Future of Work | Future Workplace Trends Post COVID | The Survival Strategy
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a theatrical loss of human life worldwide and presented an extraordinary challenge to public health issues, socio-economic challenges, and challenging all existing workplace methodologies in redefining the future of work. The economic and social disturbance caused by the COVID-19 is devastating, as millions of employees are struggling to find the perfect harmony. There has been a drastic shift in how companies manage their distributed workforce and optimize their facility needs. Companies are now focusing on integrating hybrid workplace models to ensure both the safety and productivity of their employees, and there has never been a more intense need to put together a flexible workplace model.
By all accounts, the emerging disorder brought by the pandemic exceeded the predictions in those commentaries. At the time of writing, the virus has killed over 3.2 million people worldwide, disrupted means of livelihoods, cost trillions of dollars while global recession emerges. In efforts to isolate cases and limit the transmission rate of the virus, countries across the globe executed rigorous measures such as mandatory work from home, national lockdown, border closures, and other medical precautionary measures. The companies have been strictly advised to make sure of the safety of their employees; while making sure that the company’s operations run smoothly.
To tackle these problems, certain policies and models were brought up to ensure smooth functioning.
Many small businesses are financially fragile through the pandemic COVID-19 Havoc as many individuals, workers, employers, and other businessmen are affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 and muddled with economic instability, they are concerned about what the future holds. The Future of work has never been so uncertain.
How COVID Impacted Workplaces in 2021?
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the World hard in March 2020, millions of workers began working from home – an unprecedented and ongoing hybrid workforce management strategy facilitated by the rise of connectivity and communication technologies.
The unprecedented disruption has defined what the future of work will be. Why most businesses prefer a hybrid workplace model?
While the full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workplaces is still unidentified, it is possible to identify some of the main effects on businesses, employees, and workplaces around you. Due to this; the demand for tailor-made flexible working models have increased, which provides organizations insights into key factors that can lead to efficient workforce management. Around 75% of the workforce in major countries such as the USA, Germany, India, China and France have decided to continue flexible workforce management adopted in their companies.
To counter the challenges faced due to COVID-19, Organizations started adapting flexible work from home and smart technologies such as integrated workplace management systems, 360° asset tracking and management, Flexible office seat booking solution, remote employee support software, etc to facilitate seamless day to day operation. Smart facility management suites can enable companies to retain 100% productivity whilst maintaining the safety of their employees, regardless of where they are stationed.
Role of Facility Managers in Mitigating COVID Challenges
Organizations everywhere have responded differently to the COVID-19 Pandemic situation. Some have all of their employees working entirely from home with offices empty or on minimal staff.
Regardless of the number of people in a building, it is more vital than ever that the facility operation continues to function safely and efficiently. Facilities management teams are in charge of ensuring that the buildings remain clean (sterilized at frequent intervals), eliminate unplanned breakdowns, make sure smooth workplace operations, and establish safe and touchless access during the pandemic. Many facility managers have supported their employees by providing them with all the necessary tools to cope with the pandemic. Organizations around the world are working towards a common goal in enabling their employees to work from home for the betterment of individual health while a portion of them allows a certain percentage of their employees to work from the office by adopting all the safety measures necessary.
Prior to the pandemic, mental health in the workplace was becoming more problematic. One out of every four workers have a mental health or substance abuse issue, and the same number wishes their company provided mental health and substance abuse counselling as a service to workers. To tackle the problems facility managers started adopting the concept of a flexible workplace, The aim behind the concept was to provide the ideal workplace experience where that best suits the demands of both the employee and employer. There are a variety of ways that it can be implemented, such as providing flexible working hours to both employers and employees. Part-time work from home, Caregiving leave and much more. Creating a flexible workplace engages the employee with their workplace thus increasing overall productivity while working, as a happy mind is a sound mind. An organization’s readiness to adapt to the future of work depends crucially on how it transforms its organizational structure, managing a flexible workforce and workplace.
SeQure’s Internal Employee Help Desk can become the bridge between employers as employees as it’s Intelligent Dashboard and easy to use User Interface makes it easier to track and manage support tickets, thus resolving employees issue/concerns at the earliest.
Facility Managers and employees alike are suffering from a difficult period of stress, heartache, and rapid change. Facility Managers can use what they learn from managing the hybrid facility to create more comprehensive, empathetic, and supportive workplaces for all employees
Future Workplace Trends and How SeQure Help Adopt Hybrid (Work From Home/ Work From the office) Work Culture
While dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations around the world have started their “New Normal”. In the stir of COVID-19, Employee needs, demands and priorities have changed to a greater extent.
The global IWMS market size is expected to reach $7.4 billion by 2026, rising at a market growth of 15% CAGR. As more and more companies are opting IWMS for their workplaces, this number is expected to grow even more. Prior to Covid-19 the organizations were heavily centred around using conventional approach but now many of them are switching towards digital solutions. Furthermore, the benefits provided by these systems are immense. From real-time tracking, disaster recovery to safety and security, the IWMS is driving the market towards a whole new facility management era.
