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International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume IX, Issue II, February 2022|ISSN 2321-2705
www.rsisinternational.org Page 8
Impact of COVID-19 on Human Resource
Management Functions in Zambian Organisations
Sitali Wamundila1, Daniel Siakalima2, Jessie Nkhowani3, Best Musondela4 and Francis Simui5
1Department of Library and Information Science, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
2 & 4 Institute of Distance Education, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
3Graduate School of Business, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
5Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
Abstract: The impact of Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating
on the global economy, national economies, institutions and
indeed organisational operations. One of the key organisational
operations that has been impacted by Covid-19 is human
resource management (HRM). The impact of Covid-19 on HRM
in organisations has been reported to have covered all the key
functional areas of human resources practice ranging from the
governance of HRM practice to workplace environment. This
development has influenced the world of work profoundly. This
study conducted on the impact of Covid-19 on HRM functions in
Zambian organisations has revealed the continued negative
impact of Covid-19 on organisational operations. However, the
results of the study indicate that while all the HRM functions
that were investigated namely: Organisation Design and
Development; People Resourcing; Performance Management;
Training and Development; Reward Management and Employee
Relations reported to have been impacted, only two functions
namely Training and Development and Performance
Management reported significant negative impact having scored
77% and 48% respectively. The rest of the functions namely:
Organisation Design and Development; People Resourcing;
Reward Management and Employee Relations scored 35% and
below, scores that indicate some relative stability in the
operations of the functions. These results suggest the availability
of a relatively stable operational environment of HRM functions
in Zambian organisations and that the role of HRM function in
the organisations has remained stable despite the on-going
challenges posed by Covid-19. The prevalence of such an
operational environment is critical for business operational
continuity amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19, Human Resource Management, HRM
Functions, Zambia
I. INTRODUCTION
he impact of Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating on
the global economy, national economies, institutions and
indeed operations within institutions (Mphahlele, Seeletso,
Muleya and Simui 2021, Açikgöz and Günay 2020; African
Union 2020; Association of Certified Chartered Accountants
2020; Astuti and Mahardhika 2020; Cilliers et al 2020; Dev
and Sengupta 2020; International Labour Organisation 2020a;
Kanu 2020; Ozili and Arun 2020; United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development 2020; World Health Organisation
2020a). One of the key organisational operations that has been
impacted by Covid-19 is the human resource management
(HRM) (Gigauri 2020a; Mala 2020; Shil et al 2020). The
impact of Covid-19 on HRM in organisations has been
reported to have covered all the key functional areas of HRM
practice ranging from the governance of human resources
practice to workplace environment (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Limited 2020; Foss 2020; Gigauri 2020b; Kayula 2020;
Kshirsagar et al 2020; Markey 2020; McGuire et al 2020;
Mwita 2020; Sahni 2020; Susilo 2020).
Despite the above reality, the role played by HRM function
during this Covid-19 period has been enormous. As argued by
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited [2020-3], “HR leaders, in
particular, have been at the centre of their organization’s rapid
response to this crisis, and have been playing a central role in
keeping the workforce engaged, productive and resilient”. To
this end, during this Covid-19 period, HR professionals in
organisations have served as conduits, contact and focal points
for communicating institutional policy guidelines as approved
and adopted by managements on combating Covid-19 in work
places. Given the fear, stress, anguish and uncertainty that
griped employees in workplaces arising from the spread of the
Covid-19 pandemic, it has been understood that
underperformance of the human resource function in an
organisation could have direct detrimental effects on the
overall performance of the entire organisation. Thus, the HRM
function during this strenuous period has implemented
strategies such as working remotely as a way of guaranteeing
business continuity and cushioning work related stress that has
emanated from the dictates of the new normal in work places
(Gogauri 2020c; Markey 2020; PwC 2020; Vyas and
Butakhieo).
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
The HRM function in organisations has evolved overtime
to become a strategic business partner, a role that is critical to
the achievement of organisational mandates (Shil et al 2020).
