• Home
  • Workforce Development

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT  1st Quarter Article, March 2021

Certainly, considering the COVID pandemic, there has not been a time in history that has been so unforgiving to the Human Resources profession and our own personal lives.  When we realize how the Human Resources Profession has profoundly led their businesses and organizations through this pandemic with stellar leadership and success, it bears witness to the accolades we all deserve.  To that end, we realized that “no person is an island”, and we needed and continue to need a large support mechanism to meet the needs of our organizations and, most importantly, the needs of the employees in which we serve.  As the Human Resources profession pivoted from the brick and mortar workforce, to a remote workforce, and back again, HR has been at the forefront in managing these evolving workforce paradigms.  

This newsletter will hopefully offer you an abundance of information you may want to turn to for assistance and guidance when dealing with the pandemic; the process of moving back into the workplace; and working through the emotion of change.  All of this information removes us from the “island” and focuses on the support we all can rely on during this pendulum of change. 

Below, please find a host of websites that you can turn to for information and support during this time of transition and a return to normalcy, or “new norm”: 

RI SHRM Website: 

Features:  Events, Legislative Affairs, Jobs, News and Other Information

RI SHRM COVID-19 Resource Center: 

Features:  Reopening RI, COVID-19 FAQs, COVID-19 Webinars, Return to Work Plans, MA and RI COVID-19 Resources for Multi-State Employers

RI SHRM Diversity: Features: Strategies for Inclusion in the Workplace, Best Practices for Non-Binary Inclusion, LGBTQ, Talking About Race, DEI Efforts

ATD Bay Colonies Website (Association for Talent Development): Features:  Events, About ATD, News and Resources, ChIP

Employers Association of the Northeast: Features:  Learning & Development, HR Solutions, Talent Management, Events

RI Dept of Labor and Training: Features:  Job Training, Regulations and Safety, Workers Comp, Labor and Regulations Information, UI/DI Insurance, Workers Assistance Programs, OSHA, Veterans Assistance, Paid Sick Leave

RI Dept of Labor and Training: Features:  Infectious Disease Control, Health & Wellness, Food/Water/Environmental Safety, Licensing, Healthy Living

SHRM: Features:  Certifications, HR Today, Resources, Learning, Events

RI Business Group on Health: Features:  Health Education, Networking, News/Information/Resources, Advocacy, Wellness/Health Program Design

RI Business Group on Health: COVID-19 Q&A, Grow My Business, Financing, Incentives for Businesses, Business Support, Advantages of RI for Your Business, Talent Development

COVID-19 Support in RI 

RI Dept of State  
COVID RI Government Support for Businesses 

Please note that there are many resources available to HR Professionals that support our work towards serving businesses and organizations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  Other opportunities for support may include your business’s attorney, your TPA (Benefits Third Party Administrator), your network of associates, and colleges and universities in your area.  The sites listed above are just some of the many that may be of interest and of benefit to your success.  

Good luck and thank you for your leadership to RI and MA Employees!

For more information on these and other topics, please feel free to contact the Workforce Development Committee at RI-SHRM at ri.shrm.workforce@gmail.com.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT  3rd Quarter Article, October 2020

As we get close to concluding one of the most contentious and unforgiving years in the modern era, now may be the time we Restore, Rebuild and Reconvene to assist our employees as they return to the brick and mortar workplace.  

The question is: what does the workforce look like as employees return from remote work to a workplace that they may not even find recognizable? It seems that an orientation to the “new normal” may be in order, focusing on the trauma of working from home with little privacy, to reimagining what the workday may look like and feel like to the employee returning from more than 6 months in home confinement in some instances.  As the Human Resources profession pivoted from the brick and mortar workforce to a remote workforce and back again, HR has been at the forefront in managing these evolving workforce paradigms.  

Now, as the reopening phases begin, employees may be coming back to the office, factory, retail store, and other locations in large numbers.  How can HR lead this transition back to the workplace in a manner in which employees feel welcomed, unafraid, nor concerned about family left at home without childcare or family care, and can focus on the workload placed in front of them?

Some items of interest that may be of assistance when bringing the workforce back to the brick and mortar workplace may include:

  1. Staggard return of the workforce – in regard to essential personnel or by department

  2. Orientation for people returning to the workplace – how have policies, protocol and processes changed in the workplace since coming back from remote work

  3. Lunch and Learn Trainings – focused on what the new norm in the workplace might look like, feel like

  4. Discussion/Coffee Hours with the Leadership Team – information flow from the leadership team to employees focusing on the concerns they may have that impact their work situation

  5. Wellness and EAP Programs – focused on dealing with the emotion of returning to the workplace, dealing with family life and refocusing on how to get the work completed in a “new normal” workplace

  6. COVID Safety Protocol Training – Attention given to what may be the redesign of the workplace, new social distancing protocol and hygiene and mask wearing requirements

  7. Building Community – creating special events that bring the workforce back together, not just to work together but to recreate a community in which the employees feel safe and comfortable working together and collaborating together.  This can be created by offering afternoon snack breaks, breakfast gatherings, after work social hours, and other events that create community and bring people together

HR leaders may have to remember that this is when the workplace comes together again as a face-to-face community.

