Will investments in human resources during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis pay off after the crisis?

[...]training primarily seeks to develop specific human capital resources based on employees’ job- or firm-specific KSAOs. [...]whereas staffing builds KSAOs that are valuable across various jobs and organizations, training develops KSAOs that are mainly valuable to a particular job or firm. [...]if the training is balanced by emphasizing general skills as well, which can be transferrable to many different contexts and thus help to develop workforce flexibility, it will have a greater potential to contribute to the firm’s quick recovery and performance after the crisis. [...]although firms in the current circumstances may be tempted to prioritize immediate skill needs in designing online training, if they are also seeking longer term, postcrisis benefits of the training, they would need to find a way to incorporate elements that can help build generic human capital resources. [...]it may also enhance the public relations of the firm and improve the firm’s overall reputation among customers and investors who value corporate social responsibility (Aguinis etal., 2020).1 Further, decades of industrial-organizational psychology research suggest that such a move will enhance employees’ perceptions of organizational support and collective commitment to the firm, thereby increasing workforce productivity (Rhoades etal., 2001). [...]it is important to broaden the criterion domain and examine the extent to which investments in various HR practices (designed to improve employees’ performance and commitment to their job and firm) during the COVID-19 crisis pay off by improving various postcrisis firm outcomes (e.g., human capital resources, collective employee motivation and involvement, turnover rate, productivity, profitability, and market responses to the firm such as stock price) in order to better gauge the postcrisis effects of HR investments during the COVID-19 crisis.