The Great Onboarding: Creating The Future Of Work, Now

By Lindsay Brown, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific and Japan at GoTo

For many of us, the pandemic triggered a reassessment of what’s truly important — both personally and professionally. In recent times, as part of what’s being called the “Great Resignation,” record numbers of people have left their jobs. In November 2021, 3% of the U.S. workforce resigned from their current gig. The situation is similar in Asia Pacific, with 91% of SMEs being critically impacted by more employees resigning now compared to just 12 months ago. In Singapore, 69% of respondents reported an increase in turnover in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period the year before.

But this great reshuffling isn’t just about quitting. It’s important to ask, what’s next for millions of workers who changed jobs, or even careers, during a pandemic-fueled workplace shift? What does it all mean for employers, employees, and the future of work?

While the rules of so-called ‘new norm’ are still being defined, one thing is certain: workers now have more leverage than ever before.

Changing jobs, changing expectations

A remote or hybrid-work arrangement was a brand-new experience for most of us, including me. Aside from being able to maintain a better semblance of work-life balance, such arrangements have opened up all sorts of opportunities for us. For example, for many workers out there, they can choose where and how they work for the very first time. Companies, too, are no longer bound by their geographical locations and are reaching out far and wide to recruit the best talent for various jobs. Benefits, too, have changed, with many companies now offering ‘remote work’ as one of the perks.

Employees are reshaping their work lives to fit their lifestyles instead of the other way around. For instance, it is more common now to hear of workers changing jobs and moving to locations that suit their lifestyle. This is a trend that we have all observed of late, the way workers now live where they want to and work in roles they find the most fulfilling.

With that said, flexible work and greater job satisfaction don’t have to mean globe-trotting and job-hopping. Instead, it can also mean adjusting your current job and changing perspectives so that you don’t feel burned out.

‘Changing perspective’, in this case, means assessing where you are in life and the kinds of risks you are willing to take in pursuit of your career. That calculus is different for everyone, which is precisely the point of flexible work.

Navigating the new workplace

In the emerging, more flexible workplace, it is important for everyone — leaders and team members — to communicate clearly and openly, as well as engage with one another to maintain a trusting and positive work environment. This is critical because, before the pandemic, trust was often built over conversations around coffee machines and water coolers — it was part and parcel of everyday office life. With virtual or hybrid work arrangements, organisations now need to work doubly hard to recreate these conditions, build trust, and reinforce the purpose and value of each team member. Some of the initiatives that leaders could consider are:

1. Creating a sense of community – Building communities within team allows for employee bonding across all levels and an opportunity to facilitate meaningful connections. This promotes a sense of inclusivity through team-build exercises, or ‘virtual water cooler’ moments that allow team members to get to know each other beyond the boundaries of work.

2. Provide the right tools and training – To organise workflow and track hours, you’ll need communication tools, project management platforms, and scheduling applications. Proper training and induction should be included to ensure employees have the skills and knowledge to complete their specific duties. This is especially useful in flexible work environments with team members that may be working in a different time zone. Even if staff are in separate locations and working at different hours, an accessible schedule can improve transparency and make it easier to plan workflow.

3. Establishing a culture of trust and communication – Employees must also be able to report to and receive assistance from management when necessary. They must have trust in management’s ability to respond to questions when they arise, and that tasks will be completed in a timely manner. Without having to ask an individual employee, wellplanned projects and transparent timekeeping may help everyone understand their assignments and measure progress.

 4. Establish clear guidelines – By establishing clear guidelines and well-defined expectations, employees understand what is expected of them in their role. These policies can range from expectations on working from home, scheduling rules, and notifications about how the company will monitor employees.

Overall there is no templated approach that will erase 2020 and make everything go back to the way we used to work. Leaders need to shift their mindset to focus on the quality of how they connect with individual employees, rather than fulfilling “obligatory company goals”.

Creating the future of work, now

 But will all this last? The only constant is change, and things will continue to change for the better, for workers and their employers.

What COVID has done is open people’s eyes to options. According to Mckinsey, it isn’t enough for companies to update their policies on remote work. Instead, leaders must consider three elements of flexibility if they truly want to meet the needs of their workers: where work can be done, when work can be done, and how work can be done. In fact, the article goes as far as ending with this warning: “Provide true flexibility to retain and grow your workforce — or don’t, and watch your people leave”.

 Technology has proven to be a great equaliser for organisations, especially SMEs, during the pandemic, and the focus should not end here. Through technology, not only can work continue but studies have also indicated an increase in employee productivity as well. In this new era of flexible work, businesses must prioritise focus on reducing complexities and cost for IT by investing in tools and apps that can help enable and manage remote and hybrid working. This can be done by consolidating IT solutions that allows employees to collaborate effectively, and for IT teams to better manage challenges efficiently, whilst also being cost effective. Having the right tools for the right use case allows employees to work productively and businesses to scale accordingly. Not to mention as the cyberthreat landscape continues to evolve, it is crucial that businesses remain safe and secure in the digital age by investing in the right tools that prioritises security.

Ultimately, the future of work isn’t the domain of massive, multi-national corporations. SMEs, too, can engage technology to drive better connections, engagements, and productivity. The key for businesses is to adapt and optimise their tech stack and make investment decisions that favours IT process automation, performance, reliability and security that leads to increased employee productivity and job satisfaction.

Previous articleEnter a ‘Golden State of Mind’ with California Wines
Next articleNew Malaysia Agreement Suggestion Is Nonsense: Law Minister

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here