People Management in the Time of COVID-19: A Comprehensive Report

This report examines the multifaceted challenges of people management within organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It begins by identifying the contemporary issues faced by line managers, such as maintaining employee mental health and well-being, managing remote teams, and ensuring employee engagement amidst changing work dynamics. The report then delves into the essential knowledge, skills, and behaviors required for effective people management in this environment, including reinventing team dynamics, adapting to behavioral changes, and implementing policy adjustments. Finally, it explores the efforts made by HR processes and support management to ensure effective performance management, including flexible work hours, shifting roles, improved communication, and new policy implementations. The report uses examples of companies like Unilever, software companies, Nestle, Hilton, Tesco, and Vodafone to illustrate key concepts and strategies. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the importance of adapting to the evolving landscape of people management in times of crisis.

Introduction to People
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
1. Contemporary issues which line management faces in people management in COVID-19. .3
2. Knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to be an effective people manager in this
epidemic......................................................................................................................................5
3. Efforts made by HR process and support management in effective performance
management................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................8
Books and Journal:......................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
In the organisation, with managing operations and production there is need for people
management also. People management refers to how organisation employees behave, work,
abilities and what circumstances they are facing at workplace. People are need to be manage by
top authority in terms of their performance, working potential, motivation and welfare. Due to
COVID-19 crises, every organisation has facing operational issues and losses in terms of loosing
employees, maintaining interpersonal relations with them also by not fulfilling the need of proper
communication. This report is going to consider about he problem every UK organisation is
facing which impact on human resource function. What issues has been facing by line manger in
order to manage their workforce at this high crises also, how the mangers could be efficient to
reorganise its human resource into full efficient manner. The report also going to highlight the
efforts putting by employees towards organisation welfare. (Harris, 2017).
MAIN BODY
1. Contemporary issues which line management faces in people management in COVID-19
Line mangers are the one who are eligible to make connection between lower and
superior management. They act as a mediator in order to assign task to lower workforce or
checking on their performance. Employees at lower authority work under the surveillance of
these line managers. Line managers are imposed on duties to manage the employees working
under them which include checking the task has been done properly and help them to overcome
to their weakness by guiding them right way. These mangers also act as a conflict resolver into
their department and provide futuristic solutions so that, it will not arise it again at workplace.
These mangers also faces issues regarding proper management with affect by internal or
external factors. As in the present scenario, COVID-19 has impacted serious cause regarding
people management into the organisation, it reflects like every aspect has changes its way and
disrupted all the business environment (Murphy, 2020).
Issue in managing their mental health and well-being: In COVID-19 pandemic, every
individual has afraid of meeting and connecting with nay other person, as they prefer to be at
their safe place. This has reflected in lower the productivity of organisation as the employees are
not interested to come to workplace and making contact with nay other individual for their own
well being. This could be understand by the example of Unilever, the employees has distracted

and set their minds not to work, which create uncertainties into the organisation. This has tend to
affect their mental health.
Managing whole team in work from Home: As the employees are not ready to work at the
work place due to the crises, organisation provide facilities of work from home to the employee
so that they could remain financially stable even at the pandemic. But this tends to be critical
situation the line managers facing difficulties in organisation all the employees at the same time
on phones or digital apps. This has resulting in less effectiveness and delay in completion of
assigned task. HR manager has to develop various strategies and policies regarding making
coordination and effective interaction with employees. This could be understand by the example
of software companies, there employees have perform technical works which require guidelines
through top management. This creates communication barrier and lack of proper authority
management (Keir, 2016).
Employee engagement: Employees are not willing to work in corona affected place as it
is also necessary for them as well as others. Due to this, mangers need to maintain proper
communication with them and check on whether they face any difficulties in working. This will
work as a motivation and effective employee engagement by providing them support and less
stress over working with other place. Line mangers has to face various duties and level up their
easy work to the complex leadership situations. Top authorities need to take pride and provide
the solutions as well so that line managers themselves would not feel stress.
Changing work and office dynamics: As per the analysis the seriousness of COVID
situation, organisations need to be taken care of all the aspects regarding health and medical
concerns. For that, they could take a step towards working hours and condition of the employees.
Those who are working within office premises, the organisation has to maintain social distancing
while working and set their mechanism according to that. Also, the must be aware of proper
cleaning and sanitizing. The managers need to set timing for employees by giving them
alternative days of work (Vitale, 2019). Therefore, it would loosen the chances of getting
unhealthy environment for the organisation.

2. Knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to be an effective people manager in this epidemic
In this epidemic the behaviour of the office as well as of the work change on continuous
basis due to which it becomes important for human resource mangers and their subordinate
managers to change their strategies to manage the individuals according to the new challenges in
front of them. To achieve this they need to develop new skills and behavioural knowledge to
develop new protocols, purpose and norms. Re-invent team dynamics – The reality of every office is that their workers new office is
their home and it is significant to the HR manager and their line mangers to coordinate on
the basis of their new realities of the world. Everyone has their own style of working no
matter in the respect of authorities, resources or responsibilities. It is an opportunity for
the managers to establish new norms for the team and to establish inter-personnel
interactions. There should be a regular interaction with employees to know their physical
and mental health and to develop an informal interactions between employees to manage
formal tasks (LeBlanc, Kosmos, and Avchen, 2018). Behavioural changes – Organisations have a large number of people in their staff and
due to this pandemic there is a high risk of a spread of a virus which is communicable in
nature. It created a behavioural change in offices such as compulsion for washing hands
regularly, proper sanitisation, wearing masks, hand sanitisation, maintaining social
distance etc. for which employees have to avoid their habits of greeting with handshakes
or hug, interacting closely at cafeteria, parties, etc. and they are restrained of doing this
during the pandemic situation. Managers can motivate their employees to learn new
skills which not only help them to improve them in their own profession but also helps
in achieving goals of the whole team. In this situation manager needs to put their
knowledge to avoid differences created between their employees to achieve the team
goals efficiently.
 Policy Changes – There are so many challenges faced by management during this
pandemic and it becomes compulsory for the management to implement new policies
and strategies which helps to attain the major employee engagement as well as to
manage their performance (Pachura, 2016). Managers can provide digital training to
their employees to can avoid crowd at the office place. It is the opportunity for them to
implement new software and technologies and make work easier to their employees.

