COVID-19 HR Survey: Technology is Key in Safely Returning to the Workplace but Only 11% of Organizations are Using Software Solutions to Support Employee Health

In conjunction with LTM Research, Appian surveyed HR professionals to understand their back-to-workplace strategies during COVID-19 and found technology is being left out of the process

News provided by

Appian

Aug 12, 2020, 09:00 ET

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Appian (NASDAQ: APPN) partnered with LeadToMarket (LTM) Research to survey human resources (HR) professionals in order to better understand how companies are preparing to return their employees to the workplace amidst the continued uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the survey analyzed organizational tactics, strategies, timelines for returning employees, and asked HR leaders for their top concerns. The "COVID-19 HR Survey: Returning the Workforce to the Workplace" report unveils detailed results from 200 HR professionals working at companies that have at least one thousand employees in the United States. The findings show that the vast majority of organizations are being more tactical than strategic in their approach.

This report examines the thoughts and attitudes of Human Resources professionals at large U.S. organizations with respect to their organization’s return-to-workplace approach and procedures. Software solutions are needed to give HR pros safety measures and capabilities for managing the complexities of the workforce return.

Tactical vs. Strategic
The Return-to-Workplace survey data shows that most companies are focused on tactical safety procedures such as requiring face coverings for employees (100% of respondents), limiting capacity to facilitate social distancing (79%), cleaning and sanitizing the workplace during the workday (78%), and conducting daily health screenings (71%). While these are necessary to maintain employee safety, they fail in preparing workplaces to respond quickly enough to health threats.

Software technology can provide HR professionals who are coordinating the complexities of return-to-workplace efforts with safety measures and capabilities that include:

Ability to collect extensive data all in one easy to view place (i.e. daily health updates, test results, vulnerabilities, and contact-tracing)
Unify data on one platform to rapidly track possible outbreaks and coordinate responses
React and adapt quickly to sick team members to prevent employees from spreading COVID-19 (i.e. deactivate office badges, order testing/quarantines, close or clean specific facilities)

"Software is essential for a safe return to the workplace," says Matt Calkins, CEO of Appian. "When dealing with the health and well being of hundreds or thousands of people, businesses need the speed that software delivers in tracking daily health updates, monitoring test results, identifying potential exposures, and conducting contact tracing."

Additional key findings from the Return-to-Workplace survey include:

97% of respondents feel that they do not need to make an investment in technology solutions to aid a safe return back to the workplace
89% of survey participants feel that they do not need new software solutions to manage their return to work COVID-19 response policy
53% of survey participants have already started returning employees to the office
Only 23% of respondents reported feeling concern that their return-to-work technology does not incorporate contact-tracing
98% of survey participants noted that their companies have permanently changed their workforce structure to increase remote work

To download the full "COVID-19 HR Survey: Returning the Workforce to the Workplace" report , go to https://www.appian.com/covid-19-survey/.

Methodology
Appian commissioned LeadToMarket to survey 200 HR professionals at U.S. organizations of at least 1,000 employees. Survey respondents, all HR managers or above, work at organizations across a variety of industries including financial services, insurance, and life sciences.

About Appian
Appian provides a low-code automation platform that accelerates the creation of high-impact business applications. Many of the world's largest organizations use Appian applications to improve customer experience, achieve operational excellence, and simplify global risk management and compliance. For more information, visit www.appian.com.

SOURCE Appian