Some other considerations to reflect upon when bringing employees back to the workplace:

  1.  Putting together a solid plan to help employees and those served by the organization (customers, clients and guests) feel safe, secure and welcoming at all times

  2. Understanding childcare, home schooling and family focused needs when bringing employees back from remote work

  3. Bringing employees back to work at the workplace, if they are not able to work remotely, instead of laying people off, so they may continue to work

  4. Following strict CDC (Center for Disease Control) and your state Health Department’s guidelines for bringing employees back to work at your place of business

  5. Developing a possible 4 phased approach to re-introducing employees back to the workplace over time:

Phase 1 – Developing safety and social distancing protocols – including training

Phase 2 – Bringing employees that cannot work remotely (from home) back to work – with safety and social distancing protocols in place

Phase 3 – Reintroducing employees to the place of business on a rotating bases – 2 to 3 days a week at the place of business, and 2 to 3 days working remotely – with safety and social distancing protocols in place

Phase 4 – Everyone is back to work at the place of business
NOTE:  Phase 5 – A resurgence of the pandemic requires everyone to work remotely again… have a plan in place to transition employees back to remote work if needed.


WORKFORCE TODAY - 2nd Quarter Article, May 2020

It has been several weeks now since COVID-19 changed our lives, towards our work, family, friends and community.  As Human Resources Professionals, we must be very proud at how our HR community responded to this pandemic, pivoting to serve our constituents so they may be successful during this time of remote work, remote education and specialized customer assistance. As we continue with remote work through part of the summer or longer, we have to remember that there is a time when we will come together again as a face-to-face community.

As you prepare your organization to come back to work in the coming months, either in a slow, deliberate process, or in a more timely manner, there are many considerations that need to be addressed.  Some of those considerations include putting together a solid plan to help employees and those served by the organization (customers, clients and guests) feel safe, secure and welcoming to all.  

Some elements to consider when developing a “Return to Work Plan” include:

  1. Incorporating constituents as part of the development of the plan, so employees have a voice (Department Representatives, Selected Employees, Union Reps, Building Reps, Members of the Emergency Ops Team, Outside Constituents – Board Members, etc)

  2. Understanding childcare, summer camps, home schooling and family focused needs when bringing employees back from remote work

  3. Keeping employees on remote work for a longer period of time, if that process is working to serve the organization’s mission and outcomes

  4. Bringing employees back to work at the place of business, if they are not able to work remotely, instead of laying people off, so they may continue to work (with safety protocols in place)

  5. Following strict CDC (Center for Disease Control) and your state’s Health Department’s guidelines for bringing employees back to work at your place of business

  6. Developing a possible 4 phased approach to re-introducing employees back to the workplace:

    1. Phase 1 – Developing safety and social distancing protocols – including training

    2. Phase 2 – Bringing employees that cannot work from home back to work – with safety and social distancing protocols in place

    3. Phase 3 – Reintroducing employees to the place of business on a rotating bases – 2 to 3 days a week at the place of business, and 2 to 3 days working remotely – with safety and social distancing protocols in place

    4. Phase 4 – Everyone is back to work at the place of business – pandemic subsided or a vaccine is developed

    5. NOTE:  Phase 5 – A resurgence of the pandemic requires everyone to work remotely again…have a plan in place to transition employees back to remote work if needed

Below are some resources that are very useful when developing a “Return to Work Plan”

  1. RI SHRM’s own Director of Legislative Affairs, Gregory Tumolo, Esq, developed an intensive COVID-19 Resource Center that offers a wide variety of information on COVID-19 and other important information - https://rishrm.wildapricot.org/COVID-19-Resource-Center

  2. Training Videos

    1. General Coronavirus Training (Precautions & Preventative Measures) (Length: 1 minute, 28 seconds): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EALUx3LwfRA 

    2. Help Prevent COVID-19 with Social Distancing (Length: 30 seconds): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkW72NwcOUg 

    3. How to Wear a Mask (Length: 1 minute, 20 seconds): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ZZkSTdbRs  

    4. How to Wash your Hands Properly (1 minute, 26 seconds): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezf2z9e_9lY

