Turnaround and human resource strategies during the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract

In the highly complex world of human resource management (HRM), organizations need to maintain both an inward and an outward approach in times of crisis. To adequately manage human resources, it is necessary to consider the environment and the literature on turnaround strategy. This study combines the literature on both turnaround and HRM to focus on problem antecedents/causes and their impact on companies. A case study of an airline was conducted, enriched with a rhetorical signal analysis of managerial communications and stakeholder responses. The objective was to explore the company’s turnaround strategies, human resource strategies, and institutional pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that to overcome the crisis, it is necessary to recognize antecedents of decline, turnaround strategies, human resource (HR) strategies and practices, institutional pressures on HRM, the emotional tone and temporal focus of managerial communications as well as stakeholder responses.