Widespread adoption of remote working by organisations during the Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the potential for how different physical working arrangements could and probably will be in the future.
Businesses are likely to challenge the need and cost to retain the physical workspace and instead look to maximise any investment in equipping their employees to work from home. Staff will also challenge whether they can improve the quality of their life and performance by working more remotely – reduced commuting time/cost, greater personal flexibility and better healthier work/life balance.
However, organisations are not conducive to sustainable remote working practices as they have never had to face this situation before (unless they have suffered a prolonged disaster recovery situation in their history). Businesses will fear a drop in productivity, concerns about employee mental and physical wellbeing and management will require new skills to ensure a positive outcome.
Organisations will need to reset their internal culture and ways of working to enable remote working to be a sustainable, human and productive way of operating. Changing the culture will require a systematic approach from adapting new leadership styles through to changing the everyday working practices for every employee.
Even for managers leading and engaging fully remote teams or part remote part centrally located ones, is an art form. It requires excellent communication skills and practices and ensuring that the right communications channels are used at the right time. It requires trust, accountability and the ability to measure outputs and outcomes rather than time. It also requires a clear, strong, culture that can span the distance between team members.
Culture Consultancy have worked with many leaders/managers helping them enhance and create these skills, showing them new processes and ways to enable their staff, adapt to a new culture and promote a positive remote working environment.
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