This critical organisational function aids institutions to
achieve their goals through its eight key main areas of practice
namely: Organisation Design and Development; People
Resourcing; Performance Management; Training and
Development; Reward Management; Employee Relations;
Health, Safety and Welfare; and Employment & HRM
Services (Armstrong 2009). Accordingly, Shil et al (2020)
argue that HRM functions and practices create “an
environment and infrastructure that affects employees,
T
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume IX, Issue II, February 2022|ISSN 2321-2705
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customers, stakeholder’s effectiveness, and the overall
performance of an organisation”. Thus, over the years
including during this period of the Covid-19 crisis, effective
HRM policies, systems and practices have proved to be a
source of competitive advantage in organisations owing to its
capacity to change the attitudes, behaviour and performance
of employees (Mala 2020). Specifically, Gigauri (2020b:1)
argues that during this Covid-19 period, HRM has had a
serious role to play through helping “employees in using
digital platforms to access their jobs, and on the other hand to
support organisations in their efforts to continue business
processes”.
The implementation of this function is guided by
governance oversight and management leadership exercised
through the enforcement and compliance with the broader
conventions and recommendations emanating from the
International Labour Organisation as domesticated into
national labour laws (International Labour Organisation
2020b; Ibrahim and Zulkafli 2016). Further, included in this
category are HRM strategies and policies that are developed
and formulated by governance structures (boards of directors)
for organisations (Ibrahim and Zulkafli 2016). During this
Covid-19 period, both the HRM governance guidance tools
and the HRM functions have been impacted (International
Labour Organisation 2020). Thus, with regard to the impact
on HRM governance environment, the impact of Covid-19
caused changes which saw the International Labour
Organisation issue a number of guides touching areas such as
health and safety at work as well as employment and HRM
services (International Labour Organisation 2020). Similarly,
countries amended labour laws while organisations amended
their HRM policies (Alhambra et al 2020: Gigauri 2020b;
Kayula 2020; Sachs 2020).
Another key HRM area impacted by Covid-19 is the work
place environment and the nature of work. In terms of the
work environment, the impact in this area has included
physical presence, fear, stress and health matters (Gigauri
2020d; Hamid 2020; Markey 2020). To this end, a number of
interventions such as health guidelines have been issued by
the World Health Organisation to control safety and health
aspects in work places (Hamid et al 2020; International
Labour Organisation 2020; World Health Organisation 2020b).
In terms of the nature of work in organisations, a great
transformation has been experienced with many organisations
reporting having put in place flexible working arrangements
(Markey 2020; Singh and Kumar 2020; Vyas and Butakhieo
2021). A number of studies have been conducted on the
implementation of flexible working arrangements such as
rotations, virtual working and working from home (Singh and
Kumar 2020; Vyas and Butakhieo 2021). In their study that
investigated 100 IT staff and explored the emerging trends and
impact of the pandemic caused by novel coronavirus on
working professionals on IT sector in Bengaluru, Karnataka,
India, Singh and Kumar (2020) established that the impact of
Covid-19 on IT staff in Bengaluru were both positive and
negative in that, two thirds of the respondents worked from
home and were productive enough to meet their work
expectations. However, two thirds of the respondents
indicated that the down fall of this new and accepted culture
was that employees felt more alienated from their work places
and there was need to ensure that “more frequent
organisational communication and better clarity of
expectations on assigned task to them” is made to staff.
Further, the study established that over two thirds of the
respondents felt that their jobs were being threatened due to
declining economies and the threat on the going concern of
organisations in the event that the pandemic was not halted.
Further, reporting on their study findings on working from
home in Hong Kong, Vyas and Butakhieo (2021) established
that overall, the population of Hong Kong that has a 93%
access to internet was satisfied with the introduction of
working from home.
Other studies have reported on the impact of Covid-19 to
human resource functions such as organisation design and
development (Adonu et al 2020; Foss 2020); people
resourcing (Gigauri 2020a); performance management
(Hamid 2020); training and development (Gigauri 2020a;
Kshirsagar et al 2020); reward management (PwC 2020) and
employee relations (Markey 2020). Some of the findings have
confirmed the negative impact of Covid-19 on some of these
functions while others have reported potential further impacts
(Markey 2020). In all these circumstances, some suggestions
have been made on how best to cope with the devastating
impact of Covid-19 on the HRM function (Adonu et al 2020).
To ease pressure on the function, a number of interventions
such as sending people on leave; working in rotations,
working from home, teleworking/virtual working and
suspending salary increments have been implemented by
employers (Kayula 2020; Markey 2020; PwC 2020; Vyas and
Butakhieo).
III. PURPOSE OF STUDY
The general purpose of this study was to assess the impact
of Covid-19 on HRM functions in Zambian organisations.
Specifically, the study inquired on the impact of Covid-19 of
the following key HRM functions:
a) Organisation Design and Development;
b) People Resourcing;
c) Training and Development;
d) Reward Management;
e) Employee Relations; and
f) Performance Management.
