Staff relations | Firms with strong HR practices will 'thrive after deep recession'

Forming strong employee relationships doesn’t just bring numerous business benefits, but it can also build morale and improve retention among existing staff.

Plus, it seems that those companies who have concentrated on building these relationships will likely be best placed to ride out the economic storm created by COVID-19.

With The World Bank outlining predictions that the pandemic will cause the worst global recession since the Second World War – while unemployment is expected to rise to its highest level since 1965 – experts have discovered that businesses with comprehensive human resource management (HRM) practices and union relationships were more likely to thrive following a deep recession.

“Workplace performance depends heavily on invisible, unwritten contracts managers have with staff,” said Hossam Zeitoun, lead author and Associate Professor of Strategy and Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School.