Section 2: Survive Mode to Thrive Mode

The pandemic forced businesses to adapt their financial and operational strategies to meet the digital transformation in progress, thus moving into survival mode. One of the biggest challenges addressed with this is the balance of pandemic related policy change whilst focusing on continued business growth.

THE EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING BALANCE

The development of any company inevitably depends on the well-being of its employees. According to our roundtable attendees, investing in people, their comfort and security, is a crucial strategy and the key to enhancing trust in the company and the workplace.

While still working from home, the first step is to recognise the extra-work commitments of the employees, thus creating an environment based on a healthy sense of life/work balance. According to Seema Jones of Town Legal LLP: “Flexibility is a big benefit. We’re hopefully harnessing the best of both worlds (home and office), allowing people to come into the office, not just for the sake of coming in, but where there’s a real purpose in doing so.

At the same time, we should recognise that people have commitments outside of work and let them work from home. It’s necessary to establish a sense of balance, that work/life balance that people were often struggling to get before the pandemic”. In this regard, another roundtable participant agreed that the biggest challenge is “deciding what that balance is between the office and the remote location.”

Nevertheless, all the participants agreed on the need to spend time and resources on people and that the main focus of companies and CEOs should be the one to

“invest in people as they do with clients, making timed events - and not only for clients but also for internal entertainment because we want everybody to bond again and enjoy being back in the office, and thus harness the benefits of having built a strong culture.”

All attendees agreed that it would be necessary to maintain culture when moving through to the next phase of work, ensuring investment in wellbeing and employee support.

CEO Perspective:

Adopt hybrid working to establish a people-centered culture and accelerate growth

RETURNING TO NORMALITY

While every attendee agreed that development and investment in employee wellbeing are essential for business operations, several stressed that the “return to normality” would be a future challenge.

David Hardern of AON stated:
“We want people to collaborate in the office for many reasons. We want to meet our clients, innovate and be around physically to help develop employees. It’s important to be around people, and everyone has a role to play here for the benefit of others. Consistency in this hybrid-working approach will allow us to access the broader benefits we’ve missed out on over the last 18 months.”

This statement was also supported by Stephanie Innes, who agreed on the need to go back to the office, underlining the frustration some employees were feeling towards colleagues working from home, saying, “The main friction now is that people working from home often don’t feel a pressing need to come back to the office, but because some of the more mundane things are always done by the people who are in the office, navigating that balance is becoming a challenge.” She went on to explain that “During the height of the pandemic, there was more tolerance, as some sense of normality returns, expectations are changing”.

Businesses need to use culture and encourage employee support across the board to ensure the burden of tasks doesn’t sit heavily on the same shoulders consistently.

Further Insight:

Realise the true value of your office with a workplace transformation project