Canadian HR Reporter

30 www.hrreporter.com F E A T U R E S "Silence is not the way to respond whenever one is feeling uncertain." Doron Melnick, KPMG in Canada truly emerged as a critical business partner during the pandemic, says Doron Melnick, partner and national lead for people and change, KPMG in Canada. They demonstrated their value to the C-suite in providing stra- tegic guidance not only to facilitate the sudden mass exodus to remote working but also to manoeuvre through the ongoing uncertainty, while balancing operational impera- tives, he says. A year before the pandemic in 2019, three in five global CEOs and executive vice presidents surveyed by KPMG International considered HR as merely an "administrator" rather than a value driver. While many surprisingly still held that view in a COVID-19 pulse survey conducted last summer, the findings clearly revealed that organizations ― defined by KPMG as "pathfinders" ― see HR as a highly valued partner. "The reason pathfinders adapted more effectively to the crisis is because of the central role HR played," says Melnick. "HR made it possible for them to pivot quickly with fewer layoffs. These organizations recog- nize that it is HR that drives systemic change, engages the workforce and creates positive employee experi- ences. They have higher levels of employee trust and morale, a more positive outlook for the future and are more likely to be planning their recovery from the pandemic." Communication takes on 'whole new meaning' There's no question that communica- tion is key in driving purpose and uniting employees. But, in a crisis such as the pandemic, that's created unprecedented levels of anxiety, stress and uncertainty, and commu- nication takes on a whole new meaning, says Melnick. People wanted to make sense of what was happening, he says. They were craving transparency, guid- ance and advice. The best practice is for HR to work hand in hand with corporate communications to create messaging and provide guidance to all levels of management as to how they should respond or deal with any situ- ation that should arise. "While communicating with staff is important, communicating with lead- ership across an organization is equally as critical. Managers leading teams need to understand how to be empa- thetic and authentic, while aligning to agreed-upon key messages," says Melnick. Trust and confidence have never mattered more, he says. The lines of communication really need to be strong and clear and words ― both written and spoken ― must be authentic and empathic. "Silence is not the way to respond whenever one is feeling uncertain," says Melnick. People also want to be in the know immediately. This is where technology helps both HR and a remote work- force. KPMG prototyped a mobile app, called the Workplace Safeguarding App, developed by a management consulting team to help organizations create connected experiences with employees HR 'highly valued partner' in recovery and promote health and safety as they manage their safe return to the work- place. KPMG implemented the app "several months ago for our own people, and now it's live," he says. "It's gone very, very smoothly and I'm proud of that result." Community grows in importance KPMG's annual CEO survey also found that corporate purpose and community impact are very hot topics, says Melnick. Seventy-one per cent of Canadian CEOs said the public is looking to them to play a greater role in addressing societal challenges and more than three-quarters said they have a personal responsibility to be a leader for change on these issues, the KPMG survey found. But, barely half felt their corporate "purpose" provided a strong frame- work for decision-making during the pandemic, with more than three-quarters of them admitting that the COVID-19 crisis has required them to re-evaluate purpose to meet stakeholder needs. "Executives feel more emotionally connected with their organization's mission and their workforce more than ever before and that trend has been picking up steam for a while," he says. CHRR HR S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

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