The other two key functions namely Health, Safety and
Welfare; and Employment & HRM Services were not
investigated mainly because these have been the main focus
areas of World Health Organisation, International Labour
Organisation and national governments in the guides which
have constituted interventions in combating Covid-19 in work
places (International Labour Organisation 2020a; International
Labour Organisation 2020c; International Labour
Organisation 2020d; International Labour Organisation 2020e;
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume IX, Issue II, February 2022|ISSN 2321-2705
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World Health Organisation 2020a).
IV. METHODOLOGY
The research methodology followed in this study was
quantitative. A survey was carried out using questionnaires for
data collection. The population surveyed was a congregation
of HRM practitioners who were attending a workshop under
the theme”Highlights of Judicial Decisions affecting HR
Practice in Zambia, A Case Study of the New Employment
Code and the Amended Constitution organised by the Zambia
Institute of Human Resources Management (ZIHRM). The
workshop was held at Lake Kariba Inns in a town called
Siavonga, in Zambia.
Questionnaires were circulated to 109 attendees out of
which, 94 were returned representing a response rate of 86
percent. The questionnaire had both closed and opened ended
questions. Data was analysed using SPPS and Excel.
V. PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
Results of the study have been presented using the
following sub-headings: Background of participating
organisations; Impact of Covid-19 on HRM functions
covering the following: organisation design and development,
people resourcing, training and development, reward
management, employee relations, and performance
management; perceived overall impact of covid-19 on HRM
functions and perceived positive impacts of covid-19 on HRM
functions.
5.1. Background of Participating Organisations
There were 109 delegates who attended a training on
Highlights of Judicial Decisions affecting HR Practice in
Zambia, A Case Study of the New Employment Code Act No.
3 of 2019 and the Zambian Constitution amended in 2016
organised by the Zambia Institute of Human Resource
Management (ZIHRM). Out of the 109 attendees, 94
responded to the questionnaire. Out of the 94 attendees who
responded, 57% were from public institutions while 43% were
from private institutions. In terms of industry representation,
the delegates were drawn from the agricultural, education,
tourism, manufacturing, service, telecommunication and
banking sectors. Figure 1 below presents the participating
organisations by sector of the economy.
Figure 1. Categorisation of institutions that were represented at the workshop
5.2. Impact of COVID-19 on HRM Functions
The HRM function in an organisation has the responsibility
of implementing labour laws and HR strategies and policies.
In view of this fact, the effect of Covid-19 have, with no
doubt, had a great impact on the operations of organisations in
general and HRM functions in particular. In this study,
respondents were asked to indicate the HRM functions which
had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in their
organisations. Predetermined responses were provided for six
major HRM functions namely: organisation design and
development; people resourcing; training and development;
reward management; employee relations; and performance
management.
5.2.1. Impact of COVID-19 on Organisation Design and
Development
The HRM function of Organisation Design and
Development is concerned with the design of organisation
structures, design of jobs, institutional development as well as
matters regarding change management and institutional
transformation.
Regarding the impact of Covid-19 on organisation design
and development, the HR experts reported that 35% of their
organisations did not carry out any activities on organisation
design and development due to the financial challenges they
were experiencing posed by the pandemic, while 65% of
organisations were not affected by Covid-19 and continued to
undertake organisation design and development activities. The
specific activities that were impacted by Covid-19 included
deferment of restructuring activities and cancellation of
organisational development activities such as institutional
diagnosis and team building. These results are presented in
figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Impact of Covid-19 on Organisation Design and Development
Further, respondents who affirmed the impact of Covid-19
on the function of Organisation Design and Development
were asked to indicate the ways in which the function was
affected. Their responses are presented in table 1 below.
Table 1. Type of Covid-19 Impact on Organisation Design and Development
Impact on Organisation, Design and
Development
Frequency
Inability to perform any works on the function
12
Inability to grow the institution due to
stagnated customer base
15
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Stoppage of on-going restructuring activities
6
5.2.2. Impact of COVID-19 on People Resourcing
The HRM function of People Resourcing involves carrying
out workforce planning, talent management, succession
planning and career management, staff induction and
orientation, employee separation as well as conducting exit
interviews.
In terms of people resourcing, 34% of the HR experts
reported that Covid-19 impacted people resourcing activities
in their organisations, while 66% reported that Covid-19 did
not affect people resourcing activities in their organisations.
