Managing workplaces: The likely post Covid scenario

Ayear ago, Covid-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with Covid cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to buildings even when it’s safe again? Should companies do away with Zoom and return the workplace to its pre-COVID ways? The answer, in a word: No. At least that’s not the future of work envisioned by several members of the Harvard Business School faculty—all of whom had to pivot last March to teaching and researching at a distance from the Boston campus. They say the workplace as we used to know it, quite frankly, is dead. Not only is remote work considered table stakes to employees, but the pandemic has challenged conventional thinking about work in other ways, too—perhaps permanently.So how can business leaders create a new work world that will keep employees both happy and productive post-COVID? Several HBS faculty members shared advice to help leaders prepare for the “next normal."

Working from home is the "new normal," and remote work is likely here to stay for many large businesses. For example, in May 2020, Twitter announced that its employees can continue to work remotely indefinitely. And in a recent Gartner Inc. survey of chief financial officers, more than 70 per cent reported that they expect some of their employees will keep working remotely after the crisis ends. Traditionally, executives set annual and quarterly objectives and key results, and translate them into goals for managers. At best, these goals were reviewed every 90 days with employees. But working remotely has forced many of us to bring a more deliberate focus to measuring productivity. Because the whole team works within the same document, each member can see what everybody else is doing and how their own work fits. We spend one meeting a week reviewing the progress of every team member. Because we look at our goals every week, instead of every 90 days, we stay aligned and focused, building a high-performing culture. WFH (Work From Home) has become a necessity for many companies due to the recent coronavirus epidemic. The good news is working remotely has been happening for years. I have successfully managed remote employees across the world and have worked with some of the brightest finance leaders on the pros and cons of dispersed teams.Whether you are considering a short-term remote work strategy or are looking to invest in it for the long term, here are some of the learnings and best practices on how to effectively manage remote teams.

A recent Gartner poll showed that 48 per cent of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after COVID-19 versus 30 per cent before the pandemic. As organisations shift towards remote work , explore the critical competencies employees will need to collaborate digitally, and be prepared to adjust employee experience strategies. Consider whether and how to shift performance goal-setting and employee evaluations for a remote context. 

Gartner analysis shows that 16 per cent of employers are using technologies more frequently to monitor their employees through methods such as virtual clocking in and out, tracking work computer usage, and monitoring employee emails or internal communications/chat. While some companies track productivity, others monitor employee engagement and well-being to better understand employee experience.

The economic uncertainty of the pandemic has caused many workers to lose their jobs and exposed others for the first time to nonstandard work models. Many organizations responded to the pandemic's economic impact by reducing their contractor budgets, but there has since been a shift.

Gartner analysis shows that organizations will continue to expand their use of contingent workers to maintain more flexibility in workforce management post-COVID-19, and will consider introducing other job models they have seen during the pandemic, such as talent sharing and 80 per cent pay for 80 per cent work.

The pandemic has increased the trend of employers playing an expanded role in their employee’s overall well-being. Support includes enhanced sick leave, financial assistance, adjusted hours of operation and child care provisions. Some organizations supported the community by, for instance, shifting operations to manufacturing goods or providing services to help combat the pandemic and offering community relief funds and free community services. 

The current economic crisis has also pushed the bounds of how employers view the employee experience. Personal factors rather than external factors take precedence over what matters for organizations and employees alike. Employing such measures can be an effective way to promote physical health and improve the emotional well-being of employees. 

Before Covid-19, critical roles were viewed as roles with critical skills, or the capabilities an organization needed to meet its strategic goals. Now, employers are realising that there is another category of critical roles — roles that are critical to the success of essential workflows.

To build post COVId workforce,  focus less on roles — which group unrelated skills — than on the skills needed to drive the organization’s competitive advantage and the workflows that fuel that advantage. Encourage employees to develop critical skills that potentially open up multiple opportunities for their career development, rather than preparing for a specific next role. Offer greater career development support to employees in critical roles who lack critical skills.

While some organizations have recognized the humanitarian crisis of the pandemic and prioritized the well-being of employees as people over employees as workers, others have pushed employees to work in conditions that are high risk with little support — treating them as workers first and people second. Be deliberate in which approach you take and be mindful of the effects on employee experience, which will be long-lasting.  Address inequities if remote and on-site employees have been treated differently. 

Prior to Covid-19, organizations were already facing increased employee demands for transparency. Employees and prospective candidates will judge organizations by the way in which they treated employees during the pandemic. Balance the decisions made today to resolve immediate concerns during the pandemic with the long-term impact on the employment brand.

For example, advise CEOs and executive leaders on decisions regarding executive pay cuts and make sure financial impacts are absorbed by executives versus the broader employee base.

Progressive organizations communicate openly and frequently to show how they are supporting employees despite the implementation of cost-saving measures. Where feasible, look for opportunities to arrange talent-sharing partnerships with other organizations to relocate employees displaced from their jobs by Covid-19. 

A 2019 Gartner organization design survey found that 55 per cent of organizational redesigns were focused on streamlining roles, supply chains and workflows to increase efficiency. While this approach captured efficiencies, it also created fragilities, as systems have no flexibility to respond to disruptions. Resilient organizations were better able to respond — correct course quickly with change. To build a more responsive organization, design roles and structures around outcomes to increase agility and flexibility and formalize how processes can flex. Also, provide employees with varied, adaptive and flexible roles so they acquire cross-functional knowledge and training. 

Flexible working is not a new phenomenon but the trend towards increased flexibility and remote working has, historically, largely been driven by (care-giving) employees. The sudden arrival of the pandemic prompted even the most reluctant employers to consider new agile working options.Many Fortune 500 CEOs found, to their surprise, the working from home works.  While forecasts differ, it is clear that there will be an increase in remote working, whether through individual choice or through a change in company policy or strategy. The pandemic has dominated the news and our thoughts for over a year and changed how people live and work globally. Whilst the impact has been devastating in many respects, it has also stimulated positive change in the employment world, refocusing the spotlight on IDE issues and propelling businesses forward in embracing flexibility and reinventing the future of work.

The writer is MD and CEO of Community Bank. He can be reached at [email protected]