AUGUST 2021HR TECH OUTLOOK9Nimble, Go-Forward Plan: Embracing our "Nimble" value has never been so important; however, it was also paramount that a solid plan was developed quickly, knowing it would be adjusted along the way. In a world where so much was and still is beyond our control, it was important for us to narrow in on what we could influence and how we could mitigate risk to help calm the chaos inherent in this epidemic environment. This required us to proactively anticipate barriers and consider means to listen to employees and identify resistance in order to ensure adoption of our new plan and practices. Most urgent for our organization was the ability to maintain our commitments to our customers--to produce and deliver LNG as contracted--knowing our employees have a huge desire to stay mission-driven. As such, a plan was quickly landed in which essential workers at our site locations were provided onsite healthcare, lodging, food, and other necessities needed for them to safely report to work on a shift schedule. <<Metrics and Incentives: Once a nimble, go-forward plan was firmed up, it was critical that metrics were in place to ensure success, including change metrics to determine how many employees were participating, how quickly, and how well change was adopted. Having that clarity galvanized our employees behind specific goals that were necessary to our business success, helped them remain focused and objective in a world where so much is unknown. And once those goals were achieved, we rewarded handsomely--even for the things that are expected, because within each accomplishment, new skills, strengths, technologies and capabilities were being born on both employee and organizational levels. News ways of working were stressful, and by measuring and rewarding adoption and adaptation, sustainability of the changes is much greater. One fine example was the pivot from virtual to work at site/office for essential workers requiring physical presence. During a pandemic, challenges for families and safety risks were pervasive--monetary rewards for employees taking these risks to ensure business continuity served well for both employees and their families to know how much their effort were appreciated.Encourage Innovation and Problem Solving: Sometimes it's the most urgent situations that inspire innovation and people tend to support what they help create. Because of the radical changes required in all aspects of business, work, and family, we invited our employees to be part of the solutions and provide feedback every step of the way. One example that still exists today is a small group of working mothers with children at home for school virtually--this idea of a "sharing group" has resulted in expression of creative ideas for how to strike a balance between work/life, how to maintain one's own health (mentally and physically), and for keeping children busy in a COVID environment. We have also realized the importance of continually re-evaluating what is working and not--mistakes have and will be made as we struggle to make changes quickly and we acknowledge, learn, course-correct, and move on.Change Champions: More than anything, COVID has taught us that change champions are the backbone to organizations in crisis. Resilient leadership, intertwined with empathy and optimism, served to generate an energy and inspiration that truly instilled even greater pride in our organization. As we delivered positive quarterly results and cargoes of LNG to customers as promised, our leaders were there to encourage, support, reassure, and reassert teamwork and collaboration in in the face of incomprehensible situation. Being active and visible, while role modeling and remaining committed to mission, vision and values, every step along the way were the driving behaviors of our BST leadership, made obvious to our employees via videos from our CEO and BST leads.Perhaps more than any time in our careers in Human Resources, the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed business, and possibly changed our lives forever. The pandemic came upon us quickly, with no real roadmap for switchbacks of change necessary to maintain business operations. In addition, the change needed to happen quickly, as business continuity and the lives of people were at stake. Our HR lens helped us recognized that COVID presented change opportunity at the core and through application of these tactics of communication, nimbleness, planning, rewarding, innovating, and championing, we have been able to respond, are recovering, and will ultimately thrive again. Amber Rabo
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