At the height of the pandemic, organisations which were
impacted by Covid-19 imposed a hiring freeze on account of
financial challenges they were facing. Furthermore, some
organisations could not conduct job interviews and pended
this activity to a time when the situation would be enabling to
conduct face to face job interviews. Further, a limited number
of organisations used online platforms to conduct job
interviews. These results are presented in figure 3 below.
Figure 3. Impact of Covid-19 on People Resourcing.
Further, respondents who affirmed the impact of Covid-19
on the function of People Resourcing were asked to indicate
the exact ways in which the function was affected. Their
summarised responses are presented in table 2 below.
Table 2. Type of Covid-19 Impact on People Resourcing
Impact on Employee Resourcing
Frequency
Use of virtual systems caused
challenges in identifying
respondents
1
Some respondents not ready to
move due to covid/Immobility
3
Could not interview respondents
physically, interviews done online
2
Recruitment freeze/Could not hire
staff even when others resigned
/cutting down on recruitment
18
Limited/slowed pace
3
Expatriate staff could not return to
Zambia
1
Could not recruit staff due to
financial challenges/Low revenue
affecting recruitment
5
Screening of physical documents
1
5.2.3. Impact of COVID-19 on Training and Development
The HRM function of Training and Development involves
carrying out activities on both long and short term learning
and development of staff, developing management capacity,
coaching and mentorship of staff as well as ensuring that
organisational learning and learning organisation activities are
implemented. Respondents were asked to indicate how the
function of Training and Development had been impacted by
Covid-19 in their organisations. 77% of the HR experts
reported that Covid-19 had impacted training and
development activities in their organisations, while 23%
indicated that their organisations were not affected by Covid-
19. Organisations that were impacted by Covid-19 suspended
or cancelled training and development activities due to
financial challenges they were facing caused by the pandemic,
while organisations that decided to implement training and
development activities reduced the number of employees who
were earmarked to undertake some training and development
programmes as these organisations were trying to save costs.
Table 3 below summarises the main findings regarding the
impact of Covid-19 on the Training and Development
function.
Table 3. Type of Covid-19 Impact on Training and Development
Impact of Covid 19 on Training and
Development
Frequency
Department closed during Covid
1
Staff could not be sent for training
6
Trainings were cancelled/suspended
37
Reduced number of staff sent for
capacity building
programs/limited/Restriction of formal
classroom training/reduced training
13
Online training not very effective
1
Planned activities could not be
executed
1
In-house training suspended
2
Closure of most learning institutions no
access to external training/Difficulty to
organise workshop and training
gatherings
2
Dwindling income/revenue /financial
challenges did not support T and D
Plan
7
Use of It facility/Distance learning
2
General Assembly of attendees
1
5.2.4. Impact of COVID-19 on Reward Management
The HRM function of Reward Management is concerned
with the carrying out of activities on job analysis and
evaluation, market rate analysis, grade and pay structures,
employee benefits, pensions and allowances as well as
compensation planning and remuneration. Respondents were
asked to indicate how the function of Reward Management
had been impacted by Covid-19 in their organisations.
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume IX, Issue II, February 2022|ISSN 2321-2705
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Out of the 94 HR experts who participated in the study, 35%
of the HR experts reported that reward management activities
had been impacted by Covid-19 in their organisations on
account of financial challenges, while 65% of the HR experts
reported that their organisations were not impacted by Covid-
19. Due to dwindling income or revenue, some organisations
imposed a wage freeze, while others awarded their employees
minimal wage increments.
Figure 4 and table 4 below summarises the main findings
regarding the impact of Covid-19 on Reward Management.
Figure 4. Impact of Covid-19 on Reward Management.
Table 4. Type of Covid-19 Impact on Reward Management.
Impact of Covid 19 on Reward Management
Frequency
Events such as labour day awards were
scrapped
2
Limited resources due to low sales volume
1
Low funds to recognise staff/Low revenue
7
Low business affected profitability of the
institution
3
Some non-mandatory benefits had to be
renegotiated/ Payment of some allowances
suspended
2
Non-essential label costs were reduced due to
reduced revenue/Insufficient funds due to
financial constraints
3
Fluctuating pay dates and incentives
2
No increments due to spike in prices
2
Wage freeze for all staff in 2020/ no rewards
7
Budget constraints due to non-operations
2
Salaries cut and reduced
1
Minimal salary increase
1
5.2.5. Impact of COVID-19 on Employee Relations
The HRM function of Employee Relations is concerned
with the implementation of employee relations processes,
engaging in negotiations and bargaining as well as labour
related communication. Respondents were asked to indicate
how the function of Employee Relations had been impacted
by Covid-19 in their organisations.
