I spoke to 5 global enterprises about remote work last week
Hereβs what they told me about their plans for the future
[ a thread ] π»π π π° Office space: All of them have $Billion real estate portfolios
All of them plan to cut it by atleast 50% and as much as 70% π Talent Access: The thing they are most interested in is access to talent
Rather than hiring the best person in a 30-mile radius of the office, theyβll hire the best person on the planet π Efficiency: Their concern about remote work post-pandemic was that productivity would slip
Itβs increased. They now know remote work works π€ Remote Dilemma: A big concern is losing their best people through not giving their teams what they want
Each company plans to let people work from home 60-100% of the time π‘ Time Together: When they do have time together they are focussed on experiences
Designing in person time to maximise value and social connection β° Outcome Measurement: Switching from the KPI to judge performance to outcome will be huge
Measuring this is a big problem most are still searching for ways to solve π΄ Avoid Burnout: They are seeing people burnout more frequently
Some will begin ordering time off on a monthly/quarterly basis to combat this π Office Return: None of them have any plans to return to the office at all
The assumption already is that they wonβt respond in 2021 βοΈ Talent Retention: Every company will continue to offer remote work post-Covid
They know they have to if they want to attract the best talent π Talent Decentralizing: People are moving further away from the office
A large proportion no longer live close enough to commute regularly π¬ Collaboration Quality: They arenβt concerned about collaboration quality
Where physical relationships existed prior the quality is unaffected
They see a challenge where people have never met teams β€οΈ Culture Changes: People who were quieter in the office are having more of an impact
That change in culture has led to more creativity and better communication in several companies π Information Security: This is growing in concern. Less of an issue when it was a reaction to what happens
Big issue as companies lean into remote work more π€ Injury Risk: Reports of back and neck pain as high at 60% of team members
They need to do something to combat this rapidly π Experience Quality: Companies want to do more to improve this
Itβs been a huge focus in recent years while working onsite. Most companies are interested in ways to do this remotely π§ββοΈ Leadership Change: Command and control no longer works β a change in leaderships style is needed
Empathetic leaders are thriving. The importance of checking in on your team the most important skill π Written Documentation: Building the organizational muscle of knowledge through documentation is of massive important
This will grow over time rather than leaving when an employee leaves β°Increased Flexibility: 9-5 working is dying β companies have seen workers productivity rising when working when they want
The thing they are most interested in exploring are asynchronous ways of working πΆ Childcare: Women are falling out of the workforce rapidly, and companies recognise they need to act to stop this now
They are thinking about ways they can help working parents with childcare