Characteristics of Crisis Management Measures in the HR Area During the Pandemic in Hungary – Results of a Countrywide Survey of Organizations

Abstract

The current paper is the second part of the study "Characteristics of Crisis Management Measures in the HR Area During the Pandemic in Hungary – Literature Review and Methodology". Based on two waves of a questionnaire survey conducted during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article presents prevalent HRM reactions of Hungarian organisations (companies and institutions) and tests if these reactions are connected to the organisation's size (employee headcount and revenue), ownership and sector (main field of activity). The testing is conducted separately on two relatively large non-representative samples (N1 > 300, N2 > 900) employing statistical (rank-correlation, rank-sum, and association) analyses. One of the characteristic changes the pandemic triggered in the companies and institutions is that the functions of HRM have been expanded with new activities (e.g. home office, health protection). The respondents indicated considerable new efforts, especially after the second wave, such as replacing plans, providing new employees, and addressing employees' social problems. Our research also highlighted that smaller SMEs regard it as less important to maintain and operate an active HRM function even during the pandemic. With the increase in organisational size (employee headcount and revenue) home office, the new workplace safety and occupational health measures, the hiring freeze and downsizing are substantially more frequent at larger companies as opposed to smaller ones. We are aware of the fact that the practices applied by a country of 10 million people during the pandemic have no substantial global influence; at the same time, the experiences gained and presented here can expand and diversify the methods and toolkits applied in this area.