A hybrid workplace also causes the high demand usage of dynamic jobs. Work from home is a great choice for all employees, but it may be particularly beneficial in making workplaces more welcoming for employees with disabilities.
Long-term remote working can bring unprecedented challenges to employee training, especially for new and/or novice workers who are unable to observe, inquire, learn, and be taught as easily, which can have an impact on career growth. More broadly, more grants and incentives for employers to endorse training and placements should be considered – not just for workers at the entry point of their career but for all employees. Modern IWMS with integrated employee onboarding programs and real-time support solutions can help new employees feel welcomed, interact with their team/ reporting managers in real time and get absorbed into their projects with ease.
SeQure, as one of the most versatile and effective workplace management solutions, provides end to end technology needs that help the companies to sail through their digital transformation journey easier. SeQure has become one of the most innovative digital catalysts for business growth in the field of facility management and provides a reliable platform for managing business needs. SeQure provides multiple facility management modules such as:
- Visitor Management
- Internal Helpdesk
- Desk Management
- Asset Management
In General, IWMS software offers a wide variety of services to industries and employees, but SeQure, in particular, can prove to be useful to various enterprises and office setup scenarios. Apart from providing effective workplace management solutions to large organizations, It can also be tailored to work with small organizations such as startups. From providing visitor management solutions, feature-rich IT-helpdesk to tracking and managing assets efficiently and using real time location awareness and occupancy analytics, SeQure is the right choice for navigating the pandemic and facilitating a stellar workplace experience.
How Smart Facilities are Influencing the Business World?
Digital technology and data are high on the schema for insight and adaptability, exclusively following COVID-19 disruptions. Smart facilities have been typically driven by cost-centric rather than value-driven priorities. However, with millennial customers demanding real-time, unified, and connected services, tech-driven services are on the rise in the business world. Smart facility solutions like Flexible Office Seat Booking, Asset Management Systems, Touchless Visitor Management and many other functionalities are evolving from legacy maintenance and basic functional support to the means of providing an experience that delight employees and improves their interaction with the workplace. Agile, self-regulated, and integrated workplaces are the future nowadays. Smart Facilities in facility management, driven by the rise of connectivity through technology. This network of connected devices enables information from departments/ facilities/ workstations to be easily accessible for reporting and analysis, & also enables a high level of communication between these diverse systems to enable efficient, modernized building management solutions.
Technology has become such an integral part of everyday life, both at work and at play. We now expect a building to work for us, offering optimum lighting, heating, and temperature without the need for user feedback, even workplaces use technologies to connect with their employees and engage them with their work environment. Using smart office seat management apps, self service ticketing solutions and more the smart workplace serves as a crucial piece. The facility management team has always had a time-consuming job of monitoring and maintaining various aspects of the workplace manually (or siloed in multiple spreadsheets) but with the advent of smart facilities and solutions, the task has become much easier.
How SeQure as an Integrated Workplace Management Suite Will Help Businesses With their Re-opening Readiness Strategy?
The pandemic is likely to result in some existing roles threatened and new ones developing, meaning there will be a superior requirement for employees and workers to retrain to fill existing skills and to develop new technological skills for Workplaces and organizations that are recruiting. SeQure’s ready to deploy Integrated Facility Management System would help business come up with reopening readiness strategies.
SeQure cost-effective solutions provide greater opportunity, by providing digital tools and solutions that help businesses to track and manage their workplace effectively. Integrated facility management solutions such as Visitor Management, Asset Management System, Desk Management, Self service ticketing solutions can help businesses easily track and maintain their workforce. Businesses resetting their workspace and bringing the employees back to the premises has made it even more necessary to ensure the safety and well being of their employees. SeQure’s as an IWMS helps tackle this problem by connecting the employees with their employers and work with the help of smart technologies, thus paving the way to create an effective strategy that can be used by the organizations to plan their Re-opening successfully.
Return to Office Made Possible with SeQure:
Most organizations have adopted new ways of operating that have left their offices, warehouses, shops, and other facilities vacant to keep operations running while minimizing the risk to employees. Return to the office is made possible with the help of SeQure as it provides the most innovative methods to work remotely and smartly while staying at our remote work stations. SeQure provides a hybrid workplace that provides the facility of both physical and remote working environments to a new level. Enabling A new synergy between facility management and the IT helpdesk is made possible with the help of SeQure, which ensures a safe and secure workplace all the time.
Due to the disastrous pandemic COVID-19 situation, the world’s economy was shut down nearly overnight. Strategies to compress the COVID-19 pandemic bend such as communal lockdowns, social distancing, stay-at-home discipline, travel, and mobility restrictions have caused the temporary shutting down of many businesses because people can’t commute to their offices but employing Facility Management solutions has enabled many of these businesses to get back to the track. In such a disastrous situation, Companies and organizations have found new ways and methodologies to survive well in such a pandemic and have to cope with the upcoming consequences of the pandemic. The future of Work is unprecedented but SeQure has provided a great opportunity to start a New Normal by utilizing IT Technologies and a plethora of design-led engineering services for the growth of the businesses again.
