Modern employees will be multi-faceted and will more readily adopt newer technologies, such as RPA/Automation, SaaS apps, and collaboration tools, that will increase efficiency and productivity. They will need to be self-motivated, adept in flexible working, and accomplished in remote management.

In today’s new normal, the idea of the traditional workplace may have changed, but what fundamentally makes a workplace – its people – hasn’t.

With the COVID-19 global pandemic, a vast majority of organizations have been impacted. However, organizations that are weathering this crisis better than others are the ones that have reacted faster, in the best interest of their people and the organization. They have successfully mobilized their employees to work from home, adopted virtual communication and collaboration tools to support business, and focussed on reskilling/upskilling their workforce through virtual training. These initiatives demonstrate the resilience of an organization, and in part determine whether an organization is strong enough to survive such challenging circumstances. The first-mover advantage benefitted organizations that stepped up, as their proactive response even led to better employee productivity in most cases.

Here are some ways in which organizations can create compelling workplaces for the future:

· Flexible and connected workplace: Before the pandemic, most companies had a physical workplace where employees spent a significant part of their day. That changed overnight with the pandemic, forcing many companies to implement an entirely new virtual working environment without impacting employee productivity. The workplace of the future will need to be a collaborative physical and digital workspace that provides the flexibility to work independently and across teams through face-to-face and digital interactions. The physical office space becomes less important and the digital office environment takes precedence.

· Maintaining culture: Creating an engaging and productive work culture doesn’t happen by accident. Companies spend years defining and honing the culture from the ground-up and then need to keep that culture alive in a physical and remote working environment. Leaders need to stay connected with the pulse of the organization by enhancing employee experience and virtual engagement, at the same time keeping a balance to avoid ‘meeting fatigue’. Employees know when the organization cares for them. Overcommunication is the key. Keeping employees in the know about what’s going on in the company, how it impacts them, and acknowledging their contributions to the company’s success is imperative.

· Driving Innovation: Driving innovation should be everyone’s mission. Organizations must provide programs and opportunities for leaders and team members to come together and share ideas openly in a trusting environment. Recognize ideas that can be game-changers for the business and invest behind them. Another way in which organizations are encouraging innovation is by seamlessly integrating with the external ecosystem of start-ups, academia, and technology service providers that help organizations stay relevant.

· Investing in Upskilling employees: The future workplace will be global with employees working across geographies and time zones. Investing in ‘Upskilling Programs’ will help employees re-engineer themselves with skills for the future. Modern employees will be multi-faceted and will more readily adopt newer technologies, such as RPA/Automation, SaaS apps, and collaboration tools, that will increase efficiency and productivity, along with soft skills to thrive in a virtual work environment. They will need to be self-motivated, adept in flexible working, and accomplished in remote management. Extended remote working will require employees, especially mid-managers, to develop new sensitivities, such as empathy, awareness, and acknowledgment, to bring team members working across geographies together and develop a balanced, agile, and efficient work environment.

Breaking free from the traditional way of working will be one of the biggest challenges for organizations. The organizations that embrace the remote/hybrid workplace model, evolve internal structures to facilitate dispersed teams and successfully reskill employees are more likely to improve with external stressors and be successful in the new normal.

(The Article is Authored By By Ruchi Bhalla – Country Head – India Delivery Centers & VP HR (APAC), Pitney Bowes)