In this 5-part series of blogs, we share our expertise as a leader in remote working.
We cover all the critical considerations to make this transition to a modern and flexible workforce that will carry your teams successfully and confidently into the future of work. We‘ll show you where to start, how to implement the right strategies and policies, and, finally, how to execute them among your team leaders and workers.
Global companies were all but forced into remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a few weeks of navigating new challenges and changes in policies, we saw that, more often than not, organisations are truly getting into the groove.
If you haven’t yet, we challenge leaders of all organisations to take a pause to investigate the impacts remote work has been having on their businesses and their employees. A survey of thousands of employees around the globe looked at the impact remote work has had on their daily lives, and many of the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
Despite the unfortunate circumstances that drove us here, it’s time for leading organisations to consider a permanent shift to flexible working culture.
That being said, it’s not as simple as flipping a switch. Flexible work is undoubtedly essential to business continuity in the future. But it’s also a cross functional effort. Everyone from the C-Suite to Human Resources to IT to individual team managers must be in lockstep about corporate policies, cultural impact, and of course, the technology toolkit.
Why remote work now
To keep their employees and their families safe, business leaders have had to enable a remote work environment as best they could with only a few days notice. They needed to pivot the majority — or the entirety — of their workforce to work safely from home.
Despite what was likely a bumpy road to get there, it’s been an “aha” moment for many organisations as they see how remote work can bring significant benefits and positive impacts.
In a survey of over two thousand workers around the globe (US, UK, Germany, India, Brazil, and Australia) on this new working paradigm, their responses showed a huge interest in remote working:
IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING: 78% of people work from home at least some of the time – of that 12.5% are full-time remote.
MANY WOULD DO IT ALL THE TIME: 70% of workers would like the idea of working from home permanently.
IT’S MORE VALUABLE THAN MONEY: Nearly half would consider a pay cut to work from home indefinitely (1/5 STRONGLY agreed).
THE COMMUTE, THEY COULD DO WITHOUT: 57% of commuters feel the workday seems longer due to their commute; 29% of employees have quit a job because of a stressful commute.
This isn’t just a reaction to our current situation, either. This is something your organisation should wholeheartedly embrace. But you’ve got to do it right. It’s not just a matter of IT enabling software and fading into the background – it‘s a multi-channel, multi-team approach that begins with strategy and carries through employee culture.
The critical elements of Flex work
- STRATEGY: Championed by leadership, it’s an integral part of the way work is done to ensure business continuity.
- TECHNOLOGY: Supported and empowered with a variety of secure, user friendly and easily deployable technologies.
- CULTURE: A holistic operating system that’s supported by Human Resources (HR) and enforced by people managers.
- BEHAVIOUR: New management tactics and best practices shared by employees.
In next week’s Blog we take a more detailed look into STRATEGY.
Talk to one of our experts today to learn more about our remote working capabilities; how we’re bringing people, business, and technology together; and what this means for you.
