A New World of HR Implications
For HR managers, as for everyone else, the world has changed dramatically since September 11th. Strategic thinking has taken on a new urgency as we try to prepare for what lies ahead. Below are some ways in which the HR environment may be transformed as a result of the attacks.
SHIFTS IN WORK ATTITUDES – A new survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and eePulse finds that 66% of 5,673 responding HR professionals said that employees would be more caring toward one another as a result of the terrorist attacks. Over half (56%) said there'd be more security provisions in place, and 52% felt that workers wouldn't consider business travel as glamorous. Yet, such internal attitude shifts are just the beginning of change. External trends will have at least as much impact on the future of HR.
A FOCUS ON HEALTHCARE SECURITY – Suddenly, the U.S. is seriously questioning whether its healthcare system is prepared to cope with chemical or biological terrorist attacks. Just two months ago, Jerome M. Hauer, former head of emergency management for New York City, said that the nation is "woefully unprepared to deal with bioterrorism." This year, federal and private officials conducted an exercise called "Dark Winter" to act out how the nation would cope with a smallpox outbreak. The exercise ended in disaster, with the spreading disease overwhelming attempts at containment. Because employers are so intricately involved in the U.S. healthcare system, they may well need to play a major role in disaster planning and communication. Moreover, the added cost of preparing for such an attack could raise the per-capita cost of medical care in the U.S.
RESTRICTIONS OF SOME TYPES OF IMMIGRATION – In the late 1990s, there was increased openness toward foreign visitors and workers considered vital to the U.S. economy. In the aftermath of the attacks, heightened security may slow down the immigration process, meaning fewer visas for the millions who want to come to the U.S. to study, work or visit. Checkpoints along the U.S.-Canadian border will almost certainly be tightened. The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reports, "Not only are the immigration and asylum laws of Canada far more lenient than U.S. policies, but Canada admits that its immigration documents and passports are easily counterfeited." Even once they enter the U.S., immigrants are likely to be more closely monitored. When the economy grows at a faster pace, immigration restrictions could make it more difficult to hire workers from abroad, intensifying skills shortages in the future. Moreover, the government might put a greater onus on companies to keep track of immigrants on work visas.
A GREATER EMPHASIS ON DECENTRALIZATION AND TELEWORK – There are at least two major drivers of this trend. The most obvious, though perhaps short-term, is the surge in video and audio conferences in light of travel fears and cuts in travel budgets. France's Genesys, the world's leading teleconferencing company, has seen a surge of around 40% in demand for its services since the attacks. The second, and probably more long-term driver, is that a growing number of companies will avoid the risk of having too many of their operations in a single place in light of the attacks. Some operations will implement more work-at-home or mobile work schemes because these stand the best chance of getting employees back to work as safely and quickly as possible. "Those enterprises that have moved to virtual teaming as a primary work format will be ideally positioned, via remote access, to move quickly in the event of a disastrous interruption to operations," claims Gartner, Inc., a business research and advisory firm.
MORE RESOURCES GOING TO BACKGROUND CHECKS AND OTHER SECURITY MATTERS – There's been a large jump in requests for background checks in the U.S. For example, inquiries at security firm Pre-Employ.com have increased 67% over the same time period last year. This rise is driven not only by a raised sensitivity to security issues among employers and customers, but by insurance companies that increasingly demand such checks. However, employers must be careful about balancing security issues with individual privacy rights. "There is going to be a lot of hard thought about that as we go forward," says Henry Nocella, a consultant who headed Best Foods corporate security for 15 years.
Privacy concerns may go well beyond background checks. Today's white-collar workers are increasingly mobile and uninhibited by punch clocks. This is one of the reasons it was so hard to find out who was in harm's way when the attack on the World Trade Center occurred. This problem may prompt more employers to monitor workers' whereabouts more closely. Old-fashioned printed rosters are just not good enough, often being out-of-date and lost in an emergency. Some companies require employees to swipe personal identification cards through a scanner so they know who's in the building, but these systems don't necessarily track who has left the building. That's one reason that some companies have sensors that wirelessly track the ID tags worn by employees as they come and go. Yet, for the security-conscious, even this system may not go far enough, since badges can be lost or stolen. Some companies are using scanners that look at physical characteristics unique to individuals, such as fingerprints, retinas or face shapes. Increasingly, companies will be trying hard to find the right balance of personal privacy, security, safety and convenience.
====================================================
For more on the SHRM/eePulse poll "HR Implications of the Attack on America," see
http://www.i4cp.com/VP2l9H
and http://www.i4cp.com/Oh6JNB
For more information on the findings from the Dark Winter bioterrorism exercise, see
http://www.i4cp.com/JnTdWd
http://www.i4cp.com/gCBi5r
http://www.i4cp.com/vFb9Is
The UN is urging the world to prepare for bioterrorism; see
http://www.i4cp.com/deKSYS
HRnext's "HR Crisis Center" is at
http://www.i4cp.com/dcw8N2
For more information on dealing with crises, see
http://www.i4cp.com/zRyqlT
For more on disaster recovery and planning, see
http://www.i4cp.com/ZZ9Cy8
For an article on a CEO's thoughts on grieving, see
http://www.i4cp.com/LuOt8a
SHIFTS IN WORK ATTITUDES – A new survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and eePulse finds that 66% of 5,673 responding HR professionals said that employees would be more caring toward one another as a result of the terrorist attacks. Over half (56%) said there'd be more security provisions in place, and 52% felt that workers wouldn't consider business travel as glamorous. Yet, such internal attitude shifts are just the beginning of change. External trends will have at least as much impact on the future of HR.
