Findings from a recent webinar which show that the vast majority of HR teams – and by extension businesses – don’t yet have a transition plan for when lockdown measures are eased.

With lockdown measures expected to be eased in the coming weeks many businesses have already started to open their doors as they try to recover from the dramatic effects of the global lockdown. In this webinar, which included a survey of over 80 senior HR professionals from a variety of industries, attendees confirmed that some have no plan in place (26%) whilst some are still in the process of developing their plans (63%).

Cathy Acratopulo, Managing Director and Co-founder of LACE Partners said of the response from senior HR professionals, “this is a concerning, but not surprising, statistic. HR Directors and their teams have – in less than six weeks – had to respond to a huge change in working practices. As a result, HR teams have been absorbed with reacting to the crisis which has placed the function under more pressure than most will have ever experienced in a very short space of time”.

Whilst HR teams therefore have less time than ever to plan ahead, LACE believes they need to have their transition plans for the recovery in place now.   As a first step, they need to work with the business to model the workforce requirements based on different scenarios depending on how and when lockdown is released.

Once they know the capabilities and numbers of people required over time, HR can then decide how to transition the workforce, taking account of any ongoing restrictions on social distancing. They will also need to give clear guidance to line managers on how best to manage fragmented teams over the transition period.

With the current uncertainty delivering an ever-moving situation for HR teams across the globe, those organisations that act swiftly and have clear plans in place will be better placed to thrive longer term.