Supporting Employee Development Remotely during Challenging Times

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Any change process can be disorienting. Disruptive and sudden change, like the sweeping transformations caused by COVID-19, can – and did – result in a sense of shock, fear, frustration, confusion, and anxiety. It was imperative that the Department of Human Resources (HR) find a way to support Henrico County employees reeling from the emotional impacts of an international pandemic. As the COVID-19 threat increased, Henrico County instituted “Level 3 Operations” on March 19, 2020, instructing many employees to start working from home immediately. On March 30, 2020 – the same day Virginia’s Stay-at-Home Order began – HR’s Organizational Learning and Talent Development (OLTD) Division launched a YouTube channel with videos designed to help employees through the pandemic’s stressors while training them in core areas. These videos were created on the staff’s cellphones while they also teleworked. The impact was clear and immediate. HR received numerous grateful emails from employees hungry for information, expressing delight at seeing familiar colleagues’ faces in a time of isolation and fear, and sharing appreciation for valuable content. During the Stay-at-Home Order, OLTD created 23 videos that received 5,908 views, and by December, they had created 40 videos that received 11,467 views with 522.9 hours watched!