How the pandemic is changing business for the better

Crises or global shifts lead to new ways of doing things. We look at some of the trends the COVID-19 crisis is driving and the manner in which these may change how business is done.

Johannesburg, 13 Aug 2020
Amanda Ellis, Modern Workplace Delivery Lead, Mint Group
Amanda Ellis, Modern Workplace Delivery Lead, Mint Group

The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed the world as we know it, and is likely to continue to do so for a long time to come. Of course, the human race is extremely adaptable, and as such, the virus has served as the catalyst for many businesses to significantly change the manner in which they work – for the better.

The first thing that springs to mind in this regard is how it has become obvious to all, courtesy of the strict global lockdowns, that information workers simply do not need to be at a desk in the office to do their jobs properly. It is now apparent that they can operate just as successfully from home.

According to Amanda Ellis, Delivery Lead at Mint Group, the pandemic has essentially forced management – which previously demonstrated a dearth of trust in allowing employees to work from home – to allow staff to do exactly that.

“Although work from home was essentially forced onto managers in order to keep the business operational during lockdown, they are increasingly realising that not only is it a feasible long-term option and that most employees are trustworthy, but that it can actually benefit the business,” she says.

“The work from home approach offers a multitude of benefits for both workers and businesses. For employees, it means avoiding the time-consuming and stressful commutes to and from work, while the company benefits from additional hours of productivity, since staff are more relaxed and have more time available.”

Other benefits she highlights include the reduction in carbon footprint from having less traffic on the roads, not to mention the possibility of earning carbon credits for reducing the need for air travel. After all, she points out, why fly to Cape Town for a meeting when it can instead be conducted via Teams or other collaborations tools, from the comfort of home?

“This trend leads directly to another longer term trend, where companies are likely to begin to reduce the amount of office space they purchase or rent. Why pay a fortune for real estate to accommodate thousands of people in an office block, when most of those people can operate from home, or anywhere, most of the time?

“Another change driven by the disease has been the significant growth in mobility and collaboration. In the past, you couldn’t do certain things electronically, simply because of the need for a physical signature. However, lockdown has created a rush for digital signature solutions, and this, in turn, should lead to significant cost savings in paper and ink for printers and stationery.”

Ellis adds that these changes are also driving a rapid expansion by most companies in respect of their digital transformation journeys. Moreover, increased digitisation, coupled with the knowledge that it is relatively simple for employees to work from home, means that all businesses have access to a truly global workforce. After all, a person no longer needs to live in the same city as the organisation they work for.

“In fact, they don’t even need to live in the same country. This makes it easier for enterprises to seek out scarce skills, as they have access to a global market for these. All that is required for success is for the employee to have access to high quality connectivity. Obviously, a decent network connection is critical, and I suspect good connectivity will soon become as sought after by enterprises as ritzy office addresses used to be.”

Another key trend Ellis mentions is the speed at which collaboration tools are now evolving and becoming increasingly capable, with new features being added all the time.

“With better tools and connectivity, it is clear that work from home is likely to be the most important trend to arise from the pandemic. It does, of course, lead to its own challenges, such as ensuring that workers understand the importance of having a proper home office or space from which to do their work. This is necessary because work-life balance will become a key consideration moving forward.”

“While most of the trends highlighted are exciting and offer potential to conduct business in a whole new and more effective manner, one which is beneficial to employees, businesses and the environment, it also raises new challenges that will have to be dealt with. Looking ahead, I believe that the key challenges will be overworking – in other words, a poor work-life balance – as well as ensuring that those working from home have access to the right solutions and equipment, as well as fast and reliable connectivity and the quality of service from providers to back this up,” she concludes.

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