3 Self-care Treatment of Covid-19

If you feel sick you should rest, drink plenty of fluid, and eat nutritious food. Stay in a sep-
arate room from other family members, and use a dedicated bathroom if possible. Clean and
disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
Everyone should keep a healthy lifestyle at home. Maintain a healthy diet, sleep, stay active,
and make social contact with loved ones through the phone or internet. Children need extra
love and attention from adults during difficult times. Keep to regular routines and sche-
dules as much as possible. It is normal to feel sad, stressed, or confused during a crisis. Talk-
ing to people you trust, such as friends and family can help. If you feel overwhelmed, talk to a
health worker or counselor.
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CHAPTER-THREE
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3.1 The impact of Covid-19 on human resource management

Many organizations are using remote working for the first time. HR professionals are hav-
ing to improvise daily, write Eileen Aitkin-Fox, Jane Coffey, Kanata Dataram, Scott Fitzge-
rald, Chama Gupta, Steve McKenna, and Amy Wei Titan.
While there is now a great deal of discussion concerning the impact of Covid-19 on
and implications for working practices and human resource management (HRM), much of the
content and comment on these topics tends to be of a general nature, offering observations and
or guidance that seek to define what a ‗new normal‘ might be. For example, that remote
working will become the norm, or that working practices will become more flexible. While
this may be indeed what happens, because Covid-19 is a global pandemic, we need to un-
derstand its impact on working practices, well-being and HRM in specific contexts. It is
likely many changes will be common across country contexts, but we should also expect,
given institutional differences, that there will be localized nuances.
Some important Covid-19 impact on human resource management.
First, while the majority of industries have been negatively affected by Covid-19, par-
ticular industries and sectors have been affected positively. For example, in Australia,
amidst some reports of negative impact, many respondents from healthcare and social
assistance, public administration, finance and insurance and mining have reported a positive
impact. As would be expected, the majorities of our respondents so far have moved to remote
working, but most have not made positions redundant and have worked to retain staff without
using government subsidies. In some sectors, some additional hiring has been undertaken
while in most, hiring freezes have been put in place.

Second, while many commentators are predicting an increase in remote working in the fu-
ture, this is not at all clear from our responses up to now. As we would expect, organizations
are reviewing the effectiveness of remote working almost on a daily basis, but many are yet
to make any commitment to long-term remote working. It appears that organizations do not
yet know how remote working is affecting performance and productivity, which is hardly
surprising given that most are using it for the first time. There is also the requirement of
putting in place new systems, policies and procedures for remote working which in the Aus-
tralian context is not something that can be introduced without due diligence. Organizations
are certainly debating the issue with as yet no clear-cut decisions as to whether remote work-
ing will continue beyond the pandemic.
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Third, respondents are highlighting some key issues across a range of people management
topics as they work to deal with changing working practices. Overall, the general sense is that
people management has to become more agile and more responsive as a consequence of the
changed situation. In particular, respondents have mentioned the need to differentiate between
compliance that is required in the Australian context (for example, the importance of com-
pliance to changing legal circumstances) and compliance with internal policies and procedures
that can be side-stepped to provide greater agility and flexibility. This balancing act will not
be relevant to all national contexts where the law relating to employment matters can be ig-
nored or side-stepped.

Fourth, it is also apparent from our study that employee well-being and safety is of
crucial importance. The move to remote working does not suit everyone and even in Aus-
tralia, where a full lockdown has never been implemented, psychological well-being and
safety is an issue. The elements involved in this are obviously many. Not only will individu-
als respond to the demands of remote working differently, but the home context will
also be specifically important in influencing well-being and safety, for example, in rela-
tion to spatial arrangements and family demands. These aspects of employee welfare create
the need for different and new areas of HR expertise to be applied in organizations.

