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" Adarsh Mishra, Chief Human Resource Officer, Panasonic IndiaBusinesses today are transforming faster than ever. The role of HR becomes even more critical as companies need to implement their strategy and help employees navigate through the strategic focus, according to Adarsh Mishra, chief human resource officer, Panasonic India. “Also, the ongoing pandemic has led organisations to rethink the need for physical workspaces as they leapfrog to the new normal - a digital-first model,” Mishra said. Edited excerpts from an interview to ET’s Rica Bhattacharyya:What are the changes in workplace post-Covid?Keeping in mind the current situation across the country, we have ensured that our workplace has requisite health, sanitisation measures, adoption of Aarogya Setu app and screening systems across all premises. We have configured our operations to a digitally compatible model where technology takes precedence. Suspending the biometric attendance, we will be only taking online attendance on our intranet. We are prepared to accelerate the adoption of digital platforms for all our communications and operations.What are the employee engagement challenges?Covid-19 has brought the world to a standstill impacting the day-to-day functioning at large. While working from home is the new norm, it has challenges of its own – working from the confines of home in a lockdown situation takes a toll on the overall wellbeing of the employees. In addition, being physically away from work for a longer duration tends to lower the employees’ interest level, and lack of workplace engagement activities also brings down the motivation levels, leading to stress, and anxiety.What role can innovation play in the current uncertain milieu?The ongoing pandemic has led organisations to rethink the need for physical workspaces as they leapfrog to the new normal, i.e., a digital-first model. It is absolutely critical at this time not to cancel any events but look at new ways of doing things albeit virtually. From launching products through live streaming, organising online contests, challenges, hackathons, holding recreational activities to holding award ceremonies, new solutions are emerging daily. Initiatives like webinars, LIVE sessions for new-skill training, online counselling sessions, online courses etc have been introduced to ensure the proper mental health of the people.How critical it is to focus on building leadership pipeline at the moment?Preparing a leadership pipeline or, cultivating future leaders is an ongoing process for any company’s long-term health. It creates a more systematic, visible system of identifying candidates for succession, combined with the focus areas for their development. The ongoing situation will be a real test of the resilient nature of the leaders, successful will be those who identify their skills, hone them and upskill them to match the future requirements.What are the new rules of talent management?Talent management is extremely critical at this juncture. Employees will now have to be assured of wellbeing (both physical &amp; mental) and financial risks. This essentially means that while employees would be mentally pre-occupied, they’d need constant positive engagement and reinforcement. Apart from engaging employees in activities to enhance their skills and maintain proper mental health, it is also essential to ensure that there is a constant flow of information and communication between the various levels across the company.How do you engage employees working from home?Not only have we strengthened our IT systems and moved to a digital interface, but we have also created recreational groups for our employees to engage with each other and help break the monotony through our various learning platforms as well.How HR functions are increasingly being aligned with the overall business objectives?Businesses today are transforming faster than ever. Technologies, tools, industries, and consumers are rapidly evolving, which essentially means that companies are continuously shifting their strategic focus to keep pace. With this sea change in the culture, HR’s role becomes even more critical as we need to implement the strategy and help employees navigate through them. Digital mediums are now being employed across to ensure business continuity. Organisations must align HR processes with business strategy, thereby reducing costs and maximising the productivity of the workforce.Follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube"
<https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/while-working-from-home-is-the-new-norm-it-has-challenges-of-its-own-panasonic-india/76351140>