Military conflict in Ukraine. 7 Tips: How to Save Business and Employees

Having not yet recovered from the pandemic, Ukraine’s economy is experiencing new shocks. The reason is the threat of military conflict. The active working population seeks to wait out the danger abroad, away from the conflict zone. The business has been experiencing an acute shortage of employees for a long time.

What should a business do in such unfavorable circumstances? As a recruiting agency, let’s highlight two key tasks that should be implemented first: retain valuable personnel and hire new talent. Action plan:

• Don’t gloss over the problem

Your employees are aware of the threat of military conflict and the company’s response is important to them. Tell us how the company treats the situation and how it plans to work.

• Offer to relocate

If the structure of your company allows it to be implemented, offer those who wish to relocate: work from the other end of Ukraine (western regions) or abroad.

• Offer a remote work format

Instead of letting an employee go on vacation at your own expense, offer those who want to work remotely.

• Give work to talented specialists

Due to company policies and ill-considered management decisions, some talented professionals could quit and start looking for work. It is important for business to notice talent and offer a place in the company.

• Create a plan “B” in personnel policy

Assess possible risks and work out different options for the development of events. For example, who will lead the team if the manager is mobilized to the army. Who to replace employees in key positions.

• Take care of the salary fund

It should be taken into account that in wartime there may be an increase in taxes, confiscation of property and other unforeseen expenses. Create a financial reserve from which you will pay employees.

• Take care of the psychological health of employees

The situation in the country causes stress for many people. You should offer a corporate psychologist to work with stress, which will have a positive effect on the business in general. See here for more details on the specifics of the work of a corporate psychologist and its impact on business.

We wish us all a peaceful sky above our heads. We are sure that our advice will help to keep key employees and the stability of the company.

Support the team during the war. Case HedgeHog

Despite the full-scale war, the HedgeHog company did not stop its work. The role of HR managers has acquired a new meaning for us and our partners, customer companies. All of us have experienced emotions and states unknown to us before. In order to continue the work, the situation required quick and bold reactions and decisions. Let’s talk about how HedgeHog went this way and what solutions we found.

We remind you that we provide HR consulting services to some logistics companies, so our area of responsibility includes not only the HedgeHog team but also the teams of our clients.

The first thing that needed to be done was to assess the situation, determine priorities, and create at least some kind of action plan. In the first weeks of the war, the most important issue was security. For this, HR faced the task of building a personal relationship with each employee in order to understand his condition, the situation in which he and his family found themselves, his plans, and what kind of help he needed. At this stage, it was important to convey the company’s position in providing support and providing concrete assistance to its employees. To make sure that they are not alone with their problems during these difficult times.

We identified specific requests and tasks that the company was able to undertake:

• Created and sent parcels of care with a supply of food
• Provided help with the search for housing, both in Ukraine and abroad
• Organized financial support for those who moved
• Organized legal support for those who moved abroad
• Provided psychological support
• Helped with household items for those who moved
• Provided the opportunity to switch to other projects if the department was closed due to the war or temporarily stopped functioning
• Organized workplaces: sent computers, tables, chairs, etc.
• Provided support for employees who joined the Armed Forces

Every decision regarding benefits and assistance was considered and deliberate, considering budgets and the company’s actual capabilities. The main task of HR managers in this process was to balance two components: the needs of employees and the company’s capabilities.

Having mastered the situation, we began to work on the automation of support issues – a decision was made to create a care department. This was an important decision, as HR managers had to return to other tasks and later resume recruiting. Since our clients, logistics companies, work for the US and European markets, the teams did not stop working and fulfilling their duties, as they did not stop growing and creating new jobs.

So a care team is a more coordinated and larger level of support. In our case, HR and event managers, psychologists, lawyers, and buyers were involved in the work. A hotline was set up; clear instructions were given regarding moving, registration, etc. And later, a site was created where we collected literally everything in one place: a form for creating a request for help, a list of issues we work with, answers to frequently asked questions, useful information, etc.

The conclusions that we and our clients made regarding the support of the team during the war:

• Your people are the company’s best investment. Employee support will become loyalty and a strong HR brand for the company;
• The Department of care, created during emergencies, now functions permanently. It is the standard that unstable times demand;
• The priorities for the HR manager were helping the business with the adjustment of work processes and supporting each specialist separately.

One of HedgeHog’s core values is people. But just talking about it is not enough. This must be proved.

Staying aloof from events like war was impossible for Hedgehog. After all, every employer is responsible for his people. And by supporting his team, he supports his business and, thus, the whole of Ukraine.