Who’s ultimately responsible for the employee in a post-COVID 19 World? More and more articles are being written about the future of the workplace as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the other day, I did a search to see what was being said with an eye towards the role of the communications professional.
One of the first articles to appear was a new report issued by Gartner entitled
“Future of Work Trends Post-COVID-19.” Interestingly, the sub-title of the report was "Long-Term Impact & Actions for HR."
I couldn’t help but ask myself why Gartner, the leading analyst organization that focuses on all facets of technology, was only writing on the actions HR should take? What about the role of the communications professional who is equally responsible for contributing to the experience and information well-being of an employee. I couldn’t help but ask myself why Gartner was only speaking to HR when a little more than a year ago they issued reports on the importance of employee communications and classified employee communications applications (ECA) as a growing and important new technology market.
This is an issue that has always confronted the Communications business unit within organizations, and especially those charged with internal communications. The question I have always asked is, since their target audience is the same, why aren’t the business units of Communications and HR more closely connected. Having worked with hundreds of organizations in deciding upon and implementing an ECA, I have seen some companies where the two very closely collaborate making for an excellent partnership with the employee as the ultimate beneficiary. However, this is more of an exception than the rule and in most instances, HR and Communications sit on different floors or even locations. I have seen firsthand, situations where these professionals sometimes view themselves as having competing interests when in fact they are the same. This is unfortunate and doesn’t have to be the case.
In a post COVID-19 World, an opportunity exists for HR and Communications to come together to really make for a cohesive and excellent employee experience. Certainly HR professionals will have to address issues like health insurance, benefits, payroll and other things that are the reason why employees come to work. Similarly, communications professionals will have to address matters critical to an organization like crises (when they occur) as well as leadership, company developments and other important changes.
But the two are not and need not be mutually exclusive. Getting information to, communicating with and engaging an organization’s most important audience, its employees, is the responsibility of both HR and Communications. Whether recognized or not, HR professionals are communications professionals too. Hopefully post-COVID, organizations will recognize this and will encourage both business units to be more closely aligned in their work. This will not only ensure greater internal consistency and continuity, but a much improved and overall employee experience.