IT was Donald Rumsfeld who famous said: "There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know".
So, after the 52 per cent UK-wide leave vote (Northern Ireland itself opted to stay let’s remember) and all the political turmoil that has followed, businesses now need to consider the implications of the referendum result and the impact this could have on your workplace.
Unfortunately we can only be reasonably sure of only one thing at this point; that no-one really knows what is going to happen in the next few years. We have no idea when (or even if) Article 50 will be invoked or what form the exit terms will take, so at the minute all we can do is hypothesise, manage risk and prepare accordingly.
A key concern will be resource planning. HR needs to get involved asap if not already doing so. Consider; is your company reliant on agency staff, on EU nationals or migrant workers? How will potential restrictions to these groups affect you? Do you posts within your organisation that are EU funded?
Do you rely heavily on being a part of the EU for trade; might you have to downsize, or move operations to an EU member state location as a result? What skills might you lose or indeed need to acquire to remain competitive or diversify? Will you need to increase your HR capacity itself to deal with visa requirements and additional paperwork?
It’s also a fact that a lot of our recent employment law has been influenced by in Europe, through directives and case law. Equality in the workplace, anti-discrimination rights, rest breaks, family leave, holiday accrual, working time etc. The list goes on and on.
While a non-EU bound legislature could certainly repeal or amend these, politicians would need to consider if changing legislation which has already been embedded and embraced by the public is wise. It would be prudent however for HR to keep a close watch on evolving case law to ascertain what way the wind is starting to blow and to be diligent in motioning any proposed legislative changes in order to proactively consider how this might affect their workplace.
Naturally a lot of employees will be also be scared, or confused or both. Nature abhors a vacuum so it would be wise to put out a statement outlining where the company stands and clarify your position as best you can; look to reassure your workforce as much as possible and control the narrative rather than let conjecture, rumour and supposition fill the empty space.
Anyone who has lived through the bad old days here will also know that enormous strides have been made in making the workplace (and everywhere else for that matter) a more cohesive and welcoming place for all. Unfortunately there appears to be more and more examples cropping up in the papers of people of different nationalities, faiths and race being abused and told to ‘go back home’.
As HR professionals we simply can’t allow that to creep into the workplace and should therefore be extra vigilant to ensure all our employees continue to be treated with respect.
The bottom line is that we need to be more vigilant and proactive than ever before and try to shape and mange change rather than simply react to it.
:: Barry Shannon (barry.shannon@ capita.co.uk) is head of HR business development at Capita HR Solutions in Belfast (www.capitahrsolutions.co.uk)