Of the 94 respondents who participated in the study, 20%
indicated that the Employee Relations function in their
organisations had been affected by Covid-19, while 80%
indicated that this function in their organisations had not been
affected by Covid-19. Figure 6 and table 5 below summarises
the main findings regarding the impact of Covid-19 on
employee relations.
Figure 6. Impact of Covid-19 on Employee Relations.
Table 5. Type of Covid-19 Impact on Employee Relations
Impact of Covid 19 on Employee
Relations
Frequency
Cases could not be heard since
meetings were cancelled/ Court cases
did not take off
4
Case hearings became limited to
avoid regular interaction
4
Could not conduct negotiations as
virtual meetings proved difficulty
2
Not able to conclude negotiations due
to low business/Delayed negotiations
2
Very little networking within the
industry due to fears of covid
transmissions
2
Employees sent on forced leave
demanded for full pay instead of
basic pay
1
Management/Union meetings were
put on hold for some time
3
Redundancies
1
5.2.6. Impact of COVID-19 on Performance Management
The HRM function of Performance Management involves
carrying out both strategic and operational work planning and
organisation, conducting staff performance appraisals and
institutional performance reviews. Out of the 94 respondents who
participated in the study, 48% stated that performance
management activities in their organisations had been affected by
Covid-19, while 52% indicated that this function in their
organisations had not been impacted by Covid-19. Figure 7 and
Table 6 below summarises the main findings regarding the
impact of Covid-19 on Performance Management.
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume IX, Issue II, February 2022|ISSN 2321-2705
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Figure 7. Impact of Covid-19 on Performance Management
Table 6. Type of Covid-19 Impact on Performance Management
Impact of Covid 19 on Performance
Management
Frequency
Assessment was impossible as employees
were not working full capacity/working
on-off
6
Monitoring of certain physical aspects
could not take place
1
Stretched few staff on site
1
Working/forced leave made it almost
impossible to assess employees
3
The aspect of social distancing made it
difficult for supervisors to effectively
interact/assess their staff
3
Low motivation, poor work output
1
Difficulty in measuring KPIs/ difficult to
achieve targets/ PM affected/lowered
expectations
5
Not able to implement PMS due to low
business/disturbed PM cycle
3
Suspended
2
Hard to accurately monitor performance
3
Change of performance targets due to
reduced activities and business closure
/List of things happened that were not
initially agreed which distorted PM
7
Working remotely did not facilitate
effective performance management
review/Rotational basis of staff reporting
for work affected levels of productivity
9
Employees went on recess
4
Delayed completion of appraisals
5
5.3. Perceived Overall Impact of COVID-19 on HRM
Functions
Respondents were asked to indicate what they perceived to be
the overall negative impact of COVID-19 on the HRM function
in their organisations. 19% of the respondents indicated
employment and HRM services; 36% indicated performance
management; 27% training and development; 12% indicated
reward management and people resourcing; 4% indicated
occupational safety and health; and 2% indicated industrial
relations and organisation design and development. Figure 8
below summarises the main findings with regard to the perceived
overall impact of Covid-19 on HRM functions.
Figure 8. Perceived Overall impact of Covid-19 on HRM functions.
5.4. Perceived Positive Impacts of COVID-19 on HRM
Functions
Respondents were further asked to state what they
perceived to be the positive impact of Covid-19 on HRM
Functions. Multiple pre-determined responses were solicited
for this question. The responses are presented in table 7 below.
Table 7. Perceived Positive Impacts of Covid-19 on HRM functions
Statement on positive impact of Covid-19
Frequency
It has promoted flexible work arrangements
such as working from home
67
It has accelerated the rate at which our
organisation has digitalised HR processes
and other business processes
43
It has enabled the organisation to identify
key positions and those that can be phased
out
24
VI. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the significance of
HRM functions in organisations, especially during times of
crises. The main findings of the study were limited to the
following HRM functions namely: Organisation Design and
Development; People Resourcing; Training and Development;
Reward Management; Employee Relations and Performance
Management. The rational for not including the other two
functions - Health, Safety and Welfare and Employment &
HRM Services was that these two were already a subject of
wider discussions from the interventions for combating
Covid-19 as guided by World Health Organisation,
International Labour Organisation and national governments
(African Union 2020; International Labour Organisation
2020b; World Health Organisation 2020).
