With the onset of coronavirus, businesses have been forced to reevaluate time-tested practices in favour of a more dynamic approach, in order to overcome the challenge of a remote workforce.
This outsourcing of the workplace has provided opportunities for those companies willing to adapt to the changing landscape, allowing businesses to become more adept at facing looming business challenges going forward.
Here are some of the ways that coronavirus has already impacted hiring executives and effected work flow:
Nearly three out of four CFOs plan to move significant parts of their workforce into remote positions in the future, according to Gartner Inc., a leading business research firm.
“This data is an example of the lasting impact the current coronavirus crisis will have on the way companies do business,” said Alexander Bant, chief of research for Gartner.
“CFOs, already under pressure to tightly manage costs, clearly sense an opportunity to realize the cost benefits of a remote workforce. In fact, nearly a quarter of respondents said they will move at least 20% of their on-site employees to permanent remote positions.”
Major companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, have already signalled that they will be allowing large numbers of their workforce to work from home.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that within the next five to ten years, roughly 50 percent of its 50,000 employees will work remotely. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has said that even after the coronavirus pandemic ends, employees will be allowed to work from home permanently.
And despite the perception that remote work could negatively impact productivity, there are signs that remote work can actually lead to higher productivity. In a recent study from EY Canada, 65 percent of employers said that their workers were more productive working from home.
In post-corona times, many companies will find themselves in a position where they will be forced to adapt to the prevailing business environment. Getting ahead of the curve now will allow these enterprises to maintain an advantage in the workforce going forward.