COVID-19: Accessing Data to Stay Informed on the Crisis

There is a global call to flatten the curve through efforts for community isolation - but Tableau has helped people stay connected with the real-time situation on the ground through its efforts.

Sapna Saxena, Senior HR Director at Tableau APAC shares with EngageRocket lessons that she has learned while adapting to this new normal. 

COVID-19: Insights for Leaders - #SGunited #SEAunited

 

Sapna

 

Sapna Saxena leads a team of HR business partners at Tableau, as the Senior Director of HR for the Asia Pacific team.

Sapna has had 20 years of experience in human resources, with various roles in leadership positions for companies such as PayPal, Telstra and Seagate Technology.

 

The first thing that people turn to, in times of uncertainty, is data. 

  • International efforts to collaborate in responding to the threat that emerged in early 2020 were enabled with the ability to discuss health data and visualise it to understand the level of risk. Sapna Saxena speaks to us on how flattening the curve is essentially a term used in reference to data visualisation. 

Source: Tableau 

  • The importance of data visualisation cannot be understated, and in the spirit of enabling people globally in helping to visualise the fight against this challenge, Tableau has developed a COVID-19 Resource Hub. By presenting data to the public domain, Tableau has been vital for industry leaders to be able to identify the critical needs of their population. 
  • Sapna Saxena shares with EngageRocket a customer story on how vital data visualisation is, and not just for tracking the spread of the coronavirus. A client of Tableau visualised the data of 14,000 employees across 30 locations, to identify 100 employees with dire need of financial support due to medical costs. Using data to help leaders make quicker decisions is the 'value of data'.

What are some of the key learnings that you have taken away from this crisis?

 

  • The pandemic has taught me many things about my own working style - and has helped me build some best practices on how to manage stress and anxiety. Sapna has learned to switch off her own screen, especially when on long meetings - to remind herself to not stare at her screen too long because there is a tendency to observe yourself, which can also be draining. 

  • Another aspect that Sapna brings up is the reminder to take breaks - especially when working from home. Though counting herself fortunate to be able to work from hom, Sapna reminds leaders to be aware of this blurred boundary of work and home for many employees in this time. Sapna mentions that the Tableau team frequently engages in virtual happy hours.

     

    "One key aspect: In our effort to be connected with people, making sure that they are informed of everything going on in the organisation, we also consider that some of them are working with children at home. They are helping them take virtual lessons. Some are taking care of their elderly, and others may be living by themselves. We really consider how much we are communicating with our employees in response to this pandemic."

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PULSE OF THE SINGAPORE WORKFORCE
We’ve analysed over thousands of employee answers from companies of all sizes and industries in Singapore to dig into the factors that are impacting employee well-being and engagement through this crisis and beyond.
We've found that the amount of communication an organisation has over their efforts in responding to the crisis has a close relationship with the level of confidence in the future of the organisation by their employees.
Learn more about our findings here.

 

What is Tableau doing to understand the sentiment of their talents, and how does this guide management decision-making?


  • People is a priority for Tableau. As part of Salesforce, Tableau has access to many resources to help their employees - both physically and mentally. One benefit program Tableau utilises is Thriving Minds, a project to help their employees have access to information about managing their mental health. Access it here.

  • Tableau has also launched well-being pulse survey. Leaders in Tableau's HR team then reviews the data from this survey, to address the pain points of their employees. 

  • Tableau has also increased the frequency of meetings that communicate about successes and challenges that Tableau's global employees are facing. 

What is one lesson you have for leaders battling the same issues in remote work?

 

  • Leaders should be conscious of every employees' needs. Really knowing every person in their organisation is very vital for leaders - as each individual will open up about their challenges in different measures. For those that aren't as candid as others, it's something for organisations to consider with respect to the different needs that everyone has. 

     

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Additional Resources: 

 

bcp-vs-pcp

 
Business Continuity Plan

While a BCP is focused on bringing operational processes set in place, a People Continuity Plan  focuses on developing an environment that is supportive of your employee's emotional health, as well as developing procedures to manage critical business functions from 

Here are some resources for building psychological resilience for your teams, developing your people strategy and introducing succession planning for your teams.

Read our resources about PCP

 

 

 

 
Visit our resources page to learn more about how to put your people-first during COVID-19

 

COVID-19 HR Resources