Anxious employees returning to work are lobbying for companies to keep in place safety measures implemented at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Some employees are also advocating for more generous sick leave and better hazard pay.

An organic approach to recruitment can help companies eliminate inefficient outside recruiters and find eager, qualified talent that fit their culture, Robert Sher writes. Sher offers several tips for organic recruitment, including addressing challenges -- undermarket salaries or poor culture -- that could turn off potential hires.

Almost half of employers -- 47% -- are planning to boost health care benefits to support workers through the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Willis Towers Watson survey of 817 employers. Enhancements some employers are planning include adding or expanding access to virtual mental health services (77%), promoting nutrition and weight management (50%) and adjusting paid leave programs (42%).

Several high-profile efforts are underway to deploy smartphone-based coronavirus tracking, including apps used for contact tracing. "Each employer will have to make their own decisions," says FROM CEO and President Howard Tiersky, whose company has developed such an app, "but our point of view is that this is very limited data to be collecting and that it falls within an employer's general right to monitor their employees' work activity."

Bring back employees in small groups, maintain strong communication, check employees' temperatures each day and make sure everyone is following safety protocols, say executives at two companies that have reopened. "We've taken the approach that onboarding is something we should do for every colleague coming back," says Michael D'Ambrose, chief HR officer at ADM.