Ready To Work On Site?

(All views expressed on this site are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated)?

?The landscape of the workplace changed on March 16, 2020. That Monday in the Philippines, the operations of organizations were challenged to redesign their business models to stay afloat during the covid-19 pandemic. Last month, the covid-19 pandemic marked its second year since the Philippine government implemented control measures to protect the public from getting infected by the virus. Within this period all businesses, economic activities and day-to-day life shifted to the so called new normal. Regardless of the size and nature of operations, all businesses had to work their way around the situation.??

?The implementing rules and regulations of the Telecommuting Act also known as the Republic Act 11165 was released on March 26, 2019, which provided guidance on how the private sector can allow their employees to take work arrangements from an alternative workplace with the use of telecommunication and/or computer technologies. For most organizations who have been studying on how their employees can work from home, this was welcomed positively, but nobody knew that a year after its implementation it was going to be put to the test.?

?Two years since, today Monday April 4, 2022, organizations were up for another challenge as the government released a directive to move their employees back to the office after working from home during the last two years. Last March 1, 2022, the government has declared majority of the cities and provinces in the country to Alert Level 1 based on the set restrictions by the Inter-Agent Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infections Diseases. This meant that the initial restrictions have been eased which now allowed establishments and public transportation at 100% operations. This was good news for businesses and most people since now they can resume personal activities- trips, gatherings, and occasions. However, one of the most trivial issues that is now the topic of many conversations is about employees going back to work on site. For IT-BPM companies, this has been reinforced by the directive coming from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) which instructed all companies to move back their employees from work-from-home set-up to on site.??

?In a recent gathering of industry leaders, a survey was conducted among 103 respondents and the results confirmed that in the next 12 months, companies will explore a shift in work arrangements. A substantial number showed that they will be working remotely full-time while others will implement 50% remote and 50% on-site. This puts a lot of organizations on planning-mode given the period of execution and the resources needed to get through this shift including tedious discussions on its legal and labor implications.?

?Shifting the work schedules and location of employees entail several phases of implementation. Aside from the technical aspect where employment contracts, client agreements and business revenue forecasts, the ability and potential of an organization to cope up and respond to this situation is going to be the turning points of its survival. The other half of the success will come from shaping their work culture to embrace all the changes that will come out of this.?

?To help companies manage the process, here are strategies and factors that they can take into consideration during the roll out period of their respective “responses” to this 2.0 version of the new normal.?

1. If you have been monitoring your percentage of employees working from home and on site during the pandemic, you can determine the headcount that will be impacted. Look at the numbers and outline their profiles and location. This will help you identify employees that can move with minimal effort and those that would entail more. There is going to be an effect in employee retention so you also must bake this in your headcount management.?
2. It always works to get an Employee Temp Check. Gather feedback from employees and map out challenges and motivators so you can foresee challenges and mitigate risks. Results will also help you understand the shift in culture that was brought about by the pandemic. Internal communication which involves frontline leaders will help set the right tone and expectations. Critical to the success of communication is to follow through and adhere to what you commit to employees. Be transparent with your intent and genuinely work with your employees. This is always the key aspect in shaping workplace culture.?
3. Given the resources, timelines, regulatory compliance, and safety standards, evaluate your readiness so you can map out the phases of your movement. Invest in consultations with occupational health and safety practitioners, business continuity professionals, and involve all departments in your organization so you can all together assess their respective scope and responsibilities. All departments will require a share in the overall output of whatever you decide to do as a company. You can create a working team represented by the employee groups and departments to promote collaboration and a sense of urgency when decisions need to be made. This should be different from the leadership meetings. The leadership should be able to view the overall progress of your back on site efforts, you need a separate team on the ground to implement the action items.?
4. Whether or not Hybrid Work Schedules will be the way forward, organizations need to scale the sustainability of this by producing a policy to set controls, conditions, and requirements. It will be good to ask if a hybrid work schedule is temporary or conditional, these are 2 different approaches. Once the first three approaches are achieved, you would have already assessed your organization’s readiness and scale on how effective your efforts will be. The output will not be absolute so create back up measures to ensure that the transition does not negatively impact your operations. This will push organizations even more to invest in the right technology and continue with their automation efforts to remove the processes and systems that will hinder the success of hybrid workplaces.??
5. Employees coming back on site will feel a sense of familiarity but having to work through the pandemic for 2 years also needs a refresher. Create a Back to Site Onboarding and remind them of the basics like what you asked them to go through when they were hired. This also creates an assurance that coming back to the site is safe and fun. Tour them around or show them how the site has been prepared for their return. Again, messaging is a critical aspect of the entire approach so make sure that you create collaterals that will be effective and that will highlight the company’s true sense of care towards employees. Feature employees coming to work, communicate how your efforts have progressed, and communicate the situation outside the office including transportation options and operating hours of coffee shops and restaurants.?
6. The concept of a fun workplace also shifted during the pandemic. HR Teams have implemented virtual programs that will help employees continue to stay connected and be engaged in their jobs. Recreate your Engagement Activities once again and show employees the fun of coming to work back to see the programs that they have missed. Design your engagement activities and employee services to equally cater those who will remain working from home and on site. People had to limit interactions and contact during the pandemic so this will be a good opportunity to connect and build teams back. Remember, Mental Health is going to be an integral aspect of your programs so check what you can offer to your employees on this regard. More importantly, you must help employees connect again with their colleagues. It will be a wonderful time to gather and do team building activities.??

It will require an entire organization to work together to implement changes with less challenges to none. The financial requirements by Finance, the regulatory implications by Legal, the physical requirements by Admin, the people influence by HR, the consistency of output by Operations, the standards of work by Quality, the learning environment by Training, the support of Leaders, and the commitment of all employees, when you put these all together, they will create a meaningful experience for employees.?

?In the succeeding months we will see organizations succeed. The hope now is that in between all the phases of transition, organizations should not miss out the key ingredients of their potential success- change management, technology, regulatory compliance, readiness, and employee morale.?

?Are you ready to go back on site??

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