Career
A year has passed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. 7 billion people have faced unforeseen difficulties including stress, isolation, and financial instability. At the beginning of 2020, humanity did not know the extent of the quarantine measures and how soon scientists would find a way to fight the virus.
Companies responded quickly to lockdowns by developing new ways to conduct interviews and organize daily work. At AsstrA, the home-office option had been available before the pandemic. Even so, the massive transition to remote work visibly changed workflows and prompted new, innovative personnel management solutions. The HR Department paid close attention to HR management, internal communication, and providing feedback and support in this new reality. According to Yana Razhnovskaya, HR Manager at AsstrA, coronavirus restrictions led the HR team to find ways to support the company’s employees as they experienced the unforeseen changes caused by the global situation.
Yana Razhnovskaya
"Over the past 12 months, our main priority has been to constantly monitor the situation in the real and remote office. All managers monitored and studied changes in how their teams were working and paid particular attention to keeping spirits high. Instead of in-person communication, we relied on digital channels like Zoom, Team Viewer, HCL Sametime, Skype and other instant messengers. To make remote work more enjoyable, we ran many thematic surveys, online meetings, and trainings aimed at developing our people’s hard and soft skills. Being a reliable employer is a top priority for the company," says Yana Razhnovskaya.
Public health initiatives around the world continue to evolve. Due to the fluctuating conditions, companies are reevaluating priorities and transforming business processes to meet market demands. For example, according to the results of a Gartner study, 75% of companies are ready to leave some of their staff in remote work mode after quarantine.
“Each member of the AsstrA team will have access to the company’s office on a case-by-case basis. A number of factors will be taken into account including the local epidemiological situation, personal health, and how comfortable their home working environment is. Individual psychology is also an important factor, as someone accustomed to working in one place may experience burnout by working in another,” adds Yana Razhnovskaya.
“As a rule, on any team there will be members who welcome changes and adjust to them quickly. Others adjust more slowly and methodically. From the point of view of personnel management, both approaches are normal. Therefore, for the last 6 months the HR team has been introducing a new program to help each team member transition to remote work in a way that’s right for him or her," concludes Yana Razhnovskaya