Fifth, respondents have highlighted some employee behaviors and actions that they recog-
nize as having been helpful in business continuity. For example, employee willingness to col-
laborate with each other and with human resource professionals and departments in mak-
ing changes, and employee willingness to be flexible and adaptable; complying with neces-
sary changes to safety measures and; a willingness to learn and up skill quickly. Such posi-
tive behaviors have enabled some organizations to manage rapid change effectively. In
terms of unhelpful behaviors, respondents have highlighted that managers have had prob-
lems with accepting remote working because of their perception that it negatively af-
fects performance, which leads to micro-management. HR professionals need to be expert
at advising managers how to effectively manage performance of a remote workforce, while
the issue of micro-management is often a cover for the lack of trust managers have towards
their staff once they are ‗invisible‘.

The issue of trust is clearly important, in that managers who lack trust in their staff in the
office will not suddenly develop it when their staffs are working remotely. Given that trust
(and fairness)are central tenets of effective management and employee performance, it is
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unsurprising that managers who micro-manage will see a fall in productivity. In the longer
term these are issues that need to be addressed by organizations in a broader context.

From the responses to our study so far, and We on time to gather data, HR professionals and
others with people management responsibilities in Australia are having to bob and weave
almost on a daily basis. As part of the requirement for them to be more agile, they have to
learn new skills, develop new expertise and disrupt some old practices. They have to learn
very quickly how to support remote working. In particular, this is with respect to issues
of performance, changing benefit scenarios and psychological well-being. In addition,
they are dealing with managerial trust issues concerning remote staff and micro-
management.

3.2 HR Strategies for a Post-COVID-19 Workplace

Here are five HR perspectives, or strategies, that can benefit your employees and the com-
pany‘s bottom line. When reviewing them, consider how your company may benefit by
implementing similar strategies.

3.2.1 Workplace flexibility

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a fluctuating workplace landscape was developing.
The 9-5 work shift is giving way to more novel constructions in this gig economy. After
working from home for weeks, some employees may be reluctant to return to the standard in-
person office hours.

Some employers may choose to be more lenient than others, but the overall trend is that em-
ployees aren‘t required to be in the office for eight hours every day. Some companies allow
for flextime— allowing employees to leave early one day and make up the time another
day—and others simply let employees work their own hours each week, so long as they add
up to 40.

While policies will differ by company, the idea is that employees want some workplace flex-
ibility when their personal lives require it. It could be something as simple as letting them
work from home once in a while. Regardless of how you choose to handle flexibility within
your company, this will continue in 2020 and likely expand its prevalence as the familiarity
of remote working increases.
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3.2.2 Employee personalization

Employees don‘t want to be viewed as faceless cogs in a larger machine—they want to
be recognized for the unique value each brings to the company. This uniqueness is
something employers are beginning to embrace too. Companies are starting to offer
more personalized benefits and online tools. Instead of offering one benefits package, em-
ployers are casting a wide net with niche options like tuition reimbursement and pet insur-
ance. The idea is that providing a wide array of options will suit the unique needs of em-
ployees from any background and in any stage of their careers. Some employers are
going further and pairing these benefits with individualized online portals. Within these
portals, employees can review their benefits, schedule doctor appointments and handle other
needs specific to them.

3.2.3. A focus on wellness

After dealing with the anxiety and stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers will need to
put more focus on the mental health and overall wellness of its employees. Holistic bene-
fits are a common way of introducing wellness to a company. These benefits address all
aspects of well-being, including mental health and financial security. While these plans will
differ in offerings, the idea is to provide employees with benefits that help improve their well-
being beyond standard health coverage.
And employees will be happy for the effort. According to a 2019 MetLife survey, over
half of respondents said they‘d be more interested in working for a company that offered holis-
tic benefits. A similar number of respondents said they would also be more loyal to a compa-
ny offering these benefits and that they would likely be more successful in their work and
personal lives.

3.2.4 Employee up skilling

As the employee personalization trend illustrates, employees want to be appreciated on
an individual level. One-way employers are showing their appreciation is through up skil-
ling. Not only does this help employees feel valued, but it also helps fill knowledge
gaps within the company.
And up skilling could be even more important than that. According to a report by Deloitte,
the ―inability to learn and grow ―is the top reason why employees leave their companies, As
employers catch on, you can expect more employees to be cross-trained and encouraged to
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look for growth opportunities internally, lest they look toward other employers for career
mobility.