  3. Massachusetts Return to the Workplace Guide – May transverse to RI Return to Work

    1. https://my.aimnet.org/Product-Details?productid=%7bBAE113F4-5C99-EA11-8109-000D3A0DE1A1%7d&_cldee=bW9zdWxsaXZhbkBvbmVzb3V0aGNvYXN0LmNvbQ%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-bede9e82da83e91180fb000d3a0de1a1-b0e10968389743e5a8e2b16b343c862d&esid=7c4a9294-a698-ea11-8105-000d3a03faaf

  4. Rhode Island Return to Work Guide & Phase 1 Information

    1. https://health.ri.gov/covid/for/business/

    2. https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/reopening-rhode-island-phase-1-practical-guide-employers

    3. http://www.dlt.state.ri.us/pdfs/COVID-19%20Workplace%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

  5. Rhode Island Guide on COVID-19 Suspected Cases in the Workplace

    1. http://www.hr.ri.gov/documents/policies/COVID-19/FAQ%20COVID-19.pdf

  6. CDC Guidelines to Reopening Schools, Businesses and Transit Lines

    1. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/14/856483424/cdc-issues-decision-tools-to-guide-reopening-of-schools-businesses-transit

  7. Dealing with Zoom Fatigue

    1. https://news.northeastern.edu/2020/05/11/zoom-fatigue-is-real-heres-why-youre-feeling-it-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

  8. Office Life After COVID-19

    1. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dm7pk/youre-not-going-back-to-normal-office-life-for-a-long-long-time

For more information on these and other topics, please feel free to contact the Workforce Development Committee at RI-SHRM at ri.shrm.workforce@gmail.com 

WORKFORCE TODAY - 1st Quarter Article, Jan 2020

Scott Andrews, a member of the Workforce Development Committee for RI-SHRM, represented RI-SHRM at a recent meeting hosted by the Governor's Workforce Board at the Department of Labor and Training (DLT).  The purpose of the meeting was to allow employer groups to share what workforce development needs they have in order to source, attract, retain and train workers during organizational growth and development.  The information provided by the employers was to help form and direct the next initiatives of the DLT’s WIOA for the upcoming multi-plan year.  

With the understanding that attracting and retaining a strong skilled workforce continues to be important to businesses, the discussion mainly focused on two elements:  

    • Educating Rhode Island companies about WIOA:  It is the experience of the staff at the DLT and GWB that companies are not aware of the money available, nor the types of programs and services offered.  
    • Refining initiatives offered for the next plan cycle:  Workforce education, apprenticeship programs, pre and post corrections readiness programs

Companies shared the GWB that when a candidate is identified and hired, the new employees aren't showing up or aren't interested to be trained, which leads to companies favoring a plan for financial risk mitigation to train and up-skill workers.  Unfortunately, the general impression by the DLT and Governor's Workforce Board staff is that few companies know and understand that these WIOA programs exist and that programs and services can be bundled for efficiency and maximizing dollars.  For example, the work immersion program can be combined with a bonding program plus incumbent training.  Yet, even when a business leader is aware of the programs available, there is still a general sense that in order to delve into a program, there is a lot of paperwork, tracking and management to accompany the initiative.   As business leaders look to hire candidates utilizing WIOA funds, programs, and services, many companies do not see themselves as social service caseworkers to manage all of the programs / services that some candidates may need to navigate for employment.  In other words, while companies are open and willing to explore new avenues to attract, train and keep workers, the time allotted to managing these training and development programs and services may be too big a barrier for companies to take the first step.

  
At the conclusion of the meeting, the DLT staff and GWB staff acknowledged that they collectively have continued work to do to help educate employers about the programs and services available to help with workforce development.  As part of your planning for workforce development initiatives, RI-SHRM would like its members to consider contacting the Department of Labor and Training to gain awareness and help to implement programs and services beneficial to your organizations.  At any point in your planning and implementation phases, you may also reach out to the RI-SHRM Workforce Development Committee to get additional insight and guidance.  You may contact the Workforce Development Committee at RI-SHRM at
ri.shrm.workforce@gmail.com

Please feel free to click on the links below to find out more information on RI DLT Grants, Tax Credits, Training Programs and Eventbrite Job Fairs.

DLT Grants and Tax Credits

http://www.dlt.ri.gov/bwc/taxcredits.htm

Training Programs – Eligible Training Provider List from EmployRI

https://www.employri.org/vosnet/drills/program/ApprovedPrograms.aspx

Job Fairs

Eventbrite - https://www.eventbrite.com/d/ri--providence/career-fair/

Thank you.



RI Society for Human Resource Management
Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software