Dovetail HR Service Delivery Employee Experience Blog

COVID-19 Monthly Update for HR - September 2020

Written by Kelly Frisby | Oct 2, 2020 6:21:05 PM


(Month-ending 09/30/2020)

COVID-19 Employee Questions into HR Increase by 11% in September

If the president of the United States can get COVID-19 in the workplace, then anyone can. This is what we learned from today's news that Donald Trump (and the First Lady) has contracted the coronavirus disease.

As coronavirus cases increase across America, and other countries throughout the world, employees are responding (once again) by asking their respective HR teams more COVID-19 questions. Across all Dovetail customers in September, COVID-19-related employee questions into HR increased by 5,700, an increase of 11% on the previous month. This is the first increase in COVID-19 questions into HR since May. 

To manage the influx of employee questions and associated employee cases coming into HR, Dovetail customers are using the latest in Dovetail HR Service Delivery and Employee Service Management technology including, HR Case Management, Employee Communications Portal, HR Knowledge Management (with Knowledge Base), advanced HR Reporting & Analytics, and Dovetail's contact tracing and health screening solution, Dovetail Check Track Trace

These technologies are providing HR teams and organizations based in the US, and the rest of the world, with the functionalities and capabilities they need to ride out the crisis.

Read below for more analysis and insight generated from employee COVID-19 question data:

(Note: Any reference to 'employee cases' refers to employee questions, inquiries and requests that are logged as “cases” in the Dovetail HR Case Management solution).

Insight 1 - 11% Increase in Employee COVID-19 Coronavirus-related Questions into HR in September Compared with August

Insight 2 - Employee Coronavirus-related Questions into HR at the Weekend Remain Stable

Insight 3 - Rate of Closing Employee Coronavirus-related Questions Remains Stable at 88%, Even As Number of Questions into HR Increases

Insight 4 - Employees Contact HR With Their COVID-19 Questions Using Email and Phone Channels in 88% of Cases

Insight 1 - 11% Increase in Employee COVID-19 Coronavirus-related Questions into HR in September Compared with August

There were 48,076 employee questions into HR teams at Dovetail customer organizations in the month of September (see chart below), an increase of 5,706 cases (11%) on the previous month.  

This is an ominous sign, and perhaps reflects the recent exponential increases in coronavirus cases around the world, as can be seen in the World Health Organization Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard below. 

WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard 

The chart below shows the total amount of employee COVID-19 questions Dovetail customer HR teams have received and managed using Dovetail Case Management technology since March of this year.  

With HR receiving over half a million coronavirus questions this year, it is clear that HR teams everywhere have had their work cut out. 

Fortunately, Dovetail HR Case Management technology, with features such as Workflow Automation, Case Tracking and Realtime Reporting & Analytics can increase HR's efficiency of operations, enabling HR teams to do more work in less time.

Insight 2 - Coronavirus-related Employee Questions into HR at the Weekend Remain Stable

The chart above shows that the quantity of  employee COVID-19 cases at weekends in September (Wk 28 - Wk 31) is slightly lower than in August (Wk 23 - Wk 27).

This shows HR are dealing with the extra questions coming into HR during the week, rather than at the weekend, which indicates an intensification of the working week for HR professionals. This renewed pressure on HR to perform should be monitored closely by HR leaders to ensure their teams are getting all the support they need in a difficult and stressful time.

Insight 3 - Rate of Closing Employee Coronavirus Questions Remains Stable at 88%, Even As Number of COVID-19 Questions into HR Increases

The chart above shows that as COVID-19 questions into HR increased in September, HR teams kept pace, closing 88% of all employee COVID-19 questions during the month. The close rate is a slight improvement on August, when HR teams closed 87% of employee COVID-19 cases.

We believe HR being able to maintain the Close Rate even as employee questions increase, is an important indicator of HR team performance, as it shows HR teams are able to increase their productivity in order to cope with the additional demand on their time and resources.

Perhaps there has never been a more important time for HR Service Delivery technology to demonstrate its value to HR Service teams, by helping HR functions increase operational efficiency. 

Insight 4 - Employees Contact HR With Their COVID-19 Questions Using Email and Phone Channels in 88% of Cases 



Employees continue to predominantly use the Email and Phone channels to contact HR teams about their COVID-19 questions. 

As noted in our previous COVID-19 Update Reports for HR, these channels are valued by employees when they need to ask multiple questions (that are often complex in nature) and expect multiple answers.

However, by providing an omnichannel communications experience, by including Live Chat and a Self-Service Employee Portal in the HR-employee communications mix, HR can satisfy the communication needs of the widest range of their staff. In particular, Millennials and Gen Z express a preference for Live Chat and Self-service portals

Conclusion 

With the news that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the First Lady, Melania Trump, have contracted coronavirus while at work, the issue of coronavirus in the workplace takes center stage around the world again.

Dovetail HR Service Delivery technologies including HR Case Management, Employee Portal, HR Knowledge Management and HR Reporting & Analytics applications, as well as Dovetail Check Track Trace (Dovetail's contact tracing and health screening tool), are helping enterprise companies achieve several aims, including: 1) more efficient HR Service Delivery operations 2) keeping employees updated with the latest COVID-19 information and 3) reducing the risk of coronavirus spreading among the workforce.

If you'd like to know more about how Dovetail can help your HR team and organization perform in a crisis, please click the button below.