A FOCUS ON HEALTHCARE SECURITY – Suddenly, the U.S. is seriously questioning whether its healthcare system is prepared to cope with chemical or biological terrorist attacks. Just two months ago, Jerome M. Hauer, former head of emergency management for New York City, said that the nation is "woefully unprepared to deal with bioterrorism." This year, federal and private officials conducted an exercise called "Dark Winter" to act out how the nation would cope with a smallpox outbreak. The exercise ended in disaster, with the spreading disease overwhelming attempts at containment. Because employers are so intricately involved in the U.S. healthcare system, they may well need to play a major role in disaster planning and communication. Moreover, the added cost of preparing for such an attack could raise the per-capita cost of medical care in the U.S.
RESTRICTIONS OF SOME TYPES OF IMMIGRATION – In the late 1990s, there was increased openness toward foreign visitors and workers considered vital to the U.S. economy. In the aftermath of the attacks, heightened security may slow down the immigration process, meaning fewer visas for the millions who want to come to the U.S. to study, work or visit. Checkpoints along the U.S.-Canadian border will almost certainly be tightened. The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reports, "Not only are the immigration and asylum laws of Canada far more lenient than U.S. policies, but Canada admits that its immigration documents and passports are easily counterfeited." Even once they enter the U.S., immigrants are likely to be more closely monitored. When the economy grows at a faster pace, immigration restrictions could make it more difficult to hire workers from abroad, intensifying skills shortages in the future. Moreover, the government might put a greater onus on companies to keep track of immigrants on work visas.
A GREATER EMPHASIS ON DECENTRALIZATION AND TELEWORK – There are at least two major drivers of this trend. The most obvious, though perhaps short-term, is the surge in video and audio conferences in light of travel fears and cuts in travel budgets. France's Genesys, the world's leading teleconferencing company, has seen a surge of around 40% in demand for its services since the attacks. The second, and probably more long-term driver, is that a growing number of companies will avoid the risk of having too many of their operations in a single place in light of the attacks. Some operations will implement more work-at-home or mobile work schemes because these stand the best chance of getting employees back to work as safely and quickly as possible. "Those enterprises that have moved to virtual teaming as a primary work format will be ideally positioned, via remote access, to move quickly in the event of a disastrous interruption to operations," claims Gartner, Inc., a business research and advisory firm.
MORE RESOURCES GOING TO BACKGROUND CHECKS AND OTHER SECURITY MATTERS – There's been a large jump in requests for background checks in the U.S. For example, inquiries at security firm Pre-Employ.com have increased 67% over the same time period last year. This rise is driven not only by a raised sensitivity to security issues among employers and customers, but by insurance companies that increasingly demand such checks. However, employers must be careful about balancing security issues with individual privacy rights. "There is going to be a lot of hard thought about that as we go forward," says Henry Nocella, a consultant who headed Best Foods corporate security for 15 years.
Privacy concerns may go well beyond background checks. Today's white-collar workers are increasingly mobile and uninhibited by punch clocks. This is one of the reasons it was so hard to find out who was in harm's way when the attack on the World Trade Center occurred. This problem may prompt more employers to monitor workers' whereabouts more closely. Old-fashioned printed rosters are just not good enough, often being out-of-date and lost in an emergency. Some companies require employees to swipe personal identification cards through a scanner so they know who's in the building, but these systems don't necessarily track who has left the building. That's one reason that some companies have sensors that wirelessly track the ID tags worn by employees as they come and go. Yet, for the security-conscious, even this system may not go far enough, since badges can be lost or stolen. Some companies are using scanners that look at physical characteristics unique to individuals, such as fingerprints, retinas or face shapes. Increasingly, companies will be trying hard to find the right balance of personal privacy, security, safety and convenience.
====================================================
For more on the SHRM/eePulse poll "HR Implications of the Attack on America," see
http://www.i4cp.com/VP2l9H
and http://www.i4cp.com/Oh6JNB
For more information on the findings from the Dark Winter bioterrorism exercise, see
http://www.i4cp.com/JnTdWd
http://www.i4cp.com/gCBi5r
http://www.i4cp.com/vFb9Is
The UN is urging the world to prepare for bioterrorism; see
http://www.i4cp.com/deKSYS
HRnext's "HR Crisis Center" is at
http://www.i4cp.com/dcw8N2
For more information on dealing with crises, see
http://www.i4cp.com/zRyqlT
For more on disaster recovery and planning, see
http://www.i4cp.com/ZZ9Cy8
For an article on a CEO's thoughts on grieving, see
http://www.i4cp.com/LuOt8a