There’s no doubt that the priorities of the HR function have shifted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its many effects include the mass transition to remote working, which brings fresh challenges to organisations, such as:
- How do we measure productivity?
- How do we maintain collaboration for innovation?
- How do we nurture culture and embrace common values and goals?
- How do we deliver a consumer-grade, individualised employee experience?
Not surprisingly, employee productivity and well-being go hand-in-hand. That is why HR leaders agree that “taking steps to safeguard the experience and wellbeing of employees” is among the key priorities for the HR function. Reinforcing the HR survey findings, the KPMG 2020 CEO Outlook and the (soon to be launched) 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO survey both ranked culture and employee experience among their top priorities.
The seemingly overnight move to remote working has challenged leaders to rethink their traditional work models and permanently shifted the way they think about what it means to be “connected, engaged, and productive.”
With 39% of employees set to continue to work remotely over the next two years, we expect a hybrid model of attendance. As a result, there has been an unprecedented investment in digital technology to support remote working and to ensure talent pipelines adapt to these new models. Unsurprisingly, collaboration tools are one of the biggest technology investments as they are considered fundamental to increasing team visibility, maintaining productivity, and achieving business outcomes.