Due to less demand of employees the companies decided to laying off the employees but
to reduce the burden of the company government bought a scheme which pay part of the
salary to the employees by the government at one condition that employee would not be
lay-off. Such policies make employee engagement much easier for the mangers and
reduce their stress and burden related to finance. Some companies for which it is
possible changes their policy of work from office to work from home to their employees
to reduce the public contact and ensure the safety of their employee's health from this
pandemic.
3. Efforts made by HR process and support management in effective performance management
Organisation managers always focus on assign tasks and checking on employee
performance at real workplace situations, and correcting them by giving guidance and practical
situation (McSweeney, Smith, and Williams, 2016). Therefore, the pandemic has change the
face of managing performance and guiding which has taken a turn to digital and visual
communication. To make it in a simpler way, HR managers engaging efforts to make effective
performance:
Flexible work hours: Many companies has regulate the working criteria as per employee
convenience and comfort zone. In order to this they has provided them with work from home
opportunities to those employees who are not localities. On the other hand, those employees who
are taking efforts and pride to work even at the situation of crises and not obliged to work by
coming office, in that case, organisation should show their courage towards their well being by
setting flexible working hours, through which employees need not to come to office when it
operates and they could chose their time as per their suitability. Managers also could not
pressurize the employees to work more in less time. Rather than that, hey have to appreciate their
efforts for what they have done. Nestle has provided these facilities through which the
employees are free to come and go as per their convenience (Di Martino, Scott, and Popp, 2017)
. Also they have provided digital support through effective software and generated effective
policies to maintain coordination among the team and managers.
Shifting roles: At the situation of lock down, managers and employees has to made
changes in their roles and responsibility which has enable them to take the tasks in which they
has not any expertise or experience. Various employees has willingly left the organisation , so
that their responsibility has shift to other employees. By which, employees facing difficulties and

lack of proper knowledge without getting nay training. In order to solve these crises, HR
managers has play an important role by giving online training sessions and video lectures to the
employees and targeting them with basic work by giving proper time space to learn and adopt
new things. In context with Hilton, the organisation and shift their roles with its other outlets
and gave them an opportunity to learn new criteria in the reflection of proper health and medical
facilities.
Improved communication roles: It is fact that, mangers were keen to check on performance
and employees feedback regarding their workforce abilities. Due to work form other paces,
managers had make their roles n taking feedback more than past times, in order to remain
employees motivated and effective in their work. They usually set meeting in the office premises
for training or giving effective working session, they have continue these practices in the form of
online conferencing and meetings which helps them to maintain employees up to date about any
changes into policies and objectives of company. Tesco organisation has seen enormous growth
into the organisation by maintaining employee engagement and hiring temporary workforce to
set their digital operation which provide online shopping assistance to the customers. They have
regulate employee health check up and medical facilities also (Turturean, 2017).
New policies: Many organisations has changed their policies in regard to taking new challenges
at positive ways and made several amendments into their working strategies so that no
management would suffer with and crises and every work will flow with smooth procedure. By
making new policies management could face new difficulties and aspects, but it will be resolve
by joining together efforts and supporting each other. Many organisation like Vodafone has setup
online policies to work from home and by ensuring all the safety measures and reliable
contribution towards their welfare (Dugdale, Negre, and Turoff, 2019).
CONCLUSION
The report has concluded the fact that in uncertainties and crises over the organisation,
the people needs to be managed and employees would be settled as per their requirement and
needs to the situation aspect. The report has well concluded the difficulties and consequences
mangers has faced due to corona pandemic, which has changes the overall operation and lookout
of various organisations, so that organisation is in need to adopt new policies and objectives in
order to target their customers as per the situation of the country.

REFRENCES
Books and Journal:
Di Martino, P., Scott, P. and Popp, A., 2017. Editors’ Introduction: Economic History ‘As if
People Mattered,’. People, Places, and Business Cultures: Essays in Honour of
Francesca Carnevali.
Dugdale, J., Negre, E. and Turoff, M., 2019, January. Introduction to the Minitrack on ICT and
Artificial Intelligence for Crisis and Emergency Management. In Proceedings of the
52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
Harris, E., 2017. Introduction to performance management and control. The Routledge
Companion to Performance Management and Control, pp.1-9.
Keir, D., 2016. An Introduction to Risk Assessment and Risk Management.
LeBlanc, T.T., Kosmos, C. and Avchen, R. N., 2018. Public Health Emergencies: Unpacking
Medical Countermeasures Management for Preparedness and Response Introduction
and Contents of the Volume.
McSweeney, F., Smith, K. and Williams, D., 2016. Introduction: Reflections on the provision,
organisation and management of social care in Ireland. Administration, 64(2), pp.1-6.
Murphy, J., 2020. Introduction: Why It Matters. In Management and War (pp. 1-7). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Pachura, P., 2016. Management and space–introduction to conceptualization. Przegląd
Organizacji, 1(2016), pp.59-63.
Turturean, M. A., 2017. Theory of Human Resources Management-A Short
Introduction. Available at SSRN 3139518.
Vitale, M., 2019. Introduction to the Art of Stage Management: A Practical Guide to Working in
the Theatre and Beyond. Bloomsbury Publishing.