As presented in this paper, this study has revealed the
continued negative impact of Covid-19 on organisational
operations. However, the results of the study have revealed
that while all the HRM functions that were investigated
reported to have been impacted, only two functions namely
Training and Development and Performance Management
reported significant negative impact having scored 77% and
48% respectively. The rest of the functions namely:
Organisation Design and Development; People Resourcing;
Reward Management and Employee Relations scored 35%
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and below, scores that indicate some relative stability in the
implementation of the investigated HRM functions.
According to the findings of the study presented above, the
most negatively impacted HRM function was Training and
Development. This finding resonates well with the findings of
Gigauri (2020d) who, in a her study in Georgia revealed that
“Georgian companies that faced the recession due to the
pandemic, could not be able or were not willing to invest in
human potential development as they were trying to save
costs. Companies were trying to spend less on employee
development, which had an impact on employee motivation,
retention, well-being, as well as on company’s effectiveness,
further advancement, and its ultimate success on the market”.
Another key finding of the study is the fact that apart from
training and development activities that were severely affected
by the Covid-19 pandemic, the other functions namely
Organisation Design and Development; People Resourcing;
Reward Management; and Employee Relations were
moderately impacted by Covid-19. As discussed below, a
number of reasons could be attributed to these findings,
among them being: quick government intervention; youthful
population profile and economic performance (Kayula 2020;
Umviligihozo et al 2020; United Nations Development
Programme 2020).
With regard to Government interventions, a swift response
from the Zambian Government saw the implementation of a
number of interventions such as an imposition of partial
lockdown, which included the ban on non-essential travel to
all countries; quarantine of everyone that travelled to Zambia
from the affected countries for a period of not less than
fourteen (14) days; cancellation of non-essential travel outside
the district boundaries; discretionary travel to certain places
such as shopping malls or social visits were discouraged; all
institutions were required to provide sanitising facilities for
their staff and visitors as well as maintaining good hygiene
practices in the work environment; and banning of
conferences, meetings and workshops involving large groups
of people (Kayula 2020; United Nations Development
Programme 2020). The impact of these instituted measures
were seen to be devastating as noted by the United Nations
(UN) community in Zambia who, in offering solidarity to the
Zambian Government, indicated that “COVID-19 pandemic
will have a multifaceted effect on the lives of the people of
Zambia considering that movement restrictions put in place to
contain the pandemic are impacting people’s ability to access
basic services to sustain their livelihoods. These well-intended
preventive measures will undoubtedly exacerbate existing
vulnerability of disadvantaged population groups such as the
elderly, disabled, people living with HIV, youth, poor
households, refugee and migrants” (United Nations Zambia
Country Office 2020:4). However, this move could have been
the correct measure instituted by the Zambian Government as
argued in a study conducted by Umviligihozo et al (2020) in
seven Sub-Saharan African countries which included Zambia.
Accordingly, Umviligihozo et al (2020:5) argue that “the early
implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures delayed
the rapid spread of the virus within the African population”.
This very fact could be credited to have influenced the less
impact of Covid-19 on HRM functions as the effective
implementation of these measures may have entailed
availability of HR professionals in workplaces.
Population profiles have been linked to the susceptibility to
contraction of, and deaths arising from Covid-19
(Umviligihozo et al 2020). It has been established that a
youthful population is less likely to be severely impacted by
Covid-19 compared to a relatively elderly population. To this
end Cilliers et al (2020:4) indicate that “to date, mortality rates
in Africa are significantly lower than elsewhere, generally
attributed to Africa’s more youthful population”. Thus, it may
be argued that, the youthful population of Zambia which
accounts for about 60% of the total population, may also have
contributed to the low infection rates in Zambia. This assertion
is consistent with other studies that have reported African
populations to have contributed to the low penetration of
Covid-19 and that the majority of recorded Covid-19 related
deaths have been among the elderly populations (Lone and
Ahmad 2020; Gaye et al 2020). To this end, it could be argued
that Zambian organisations in general and the HR professionals
in particular continued to operate owing to less infections and
deaths experienced in the organisations due to the youthful
population.
