Reimagining a workplace where people and business needs both come first

Canadian companies have an opportunity to reframe their future.

Reimagining a workplace where people and business needs both come first

Companies across Canada and around the world responded swiftly to the pandemic by safeguarding the health and safety of their people. What resulted was a shift from the traditional and static office environment to an entirely new and dynamic workplace experience. Today it’s clear the changes are here to stay, but what implications are they having on businesses themselves?

As companies reopen their physical doors, employees are bringing with them a new set of expectations. Employers must contend with the evolving demands of their people in a robust job market that has them scrambling to attract and retain the talent required for their businesses to thrive, while balancing the business requirements to achieve expected results.

What’s more, traditional assumptions around productivity have gone out the window. Today, 67% of employees believe their productivity can be accurately measured irrespective of their location. More than half agree that a mix of onsite and remote work will impact their company’s ability to solve problems more efficiently, and drive productivity and creativity.

At EY, we’re supporting clients across industries through transformation towards the future of work. The companies we work with are not opposed to change. The challenge is, they’ve been so bogged down in upholding business continuity and meeting employees’ preferences that they haven’t had time to think about what comes next.

Now, companies have a unique opportunity to reimagine their workplaces, particularly when it comes to when and how work gets done. It’s a chance to take a pause and think about the needs of the business.

With this in mind, what can you do to make sure your company is keeping pace with the speed of change in the workplace?

Here are three key considerations as you determine how to strike the right balance between people priorities and priorities for your business.

1.     Start with a set of guiding principles

According to our Work Reimagined study, one of the top six missteps companies make is being “bottom up” vs. “vision led.” Before you can get to where you want to go, you need a plan. It’s important to start by defining a set of guiding principles that are directly aligned to your business.

Many organizations are hosting visioning sessions among executives and key stakeholders to achieve agreed-upon guiding principles and guardrails to serve as a beacon. You need to realize that approaching workplace flexibility is not only an operational issue, but a strategic decision that impacts both your business and your people.

When defining these guiding principles, leaders are addressing many elements, including the business and operational requirements, what’s happening in the market and the organization’s employee value proposition. Using a framework like this to develop a broader vision can help you bring synergy and alignment across various areas of your business. A vision also creates a sense of purpose in the workplace and helps clearly define expectations.

To make those decisions, consider all aspects of work. These include customer interactions, operational requirements and resource needs (e.g., data, systems) and employee engagement. That last item can help you assess the suitability of remote working for different roles and role families to support the business. Conduct a scoring exercise to quantify employee engagement for more effective analysis, comparison and tracking. Through this exercise, you can also identify and confirm which activities are most valuable on premise and which are more suitable for remote work.

3.     Think about the broader implications of change

When looking towards the future of work, simply updating a remote working policy is not enough. There are a variety of downstream implications you need to be aware of. Some of the more obvious considerations include real estate and technology, but there are many other complex elements like talent and change management, legal, finance and more.

When trying to balance the needs of people and the business, be proactive in understanding the implications for all these distinct but integral areas, as they all impact both the business and the employee experience.

To gain that understanding, companies are establishing command centres and cross-functional teams to collaborate with well-defined governance protocols. Such protocols help determine how different parties interact to achieve synergy and involve the right stakeholders for the appropriate insights and decisions.

A future-focused business model with humans at the centre

While the current environment presents new challenges for employers, the good news is that almost half of employees (48%) believe their company culture has changed for the better since the pandemic began. A stronger culture means better business outcomes, like higher employee engagement and productivity. And those employers who can deliver what employees are looking for are better poised to attract and retain the right talent.

It’s true that employees’ and employers’ needs and expectations don’t always align. But their differences shouldn’t drive them apart.

As we navigate a new normal, companies large and small have a unique opportunity to reframe their futures. The future of work is about putting people at the centre but not losing sight of what’s required to build the strength and agility of the business. By harmonizing the needs of the business with the needs of your people, you can reimagine a better future where everyone’s needs come first.