The second wave of the pandemic on the labor market. Employers react much more calmly than in the spring.
Over the past six months, companies have managed to develop procedures that have largely prepared them for the second wave of Covid. Employers, as well as employees themselves, approach the current situation with composure and do not make hasty decisions.
The situation on the labour market is much calmer than it was in the spring, when the coronavirus pandemic began. -First The wave of the pandemic has forced employers to make radical changes in the area of human resources management, work organization, and often also to remodel their business. The experience of the first wave of Covid, and thus the decisions made at that time, the effects of which continue to this day, prepared employers for the current situation. In March and April this year, enterprises had to react very quickly, often almost overnight. Today, with these experiences behind us, the business world operates with more peace of mind – analyzes Anita Obidowska, acting Regional Head of the Recruitment Department at LeasingTeam Professional.
Minimizing risk in companies. Calm and prudence dominate.
In the current situation, the most important thing is to be prudent and make well-thought-out decisions. The matter should be approached in a factual and procedural manner, adapting the organization of work to the new reality in such a way as to ensure maximum safety of employees and business continuity.
– In manufacturing companies that work in shifts, the staff is often divided into two teams that have no contact with each other. The development and implementation of procedures to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission – e.g. temperature checks, hand disinfection, wearing masks and gloves, and in the case of canteens, installing plexiglass boards and providing protective equipment – is the basis for maintaining smooth work today. Our clients emphasize that by using such tools and maintaining great self-discipline in their use, they are able to reduce the risk of Covid in their organization as much as possible – says Katarzyna Dąderewicz, Director of the North-West Region at LeasingTeam.
When it comes to office work, in March and April it seemed that it would be difficult to replace face-to-face meetings, meetings and brainstorming sessions with online meetings. However, it turned out that it is possible. Companies and their teams have efficiently implemented the new work organization, without compromising engagement and activity. Working from home has become a standard that allows employers to increase the security of their teams.
Best practices: white collar outsourcing and blue collar temporary work
The first wave of the pandemic has shown that there are few industries that can feel completely safe in terms of maintaining business continuity. In view of such an uncertain economic situation, it is understandable that companies are taking a precautionary approach to increasing the number of permanent staff. They are more likely to choose safer solutions that do not involve additional fixed costs – e.g. hiring in the temporary work model or outsourcing selected areas of the organization’s operation. Thus, they are preparing for possible negative changes in the market, another halt of the economy and the losses that may result from it. If the scenario turns out to be optimistic, the company can quickly take over the recruited and trained external employees, growing its internal team.
– There are also inquiries about solutions that have not been popular so far, such as keeping a group of employees on the so-called stand-by – i.e. on stand-by, in case of covid in the plant and the need to quickly replace the missing staff by external contractors. In a situation where it is necessary to introduce quarantine, this may apply even to significant teams – 20 or 30 people. In the case of simple, uncomplicated work that does not require time-consuming training, such a solution can be successfully used. Of course, this involves additional costs, but at the same time it provides protection in the event of the entire department being shut down or changing – points out Marta Pilipowicz, Director of the South Region at LeasingTeam.
A new approach to recruitment processes
Companies are very prudent in making decisions about new recruitments, but we cannot talk about duplicating the scenario from the turn of the 1st and 2nd quarter of this year, i.e. categorically blocking or even reducing the number of jobs. On the contrary – some companies that made radical decisions to reduce employment in March and April are now reviving and need to replenish their human resources.
– Although a large number of workers were released into the labour market in the initial phase of the pandemic, the problem of labour shortages returned just a few months after the economy was unfrozen, especially in the face of a significant reduction in the number of workers from Ukraine. In the case of specialist positions that are difficult to fill, companies are much more likely to recruit for the company’s internal structures despite the pandemic. The situation is different with entry-level positions – there, the openness of companies to flexible forms of employment, including temporary work, has definitely increased – says Katarzyna Dąderewicz.
All these trends show the prudence and maturity of Polish entrepreneurs, which allows us to hope that the second wave of the pandemic will not be as difficult for the labor market as the first.
Doświadczony analityk rynku pracy, specjalizuje się w badaniach nad trendami zatrudnienia i zmianami w strukturze zawodowej. Jego artykuły, publikowane w renomowanych czasopismach branżowych, pomagają czytelnikom zrozumieć dynamikę rynku pracy.
