Tag: flexible working

As the COVID-19 crisis redefines how economies and society as a whole function, human ingenuity has sparked a wave of innovation set to be the blueprint for the decades to come. According to the 2021 Trends, organisations will have the opportunity to map out new territory as they embrace new strategies, services and experiences to meet evolving human needs.

Employment is no longer a simple exchange of money for skills. These days, not only employers but employees expect much more from this exchange of value, and here’s what organisations must do to attract and retain engaged talent in the future of work.

When planning around COVID-19 was first catapulted into the boardroom of organisations, there was tremendous readiness by most tech companies to adopt this new way of work. For the most part, teams were well equipped with the relevant mobile infrastructure such as laptops, personal smart phones, data/home internet to enable teams to continue working with limited disruption.

How companies treat their people during the COVID-19 pandemic will define the type of employer they are. And how they adjust their human capital management strategies in response to the pandemic will impact employee loyalty, motivation, and satisfaction, which in turn impacts customer satisfaction.

Although South African women are making great strides within the workplace, corporate South Africa has more work to do to effectively transform boardrooms. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed deep-rooted inequalities in social, political and economic systems, and has demonstrated the importance of the unique skills that women bring to societies.

Even the smartest minds around boardroom tables in many corporate companies could not have predicted that businesses around the world would be facing a crisis of this nature and this magnitude. COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into all business predictions and all 2020 plans. Anything that any business wanted to do this year, or likely even had planned for 2021, will have to be changed, or require a completely new approach.

As South Africans face the reality of a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, working from home has become the 'new normal' overnight – and if properly managed, it can be just as productive as being in the office. South African companies now join millions of businesses across the globe forced to learn fast and on-the-job how to manage a completely remote workforce.

In 2020, technology is set to continue transforming organisations and skills needs are evolving rapidly. As organisations focus on sustainability, relevance and sourcing and retaining talent, job seekers will need to focus on learnability and skills development.

In today’s world, clever tech and cloud computing enable many of us to work from anywhere. Can executive assistants do their job remotely too? We all know what the acronym WFH stands for but what about WFA? In an era of rapid technological change, working from home has quickly given way to working from anywhere – anywhere with an internet connection, that is.

Businesses in South Africa are under financial pressure. There’s no need to go into the why of the situation; we’re all acutely aware of that. More important to consider is the how for sustainability; ways to reduce costs.