Preparing how employees will return to the workplace is a challenge many people in HR and businesses are currently facing. We spoke to Helen Grzonka, who has experience in HR having worked at Molson Coors Beverage for over 6 years, to get her insight into how the workplace has been changing in recent years and how flexible, remote working could become the new normal.
“Over recent years there has been a natural shift towards more flexible working, including home working, as employers seek to manage costs and employees focus on work life balance. This was certainly the case in my experience in the contact centre world, where employees could request to work from home and benefit from an improved work life balance. While employers benefited from reduced short-term absence, greater employee engagement and an increase talent pool of potential new recruits due to the flexibility offered. Additionally, home working could be utilised as part of disaster recovery plans, negating the need for off-site, often costly, disaster recovery sites.
The key to successful homeworking is giving employees the choice to work from home on an ad hoc basis rather than forcing them to do so, such as the Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions.
For many, permanent homeworking has already been on the cards for a while, however, research has clearly shown that permanent homeworking is most effective when a role is advertised as that, rather than transitioning office-based employees.
Employee wellbeing is also a key consideration for businesses considering remote and flexible working plans. Many employers have invested heavily in wellbeing initiatives, clearly understanding the importance of having a healthy and engaged workforce. These initiatives have varied from workplace calm rooms, mental health champions, bring your dog to work days and access to gym and healthcare professionals. Working environments have also become more ergonomically and aesthetically pleasing and designed with health and wellbeing in mind. Consideration now needs to be given to the appropriateness of permanent homeworking.
For some individuals they do not have the luxury of a dedicated workspace and equipment that is appropriate. Others may have the space but want to separate their personal and professional lives and miss the general camaraderie of going to an office to work.
Whilst Covid-19 has shown the benefits that homeworking can provide, the pitfalls also need to be considered when employers consider the suitability on a permanent basis. Each role and department is likely to have differing requirements, for example, when I spoke with a media broadcasting director, homeworking had been successful for their after care service team however not as successful for its sales arm. It would be naive to underestimate the benefits derived from sales functions who work and have a healthy sales drive on the contact centre floor, where live results and competition leaders are visible to all, creating fun and energy behind the weeks activity. So too is the importance of sharing of ideas, informal communication networks and cross functional working — something which is more difficult to replicate remotely. The practicality of Learning and Development and inductions in particular are also major considerations. Often experienced employees are used to aid and support new recruits during their probation, via a formal plan but also sharing their years of experience as and when situations arise, something that would be difficult to replicate on a mobile basis.
Covid-19 will certainly have opened everyone’s eyes to what is and isn’t possible regarding homeworking. Increased flexible working requests are anticipated, with a blended and more agile agreement likely to become the norm, with flexibility being key for both parties. HR & line managers will have a large role to play in determining what is right for each business, each department, each role and each employee if they want to continue to have a long term, sustainable workforce that will differentiate them from their competition.
This period has shown how homeworking has huge potential in the future of many businesses, however it doesn’t diminish the importance of shared workspaces and offices. The key challenge currently is getting employees back into these spaces safely. HR managers and business leaders are looking for solutions such as tested.me which build employee confidence and help create Covid-secure spaces.
Visit tested.me to find out more about our solutions and how they could help get your employees back into the workplace.
