How Can HR Departments Maintain Employee Satisfaction Following the COVID-19 Crisis?

Since the 1^st of February, we have seen the 2021 Salary Survey Report from Alexander Daniels Global snapped up by organisations in the AM industry eager to gain an insightful overview on the industry from a HR perspective. Those who have already downloaded it will know that the report covers topics from willingness to change jobs, to employee satisfaction, to attitudes towards work – something we have all had to make an adjustment to since last year.

The report’s findings show that the vast majority of AM professionals are either satisfied or otherwise indifferent towards how their employer has handled the COVID-19 crisis, which we can all agree is a positive sign that many AM organisations have taken the necessary steps to make their employees feel safe and engaged during this challenging period.

However, in contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic has also caused an increase in willingness to change jobs for 32% of the respondents. This can be explained by many factors ranging from dissatisfaction with treatment by employers during the crisis, to broken down barriers thanks to remote work, which no longer limit relevant job opportunities to geographical location.

So, as some doors were closed within the industry following the pandemic, other doors were opened. But what did HR departments do to accommodate employees to changing conditions that came with restricting workplaces during COVID?

The pandemic and governmental restrictions saw many organisations transition to remote working, which for the AM industry, reliant on manufacturing processes, would have been a tough challenge. Yet, for those employees who require access to on-site machinery to perform their jobs, we saw some AM organisations respond by providing desktop 3D Printers for those who needed them most, also witnessing other creative solutions that allowed AM professionals to continue their work to the best possible standard, given the circumstances. AD Global’s 2021 Salary Survey report outlines some of the most common enablers of remote work, that AM organisations have put in place in the past year.

It must be recognised that COVID-19 has put a significant strain on human resource management, who have had to operate in what are, for many, unchartered territories, such as remote working, interim hiring, managing recruitment processes with travel restrictions in place and restructuring. According to AM organisations, the following are the top HR challenges faced due to COVID-19:

• Maintaining employee morale
• Dealing with layoffs
• Implementing new policies rapidly
• Managing remote work
• Change management
• Restructuring
• Having to hire digitally
• Outplacement

If you would like advice on how to deal with any of the HR issues listed in this article, you can download AD Global’s FREE HR GUIDE that addresses these, plus more, HR issues with advice on how to handle them. Follow this link: www.alexanderdanielsglobal.com/for-employers/hr-guide/

To gain a more in-depth insight into the satisfaction of AM professionals or how AM organisations in the industry, and their HR departments, have tackled the global pandemic, you can download AD Global’s 2021 Salary Survey by following this link here: https://www.alexanderdanielsglobal.com/salary-survey-2021/

Should you wish to get in contact to discuss any of the points mentioned in this article or throughout the 2021 Salary Survey, do not hesitate to reach out:

Nick Pearce
Founder and CEO
[email protected]
+44 7815 184 523

Jennifer Killingback
Director North America
[email protected]
+1 313 800 0113