Another reason that could account for the less impact of
Covid-19 on HRM functions is the fact that Zambia did not
implement a total lockdown. This view is complemented by
Umviligihozo et al (2020:5) who indicate that “to reduce the
risk of imported cases” other “countries, with the exception of
Zambia, swiftly closed borders, shut airports and reduced
incoming travellers to essential workers and returning
residents” and that “…With the exception of Zambia, the
assessed Sub-Saharan African countries implemented a dusk
to dawn curfew and nation-wide lockdown to enforce social
distancing measures, limiting movements to essential service
providers”. Further, Umviligihozo et al (2020:11) contented
that “It was noted that Zambia, which did not fully implement
the interventions described in this study as well as other
countries not included in our review that have struggled to put
into action public health interventions, reported no significant
increases in deaths compared to countries with more robust
responses reported here”. Owing to this fact, Zambian
companies continued to operate even at the height of the
pandemic. This fact may explain why the Zambian companies
were not severely affected by the pandemic as economic
activities were taking place in the organisations. In fact, most
organisations implemented remote working and rotational
work arrangements rather than completely shutting down
businesses (Kayula 2020; UNDP 2020).
Another factor worth noting is the fact that Zambia is one
of the countries with high level poverty rates. According to
Saasa and James (2020:350) “Zambia’s economic situation
prior to COVID-19 was already compromised and constrained
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume IX, Issue II, February 2022|ISSN 2321-2705
www.rsisinternational.org Page 15
by unsustainable public debt (debt-to-GDP ratio of 78% in
2018), high poverty rates (1 in 2 below the poverty line) and
inequality, overrepresentation (90%) of the workforce in
informal sectors and heavy reliance on copper mining as the
single commodity responsible for 70% of country exports and
foreign currency earnings”. This fact makes adherence to
some of the instituted Covid-19 measures difficult to enforce
as well as comply with as they jeopardised the livelihoods of
most citizens who survive on daily incomes (UNDP 2020).
Under such environments, it is difficult to expect institutions
to completely shut operations.
Lastly and probably the most important argument could be
the fact that since the HRM function has been at the centre
stage by ensuring that employees, employers and stakeholders
were being guided on how work was to be executed in the
organisations, laxity in the performance of this function could
have negatively impacted organisations (Gigauri 2020a; Mala
2002). Thus, HRM took the lead in helping organisations to
navigate through uncertainties during the pandemic, providing
leadership and direction in assuring and maintaining mental
wellbeing of employees (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
2020). HRM supported the various business units in the
organisations and also ensured that the workforces adapted to
the challenging times in order to guarantee business
continuity.
Overall, the results of this study suggest the availability of a
relatively stable operational environment of HRM functions in
Zambian organisations and that the role of HRM function in
the organisation has remained stable despite the on-going
challenges posed by Covid-19. This finding may largely be
attributed to what (Umviligihozo et al (2020:5) argued in their
study that “contrary to what was initially expected, the spread
of SARSCoV-2 has been relatively slower in Africa, and
COVID-19 infections have been generally mild to moderate,
leading to more recoveries and lower fatality rates …
compared to Western countries”. This situation may continue
to prevail given the global interventions being undertaken to
eradicate Covid-19. This calls for total community
involvement response for effective management of social
related challenges such as COVID-19 (Mwanangombe,
Mundende, Muzata, Muleya, Kanyamuna & Simui, 2020;
Mwase, Simuyaba, Mwewa, Muleya, & Simui, 2020).
VII. CONCLUSIONS
The impact of Covid-19 has continued to cause havoc to
organisations and populations worldwide. However, going by
the findings of this study, the impact of Covid-19 on specific
organisational operations may vary depending on variables
such as location, population profile as well as economic
performance of countries. This assertion is being made
considering the findings of this study on Zambian
organisations which has revealed the moderate impact of
Covid-19 on HRM functions. The study has suggested among
other measures that the swift government interventions, poor
economic performance, poverty as well as the need to
maintain operations to sustaining livelihoods could have made
HRM functions less impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is
thus concluded that the role being played by the HRM
function amidst the Covid-19 pandemic is pivotal to the
continuity of operations and ultimate overall performance of
organisations.
As Covid-19 persists with new variants emerging, it is
recommended that more research be conducted to establish
the extent to which the newly adopted interventions such as
virtual working could be entrenched in HRM policies beyond
the pandemic. Further, in order to have a holistic picture of the
impact of the pandemic on institutions, other operations such
as business development, financial management and
marketing should be explored as they complement HRM in
making organisations achieve their mandates.
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