The pandemic has shown that most staff appreciate being able to work from home or other ‘exotic’ locations. This is perfectly understandable, even if a balance must be struck between face-to-face and virtual work.
It is now a matter of bringing back a certain “normality”, i.e., preparing the return of staff to the company’s premises, at least for two to four days a week, but how can this be done?
Let us start by laying the basic foundations:
- The staff will do everything possible to avoid or minimise their visits to unattractive work areas.
- If presence is only required to promote “acute control”, we might as well forget it, it will no longer work.
- If staff do not see any added value in being present at work, they will prefer to remain in their family environment.
The new generations of employees want to learn, do meaningful work and work in a friendly environment with a future and hopes. That is a lot for one company, but it is the price to pay to keep the best people in.
How to proceed (a few examples):
- Review the way you run your business, both face-to-face and virtually, to be efficient, effective and give meaning to the approach chosen.
- Rethink the spaces in the company to “make people want to want to” come to work.
- Be clear about the limits between the face-to-face and the virtual and explain the reasons for this.
- Select the activities that should be carried out in the company and those that can be carried out in the virtual world.
- Communicate very regularly and transparently about intentions, measures, progress of changes.
It takes time and above all an excellent strategy. In addition, workspaces must make sense, be logical and provide real added value for staff and the company.
Finally, surrounding yourself with people who have the knowledge, know-how or passion for professional interiors is the key to success and a return to (partial) presence.
Good implementation and good reading