Over the past six months, business leaders have reorganized supply chains, set up remote operations and made tough financial decisions. In the first weeks of COVID-19, companies were looking for information about mobilizing a crisis response, including workforce safety. As the pandemic evolved, HR and business leaders started making moves to stabilize and support their businesses, with a potential to return to the workplace.

As they plan for 2021, business leaders are working to anticipate what's next and set a path for success to rebuild for the longer term. According to Paycor's survey, 75% of HR leaders are optimistic about future profitability. The survey delved into four critical areas for employers. Finance/HR relationship. Roughly 40% of respondents agreed that finance and HR are working together closer as a result of the pandemic. Fifth-one percent of HR leaders now look for different qualities in leaders than they did before the crisis. Finance and HR leaders agreed on the top two most important qualities: flexibility and collaboration.

Remote work. Forty-four percent of companies described the transition from office to remote as a primary focus. Thirty percent of respondents said their remote teams actually are more productive than they were in the office.

Benefits. Eighty-six percent of respondents are concerned about mental health in the workplace, but only 27% plan to change to their benefits offerings in response to mental health issues. Only 17% identified specific benefits, such as employee assistance programs, that could help them respond to what they perceive as an urgent problem.

Compliance. Sixty percent predicted their business will be more concerned about compliance in the next 12 months, while only 9% said their HR technology is "very effective" at mitigating compliance risk. Forty-three percent said they don't use technology to automate and manage compliance.