3.2.5 AI-driven technology

Artificial intelligence (AI) will be a continuing trend for the foreseeable future as employers
look to reduce costs in a potentially down economy. AI empowers companies to achieve more
than ever before, for a fraction of the effort. Commonly, AI is being used by HR to help ad-
ministrate their human capital.
For the longer-term

Looking beyond this COVID-19 pandemic, strategic cost optimization is a must-have if

HR is to help the organization prepare to rebound and grow. Your first two steps
in establishing a sustainable cost optimization roadmap are:

A. Understand your cost and value baseline. Establish your current spend and ef-
ficiency. Without a transparent cost base, you will struggle to identify clear
targets or valuable opportunities, especially when facing mandatory budget cuts and
given a short time frame to cut costs. Benchmark your spend and efficiency against
peers to identify target areas for improvement, depending on functional and enter-
prise goals.

B. Identify and prioritize opportunities. Assess the likely impact and potential
downside of all cost measures in scope to ensure the best fit Make sure to identify
and prioritize initiatives that best support your objectives. Provide transparency
into the prioritization mechanism, and engage your CFO in selecting initiatives to
drive commitment and support for your choices.

Notably, if you adopt cost optimization as an ongoing and always-on discipline, you will al-
ready have identified the cost actions to take first in a crisis. You can also avoid some of the
incessant ad hoc budget pressure.
The result: You will have moved beyond primarily defensive, reactionary and tactical cost
cutting to a continuous and proactive approach in which you invest resources and capabilities
to optimize business value. Stakeholders will know and support your business-driven budget
position — and will call on you less often to justify and reduce your costs.
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3.3 What an organization can do at Work

HR managers can innovate with work schedules and assignments by allowing flexible sche-
duling parameters and being creative in how the work gets done. Here are some ideas:

 Avoid or postpone group face-to-face celebrations, especially ones with food be-
ing served. Consider discouraging the use of or closing community dining spaces
and encourage at-desk lunch and snacking.
 Allow or expand flex-time opportunities for the majrity of positions.
 Allow or expand eligible positions for remote working environments.
 Postpone all work-related travel. Reframe the ―how,‖ e.g., would anything be
lost through video/teleconferencing vs. face-to-face?
 Spread out the density of employees throughout a workday vs. everyone working a
standard eight-hour shift.
 Have teams work via teleconferencing and/or internet meetings.
 Tell employees to stay home/self-isolate if they are ill, coming down with something,
or have had a known exposure to COVID-19.
The rule of thumb is, if in doubt, don‘t. The CDC suggests employers consider allowing em-
ployees to go into a ―negative bank‖ of sick leave time available to support their staying away
from the workplace when they are or might be ill.
For employers, the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA, A Guide to Disability Rights
Laws and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA, Law and Regula-
tions) provide rules and guidance for managing potentially ill employees who are at work.
Employees who have little or no sick leave are now being considered for eligibility under
the Family and Medical Leave Act, since the incubation period for COVID-19 is 14 days.

3.4 Covid-19 Policies and HR management plan

i. Any staff member that has travelled to high or moderate risk countries is required to
self-isolate for 14 days before returning to work in an Objective office.
ii. If any staff displays symptoms, we are asking them to work from home and arrange
testing.
iii. We are applying the same restrictions to all visitors (vendor, customer or partner) to
Offices.
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iv. We have cancelled non-essential international travel, and are limiting staff travel do-
mestically.
v. We have cancelled non-essential international travel, and are limiting staff tra-
vel domestically.
vi. Strict hygiene policies are in place in all offices, globally.
vii. We have requested staff conduct meetings (vendor, customer or partner) by vid-
eo conference where possible.

3.5 Rules for rapid spend reduction

If you have to take immediate action on costs — even if you haven‘t had time to fully formu-
late a strategic cost approach— you can help to avoid rash decisions with these simple rules.

