{"id":48414,"date":"2020-07-01T22:21:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T14:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daxueconsulting.com\/?p=48414"},"modified":"2021-11-18T11:02:04","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T03:02:04","slug":"covid-19-impact-on-organization-and-hr-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daxueconsulting.com\/covid-19-impact-on-organization-and-hr-china\/","title":{"rendered":"The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the organization and HR of foreign companies in China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Daxue consulting has teamed up with Dragonfly group<\/a> HR Consulting to initiate this study, aimed at analyzing the impact of Covid-19 on organization and intercultural human resources of foreign companies in China. From this study, we can conclude the necessary push towards technological and organizational transformations that have made it possible to monitor and manage this epidemic like never before. Beyond a purely local vision of sharing the experience of each actor, this topic has global repercussions. We were delighted by the participation rate in this research: more than a hundred business leaders engaged in French companies and companies from French-speaking countries operating in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download the full report to see our survey results on COVID-19 impact on organization and HR of foreign firms in China<\/strong>
<\/a>Download Full Report<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Measures taken by foreign companies since the beginning of the outbreak<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Remote work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

95% of the surveyed companies set up remote work tools<\/a> to ensure the continuity of their operations as soon as the Chinese New Year holidays ended, in early February 2020. However, they encountered several challenges like inability to work from home for employees of factories, workshops and construction sites. Furthermore, support functions working remotely also need the necessary IT tools. Thus, relative solutions are sending tools and components to assemble at home, providing VPN access, sending new computers through the IT team and adopting software to facilitate remote work. Moreover, during the pandemic, the top 3 used collaborative tools are WeChat, DingTalk and Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flexible work and more flexible hours<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

49% of the companies surveyed decided to implement a staff turnover policy to reduce the risk of contamination at work, and it was used more often in medium-sized enterprises and large enterprises, whose payroll increased the risks significantly. For these companies, staff turnover took effect at the end of the remote work period, allowing a smoother and safer return to work. Hence, it generally started from the end of February until the end of March. Most chose a system of two teams (A and B), which shared a week each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Flexible<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Source: daxue consulting, The impact of Covid-19 on the organization and HR of foreign companies in China.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to avoid peak hours in public transit, companies reorganized working hours. Employees had departure and arrival time slots, based on their preferences in a 3-hours slot. Furthermore, 5 companies mentioned the provision of rental cars and Didi \u6ef4\u6ef4for employees who had to use public transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Example<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Specific measures to avoid the risk of contamination at work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

100% of LEs, MSEs and SEs, and 75% of MEs implemented specific health measures by the end of the Chinese New Year holidays in early February. In factories, the sanitary measures became stricter: reorganization of the changing rooms, footbath at the entrance, more masks supplied per day, and a quicker pace of staff turnover. Additionally, in order to avoid physical contact as much as possible, canteens and meeting rooms were prohibited or fitted to respect the principle of social distancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The digital health passport (suishenma \u968f\u7533\u7801) has been deployed on the Alipay \u652f\u4ed8\u5b9d mobile payment app across China since late January. It tracks the movement history of individuals, coupled with the geographic data of the pandemic. Sequentially, it delivers its conclusions in three colors as illustrated below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Employees\u2019 temperature was regularly checked by digital infrared thermometer at the entrance of the buildings. Furthermore, nominative cards at the entrances were distributed to employees to enter the buildings, and employees were required to keep a physical distance of at least 1 meter in access lines. Beyond these, enterprises distributed masks and hydroalcoholic gel to employees in the office and implemented disinfection protocol every 2 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undoubtedly,  China\u2019s measures to suppress the spread of the Covid-19<\/a> have achieved significant success. Meanwhile, these technological and organizational transformations enabled developments in working remotely, tracking population movements and establishing QR tracking<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operations resumption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The companies surveyed had largely resumed their operations by February 10th<\/sup>. Authorizations to restart the activity were issued for 88% of small and micro enterprises, compared to 75% of large and medium-sized enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the company\u2019s activity sector, the full recovery is very contrasted, mainly assessed on a case-by-case basis by local authorities. Thus, companies whose areas are considered strategic, such as health or chemicals, have not encountered any difficulty. On the contrary, business sectors based on physical stores suffered a slower recovery, especially those in physical retail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out our pages about how China is recovering from the Coronavirus outbreak<\/a> and the Coronavirus China economic impact report by Daxue Consulting<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Timeline<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Main HR challenges met by French-speaking companies in China after the outbreak of the Covid-19<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Employee motivation and involvement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In early February, the motivation of employees was divided between the desire to resume normal work and the risk posed by contamination in the office. At the end of February, employees\u2019 motivation was affected by the remote work, emphasing the importance of \u201csocial work ties\u201d over time. However, the comments of the respondents remained appreciative towards the state of mind of their employees during the crisis and 80% of surveyed companies considered their employees motivated during the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assuming that most of the respondents believed that their employees were motivated, the comments showed that it is more the respondent\u2019s state of mind that prevailed in answering this question. Thus, a respondent who is somewhat optimistic about the evolution of the situation will tend to say that his employees were motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To successfully identify the feelings of employees during the crisis and determine their needs, several companies conducted internal surveys at different times during the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"COVID-19<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Employee\u2019s feelings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

70% of companies surveyed find their employees concerned, especially during the month of February. Fears were mostly fueled by the following causes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n