Encountering COVID-19: Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices in a Pandemic Crisis

Abstract

Scholars highlight the lack of preparations for unexpected shocks of employment and human resources all over the world, while stressing its possible adverse impacts on work organizations, employees and the economy. Given the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic threat and the dearth of clear findings on how human resource (HR) departments and the HR professionals should encounter a global pandemic, present study aims to examine and inform the basic HR practices to be adopted in a pandemic and prospects for HR professionals in handling such situations. Aim of the study is achieved by reviewing past research findings and relevant information which are available on wider media. Findings suggest a typology of HR practices identified with ‘6Cs’ for the successful handling of human resources in organizations in a pandemic. Further, the study finds a cluster of post-pandemic HR practices to be used, mostly for the service sector organizations, when attempting human resources recovery.