3 Ways How HR Apps Are Redefining COVID-19 Compensation Packages

Employee compensation is one of the most important things that can help you hire and keep quality employees, especially at this time when companies are trying to keep the best of the best while trimming personnel numbers. When giving out compensation, businesses have to take into consideration wages, salaries, bonuses, and commission structures, which could give them an edge in the current precarious business environment.

These new packages are designed not just to give back monetarily to their employees, but also take into consideration the biggest worries that the pandemic is bringing into their daily lives, namely, their health and safety. Employees also need to feel that their companies care enough about them or might feel more depressed than ever.

What employees are looking for

Many companies have shifted their compensation focus to address these concerns. Here are three ideas that can help you shape your compensation packages better:

1.Bonus and hazard pay

In normal circumstances, lower pay and salaries can make top talent leave the company, but companies like Fracture have reduced their employees’ pay and are still able to retain top talent. The company has doled out bonuses and hazard pay while asking employees to understand the changes that are coming because of the effect the pandemic has on their business. It has emphasized that these bonuses are given according to past performances, which incentivizes employees to continue doing better.

2.Improvement of work-life balance

Now, more than ever, employees are trying to find ways to give some sense of normalcy to their work-life balance. This is one of the things that Heidrick & Struggles are trying to help companies adapt to. Companies have to include more flexibility and introduce agile strategies to their employee compensation packages to help give their workforce a sense of control and normalcy that they desperately need during this crisis. This sense of normalcy lessens the anxiety that can hamper an employee’s productivity and motivation.

3.Expanding health plans to include testing

As with anything, there are companies that fail to address the elephant in the room. In this case, the biggest concern of employees: have they contracted COVID or not? Because of this, the U.S. government has included in their CARES Act coronavirus testing in group health plans without cost-sharing. This means that companies will have to plan for this benefit by looking closely at the “special calculation for determining the rate paid to out-of-network providers for coronavirus testing” provision. This is something that management has to work with their HR and Finances. The test does give employees the assurance regarding their safety as they continue to work, whether at home or at the office.

All the changes that companies have to make now and quickly are complicated but highly doable with the help of HR technologies. Let us take a look at a few examples.

HRTech and comp packages

1.A consolidated HR platform. Compensation and benefits have become much more important to employees now at a time of uncertainty. The ones who are retained in the company will see it as their lifeline especially when many of their colleagues are being laid off. But given the speed with which the workforce is either being retrenched, given reduced work hours, or made to work at home, an HR Manager would be hard-pressed to keep up with all the changes. A consolidated HR platform, designed to give everyone access in real-time to their compensation and benefits, is an answer. 

As HR Executive puts it, Unilever launched one during COVID-19 to give its personnel and their managers a comprehensive view of the kind of compensation and benefits they were getting. Perks were also accounted for. The platform also consolidates pensions, bonuses, salaries, and shares, and then correlates them with reduced working hours or pay cuts should the declining economy make it difficult for the company to meet its regular payroll. The transparency that this HRTech gives its employees at least gives them clarity of mind when it comes to their earnings and answers any questions that they might have, on real time.

2.Digital devices for work-life balance. It might sound like an oxymoron, but digital tools, which have been criticized for adding 24/7 work stress to the employee, can reverse the trend and allow them to craft their much-needed work-life balance. As HR Executive describes it, this online approach becomes unavoidable especially as more and more people are working at home. 

With the help of an app, for example, HR can plot out on one real-time digital platform the flexible work schedules of the different teams of a company. Individuals can be given the choice of their preferred work schedules; new graduate John might want the full 9 to 5 stint while working mother Anne would go for an afternoon schedule. Break times, virtual vacation times, and “do-not-disturb” notifications can also be built into the program.

These same apps can also prevent remote employees from burning out. HR Managers can install a list of fun activities that they can do to alleviate stress on an individual or collective basis. Thirty-minute exercise sessions that can be squeezed into a working day are one example. Others are virtual parties, online challenges, or just videoconferences where the employees talk about personal stuff instead of professional matters.

3.Coronavirus testing and tracking. The jury is still out on this one, but HR managers would do well to keep an eye on developments that are happening in the U.S. and Europe by now. As reported by Healthcare in Europe, the Medical College of Georgia is building an app that allows at-home risk assessment. Individuals who suspect they might be positive can check their symptoms through it; if the risks are high, the app will also allow them to trace their movements for the past weeks, the locations they visited, and even the people they interacted with. Not surprisingly, tech giants like Apple and Google are putting their best minds to work on a similar contact tracing app to be installed on smartphones.

One obstacle that can slow them down is data privacy issues. In the meantime, the HR Manager can resort to apps that keep track of their employees’ current health, flag down any possible coronavirus symptoms, and help them book a trip to the nearest health center or telemedicine consult if needed. In the unfortunate instance of positive confirmation, the HR Manager would have to do a lot of virtual encouragement and handholding — and there is no app yet that can replace them in that regard.

Employing these technologies has made it possible for companies and their employees to work differently. Sure enough, many companies have realized that they are able to handle the differences in the way they operate.