HP Innovation Journal Issue 15: Summer 2020 | Page 10

THE OUTLOOK: HR LESSONS
HR Lessons during
a Global Pandemic
Much like the rest of the knowledge workforce, Tracy Keogh,
HP’s Chief Human Resources Officer, has been working
from home, missing her colleagues, and discovering that
she is rather a good cook. But unlike most people, she’s
responsible for figuring out how to best support a transnational
corporation’s remote global workforce and, when it’s time
to reopen, how to ease them back into the office safely.
1 / How has returning to the office in China
informed the process for other HP offices?
Our primary goal is to continue keeping
employees and their loved ones healthy
and safe. Reopening in China has taught
us to stagger teams, enable physical distancing,
and provide safety equipment for
our employees. As we consider reopening
a site, we conduct a risk analysis, looking
for reduced local infection rates, relaxed
government policies, and the availability of
safe public transportation. If we can have
some employees safely reenter a site, we
begin inviting them back and preparing
the site for their return. We also prioritize
those who need to be on-site based on their
roles, considering elements such as the level
of collaboration required to do their jobs
(e.g., R & D) and the tools or equipment they
require, such as in manufacturing.
2 / What jobs and activities were you surprised
to find HP employees can do remotely?
We have employees doing everything from
customer support to new product development
to processing online payments from
home. Recent virtual events have lowered
perceived barriers to interacting with
leaders and are generating a high level of
engagement. We used to travel with our
CEO, Enrique Lores, to host on-site meetings,
but not everyone could join in person.
Virtual events are allowing us to reach
employees faster, and speed is everything
during a pandemic. Employees can easily
ask questions, so we get to see what’s on
their minds. To date, we’ve completed
18 “Connect with Enrique” webcasts, and
the average approval rate is 95%. Our leaders
are still connecting with employees in a
meaningful way via videoconferencing.
3 / What are some new programs you
implemented that you would recommend
to other companies?
Early on, we had to quickly determine what
employees and their families needed so
they could stay healthy, feel productive, and
keep their spirits up. In response, we created
the HP Spirit calendar, which offered
helpful resources and webinars such as
virtual office hours with our in-house
medical doctor, online fitness classes,
cooking demonstrations, homeschooling
sessions, a global dance party with a professional
DJ, and much more. One of my
favorites is virtual volunteering, so HP
employees can keep contributing to their
communities. Most recently, we launched a
virtual development experience called HP
PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER YANG; ILLUSTRATION BY JON HAN
INNOVATION/ SUMMER 2020
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