The Sunday News
Mike Sonkani, Correspondent
The sprouting up of the strange coronavirus pandemic which ruthlessly enveloped the entire earth brought the whole world to its knees. Social distancing surged as a global mantra inspiring retreat in any open and thriving business.
Among many questions stemming from the oblivion that the virus brought was, “How would businesses thrive under lockdown, social distancing and closed buildings? Could companies still realise productivity considering the uncertainty which percolated the entire business universe as a reason of the virus?” Well, the answer was never far from reach. It is called Location Flexibility, some may know it as remote working. Even though remote working has been heavily criticised by business leaders, we must ultimately cede to the indisputable fact that remote working is the panacea to businesses during these precarious times. The world of work is revolving fast. Human Resource practitioners must be at the helm of this revolution. We cannot wish Covid-19 away but we can create shock absorbers to minimise and mitigate its effects to business by making flexible the world of work.
Location flexibility refers to the ability of employees to make deliberate choices about the locational aspects of their work. This means that they can control, to some extent; where, when and how long they would work. So basically, location flexibility allows the employees to carry out their work out of the company premises to the employee’s convenience. So, as a result of Covid-19 employees can work at an alternative worksite, which during these social distancing times is their home. A home office is just as normal as work premise offices as long as the proper and sufficient infrastructure has been adequately installed. It therefore calls for agility from all organisational dimensions; its management and employees, its policies and systems and its infrastructure in order to be prolific.
This set of arrangement might not be universally applicable to every business, it should be duly noted. Some jobs require physical presence in the workplace like receptionists and shop floor work in manufacturing industries. But for those organisations whose line of work allows them to disassociate themselves from the office without disassociating from productivity they would enjoy the benefits of remote work. Which is why businesses today should readily evolve together with technology. Online presence is no longer an option. It is imperative in business culture. Online presence allows the organisation to move beyond the four walls of the business into the virtual universe which knows no 9am to 5pm arrangement. Company websites should not be full of contents “about” the business, websites should be “the” business. All relevant transactions should be possible by and through visiting the company website.
Mobile apps have also surfaced in that order as well. A common adage claims that facts are stubborn. Clichéd as it sounds, they are indeed.
Mobile phones have offered a plethora of unfathomable conveniences as a result of their heterogeneous functions. The majority of the urban populace owns a smartphone. During the national lockdown we realised that it was insufficient to have a mobile phone just for communication with only communication apps. There was need to develop apps that offered buying and selling services. Fiscal policies proactively allowed the use of plastic money through Visa cards and all other similar forms.
They went ahead of the game but there was a lack of correspondence with business owners to allow its use on online transacting. I say this to emphasise that online presence is no longer an option if businesses have to migrate from the constricting four walls to the boundless virtual world. It is a beckoning necessity. Companies must work on polices that immortalise them online. Technology has brought in such advantages to the world of work.
When a company decides to offer home-based teleworking, technological infrastructure smoothens this unconventional setup. A computer, smartphone and internet connection would suffice in linking the employee to the organisation and to the clients. With the customers unable to physical go to the service provider’s premises the only option would be to visit the company website or mobile app. The employee at the other end and ultimately the organisation, will have the same traffic that was supposed to physically visit their premises available in their website or mobile app. Business continues normally, just a bit conveniently of course. No one says no to convenience. Therefore Covid-19 should be a wake-up call to business owners and leaders to go back to the drawing board and redefine work policies in this highly turbulent environment. Location flexibility is a winner.
Location flexibility under adequate infrastructure will support teamwork as well. Reporting and feedback, information sharing and collaboration would be possible in spite of the detachment from the organisational premises. Even in a physical location, there is requirement for agility if you have noticed. We are now more cross functional in organisations, you would realise. Marketing team might be working together with the Information Technology team and these are hardly at the same place at the same time.
Therefore, flexibility in communication must be utilised in bringing these together. Of late, there has been a wide use of Microsoft teams and Zoom. These are communication channels that are Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) based. With an internet connection, teams are able to still be under the same roof through video or audio conferencing. Therefore, whether miles apart, floors apart intergroup and interdisciplinary teams are still able to communicate and get the job done.
What was once a rarity and an unorthodox way of work has become a defining feature of the future of work. If productivity is to be realised companies must be ready to migrate and shift work and company policies. Location flexibility is growing in popularity and is remaking how we work, the tools we use to work, how we communicate at work and the hours we work. It may be a son of necessity but location flexibility might outlive the Covid-19 and its trail of industrial dwindling. This is because location flexibility is the future. Location flexibility is the only winner to beat Covid-19 in the workplace.
