According to the latest survey, all employees who spend at least some (but not all) of their time working remotely have higher engagement than those who don't ever work remotely.
Tools that can make a difference
Earlier this decade, there was a movement by some employers to phase out work-at-home options, after a much-quoted Gallup survey showed that of those who worked at home became less engaged more than 20% of the time. However, in its latest survey, Gallup changed course. According to the latest survey, all employees who spend at least some (but not all) of their time working remotely have higher engagement than those who don't ever work remotely.
One reason for this change could be the dramatic improvement in digital remote work tools over the last 10 years. These are designed around the need to communicate and collaborate, overcoming previous roadblocks to employee engagement. Building a digital workplace allows a mobile workforce to continue to be productive by removing physical boundaries, transferring workloads to the cloud and leveraging software that permits employees to share, connect and continue to collaborate.
Leveraging technology
We realize that many organizations are swimming as hard as they can just to keep their heads above water. The thought of adding even more of a cognitive burden by having to rethink remote working options and technologies could be a tough ask. However, the benefits of simple, high-quality remote-working solutions are significant:
- Seamless integration to a digital workplace: By creating a digital workplace in the cloud, information is accessible from anywhere, at any time and on any device.
- Productivity gains through enhanced collaboration: These tools increase productivity by making all collaboration, conversations, chats, online meetings, shared files, decisions and tasks, available in one application.
- Increased focus: Remote work tools can compartmentalize information into channels or categories, so that workers can easily coordinate their work and find what they need when they need it.
- Increased transparency: Built-in tools such as targeted messaging and notes allow group leaders to easily communicate and document decisions to specific people or the team at large.
Researchers call ground-shaking events such as the COVID-19 pandemic economic “shocks.” No one will argue with that description and the effects it has created already on business practices. But in every disruption lies opportunities to learn, pivot and grow. Companies that can master this new digital workplace will not only survive but also create competitive advantage by being able to innovate at speed, get products to market faster, and re-engage with customers in new ways that are responsive to their own changing realities.
How EY Alliances can help
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered decades of routine where workers reported to an office. Organizations now have to prioritize running the business in ways that are simple yet powerful. With the pandemic having closed several workspaces, firms have realized that work from anywhere (WFA) is the way forward. EY helps guide organizations in rethinking the management of remote work.
