With the pandemic, many companies are currently faced with Cornelian choices in terms of operations and workplaces: should we be face-to-face or teleworking or combine both? should we change our workspaces? what are the impacts on surface areas and real estate? when should we adapt the structure?
Anyone who can provide definitive answers to these questions is a clever person. So, we will not venture to formulate ready-made answers. It is perhaps through simple questions that we can imagine viable solutions such as:
- Are our products and processes still adapted to the new situation (e.g. with the increase in online shopping)?
- Is the presence of staff 100% indispensable, every day of the week or can we opt for partial teleworking?
- Is it possible to dematerialise certain processes by eliminating physical documents and allow “virtualisation” of processes?
- Is our customer approach always appropriate? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to visit customers rather than have them come to the company?
- Why do we require the presence of our employees in the company? Out of obligation or lack of trust?
- To limit risks, can we distribute the activities differently, respectively divide the teams so that they do not cross each other?
- Can we introduce workspace sharing or “coworking”?
The problem is complex and requires several lines of thought. The impact on surfaces, in terms of number and quality, and the management of infrastructures must be very well analysed.
Companies have sometimes overreacted to the pandemic without asking themselves the right questions about the medium term. Even if this is deplorable, this type of crisis will not be over with the arrival of a vaccine for COVID, so long-term solutions are therefore essential.
All players in these markets, customers, suppliers, owners, will have to agree on the approaches to be taken, otherwise there may be only losers. We can rely on the intelligence and pragmatism of the interlocutors to achieve a good balance.
Happy reading and a good start to autumn