However, 2021 presents an equally large opportunity for change in the workplace as companies develop and employ new, resilient workplace strategies which reflect the new capabilities and desires of their workforce.
Businesses now face new challenges over the coming months as they work towards a safe return to the office, here is some guidance and insights on how to overcome these challenges, from both an organisational and technological perspectives.
1. Adapting the workplace
COVID19 turned our traditional work-life upside down, highlighting the fragilities in the traditional office setup and accelerating existing calls for workplaces to modernise and increase flexibility.
However, working from home full time also has clear drawbacks for many, such as, collaboration and technological challenges, lack of social interaction and maintaining a defined work-life balance.
Organisations need to take stock of how, where and when their employees want to work. Louis Lhoest of Veldhoen + Company recommends that organisations first need to define and layout the desired outcomes, and look closely at why change is needed when redefining the workplace experience.
Five areas to keep in mind when setting your workplace strategy:
- Agility: How to create a workplace that can react quickly with ease and minimise business risks
- Flexibility: Providing choice for employees to choose the right set up and workspaces to perform their tasks
- Security: Instilling confidence in employees and providing the support they need to be productive.
- Technology: Enabling employees with the necessary tools, skills and collaboration to perform in any work setting.
- Changing behaviour: Recognising that work patterns and expectations will change and there will be a need to change the culture and organisational structure to adapt.
2. Finding new ways of working
Organisations now find themselves in a position in which they need to provide a workplace which is not only resilient to disasters such as COVID19, but caters to the varying workstyles and preferences of employees.
When planning a workplace journey from goals to implementation, here are the most important steps to take:
- Purpose: Clearly define and understand the need for change and what support employees require
- Scope: Translate goals into tactical steps and take into account how technology, communication, people and the physical workplace will be affected
- Solution: Understand the impact the chosen solution will have to deliver in order to address these effects
- Implementation: Understand how and when solutions will be implemented to best deliver the results set out in your workplace strategy
3. Instilling trust
There used to be an underlying suspicion in many organisations that remote work threatens trust and productivity as managers are unable to directly see employees working.
However, COVID19 has shown that working remotely is viable and recent surveys suggest that employees want it to stay. According to HubbleHQ, 86% of UK employees want to be able to work from home at least one day a week. Therefore, the question is, how do organisations overcome their fears or risk losing talent?
Louis Lhoest of Veldhoen + Company recommends organisations foster trust through a top-down ethos of support and accountability. In this context, ‘support’ relates to organisational commitments enabling employees to succeed, such as providing the spaces, technology and training required for employees to work most effectively. Similarly, accountability is part of a move towards personal responsibility in a results-driven environment.
4. Returning to workplaces
The final hurdle organisations will face is the safe return of employees to the office itself. Be it those who choose to work there 5 days a week or those who need to come in for a 3-day sprint. Employee safety will be paramount and organisations will need to be in control of and monitoring a number of factors.
HR leaders have learned how to use data to improve employee engagement, learning and development, recruiting and retention. Now, HR leaders are also able to understand the role and impact of the physical workplace, amid changing government guidelines, employee expectations and organisational needs.
For example, my company, OpenSensors, helps large organisations use workplace data to give companies a birds-eye view of their space in real-time. Using workplace sensors, organisations can measure occupancy, utilisation and environmental data such as temperature, humidity and CO2 levels, which research has shown can influence virus transmission.
This data can help leaders create a phased approach to avoid overcrowding and ensure social distancing, and monitor daily visits, team locations, occupied and/or vacant spaces, also pinpoint what areas of the offices need extra cleaning and what areas do not. By removing the guesswork, reliable occupancy data can assist teams in keeping people healthy, safe and secure.
In the first month of 2021, we've already seen that our idea of the workplace will continue to evolve, along with what our teams and employees want and need to support them. Despite new and continually evolving workplace challenges in 2021, we have seen more resilience and adaptability in the past year than we have seen in the previous decade. That change is necessary isn’t just an opinion held by some anymore -- it’s the consensus. That resilience and adaptability we've seen are what gives us hope that we will be able to rise to the workplace challenges ahead in 2021 and beyond.