 Plan to do it once. Few organizations cut deeply enough the first time, so they then
need to revisit cost cuts — creating a destructive and unproductive cycle of uncer-
tainty, effort and lost productivity. Cut or reduce ―hard‖ enough the first time, and
only do it once, especially in workforce decisions where cycles of ongoing reduc-
tions can be particularly destructive.
 Tackle both variable and fixed costs. Fixed expenses remain constant, regard-
less of activity or volume like payroll/compensation, so focus on eliminating them.
Variable costs change with activity or volume; examples include contractors, consul-
tants etc.so focus on both reducing and eliminating them.
 Target immediate impact. Eliminate, reduce or suspend items that will have an im-
pact in one, six or even nine months, not in years. Examples include expenses in-
curred and paid monthly, quarterly or on a ―pay as you go‖ basis, rather than annually.
 Reduce, don’t freeze. Focus on costs that can truly be reduced or eliminated from the
cost base, not just frozen out for the current period only to reappear again later.
 Treat cash as king. Target line items that will have a real cash impact, such as
real operating expenses like service costs. Don‘t focus time and effort on noncash ac-
counting treatments.
 Address discretionary and nondiscretionary spend. Discretionary spending (such as
for new ―change the business‖ projects, additional capabilities or services/products)
can often present the easier-to-cut option. There are also, however, opportunities to re-
duce usage and service levels of nondiscretionary, ―run the business‖ services.
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3.6 Risk management as an efficiency HR leader

Some basic actions will get you started

To get your functional house in order:

 Conduct scenario planning to assess the current and future impact of COVID-19
on your function in a structured way, applying reliable criteria. Based on likely
scenarios, define your response from a cost optimization perspective.

 Plan and manage HR cost-saving initiatives. Use proven cost-saving libraries

to select the most promising and realistic ways to cut HR costs immediately. But
make sure to assess the likely impact and potentially negative impact of all cost-
cutting measures in scope — and be vigilant about identifying inadvertent and po-
tentially hidden associated costs

To be a proactive risk manager:

• Protect employee experience and productivity. HR‘s ultimate value proposition

isn‘t only to drive talent outcomes in good times, but to protect investments in talent
outcomes during adverse times. Cost-cutting initiatives and de-investment can
damage employee experience, which is critical for engagement and Understanding that
impact can help you avoid rash decisions that could damage key talent outcomes in the
long term.

• Communicate effectively. Make sure that all cost-cutting efforts are made transpa-
rent across the organization and stakeholders.
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CHAPTER- FOUR
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Recommendation
 Conducting daily health checks
 Implementing policies and practices for social distancing in the workplace
 Improving the building ventilation system
 Actively encourage sick employees to stay home
 Increase Awareness About coved 19 epidemics in the organization
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Conclusion
The fight against COVID-19 cannot be carried out by the government alone. It will require
an unprecedented level of coordination between the public and private at the local and inter-
national level. The World Economic Forum, with a mandate from the World Health Or-
ganization, has launched the COVID Action Platform in response to the pandemic. Bangla-
desh should look to tap into this platform to galvanize support for its private sector and share
some of its own experience in fighting COVID-19 and increasing its economic resilience.

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, is a crisis of a completely different magnitude and one
that will require a response of unprecedented scale. Bangladesh‘s leaders in the public and
private sector must come together to respond to the immediate threats to health systems and
the long-term effects to the country‘s economy.

Keep these HR initiatives in mind when considering how your employees may benefit from
similar programs. Implementing even a smaller-scale version of these initiatives may help
give you an edge in employee productivity and morale. While these initiatives are recom-
mended, they might not necessarily work for every company. However, in a post-
COVID-19 environment, where employees have had to adjust how they work, all compa-
nies should shift toward a more human-focused approach.
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Reference
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2020/05/22/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-human-
resource-management-avoiding-generalisations/

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963

https://www.objective.com.au/covid-19

https://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/coronavirus.html

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-bangladesh/

https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+19&oq=covid+19&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i59j35i3
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https://www.fairwear.org/covid-19-dossier/covid-19-guidance-for-production-
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https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/sponsored-content/bizinsights/hr-strategies-post-covid/
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