The landscape of the Workplace is dynamically changing and the Post COVID Workspace is heading towards a paradigm shift wherein Remote working is redefining the new concepts of engagement and employee experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the workplace culture due to lockdown and restrictive movements every now and then.

The global work ecosystem has shifted from physical meetings to remote interactions, metamorphosing a culture change and transforming the way companies function.

Hybrid work is going to be a driver of business transformation post-COVID and some of the roles and functions will permanently shape up for remote working. Unsurprisingly, the competition for talent is growing fierce; clear and strong employer branding will be key to differentiating futuristic organizations from archaic ones.

Embracing this Paradigm Shift

At a functional level, employees are evaluating their equations at work and stressing on the need for a personalized and fulfilling job experience. People are affirming their need for a work-life balance and their journey progression in the organization. Employees are now asking radical questions beyond salary and appraisals.

Building productive teams in this Hybrid era requires a transformative approach and close investment into the Human Aspect of the workforce. Here are a few strategies that can help organizations achieve a competitive advantage in these times:

Weave Purpose, Belongingness, Collaboration, and Excitement Into The Fabric Of Happiness At Work.

While remuneration continues to be a motivation, the larger ambit of “Engaged Employees” is rooting from their representation and participation at large towards growth. With remote working taking over physical interactions, it is important to think about inclusion and strengthen the relationship with the talent through regular interactions not just related to transactional work discussions.IT is imperative to pass the ethos to the employees consistently to bring resonance at an organizational level.

Sustainable Employee Wellbeing

While remote working has blurred the time boundaries, it has also made employees realize about the need for having a work-life balance. The emotional well-being of employees has taken the center stage for leaders. Remote working has led employees to deal with indefinite work times, Zoom Fatigue (Prolonged Online meetings) and no substantial time for recuperation. Therefore, organizations need to embed a culture of sustainable impact on the mental well-being of the employees. Measures that can help actualize the same include:

• Better healthcare support with benefits like onsite childcare, medical checkups, and mental health workshops
• Internal Support Groups to ensure SOS help to anyone dealing with Mental Fatigue
• Delink from unnecessary online meetings and shift on quick call interactions

Learning & Development

The need of the hour is to invest in upskilling the right talent and building up future business leaders through equal opportunity for all. Encourage employees to develop critical skills that will potentially help tap multiple opportunities for their career advancement along with adding value to the organization’s growth, rather than preparing for a specific next role or requirement.

The Transition towards Resilient Organizational Designs

The pre-COVID era largely revolved around building capabilities to bring efficiency at work and to streamline processes and workflows accordingly. The post-COVID phase, however, calls for organizations to be more agile and adaptive and hence the need to have structures and roles that are resilient and flexible to deal with disruptive scenarios.

Strengthen Data Security & Monitoring Tools

Since the onset of the pandemic, many companies have shifted to the use of remote monitoring tools to track virtual check-ins and laptop usage. However, monitoring employee engagement and tracking the satisfaction indices is going to take equal precedence and will be imperative to know optimum employee information through analytics.

Future work trends are bound to be atypical; having an edge in these times calls for a progressive and scalable approach. Hence, Strategies that evolve dynamically and sustainably in sync with organizational culture, vision, and goals will be the way to go.

Jyoti has career contour spanned over 12+ years handling various HR interventions which includes Recruitment, Trainings , Employee Engagement, Performance Appraisal to name a few. She is engaged into building a transformational and diverse organization, talent development and implementing effective HR systems and practices.