Permanent home office: management challenges and advantages

Home office permanente | Gamefic

At this point, it has become quite clear that the new coronavirus pandemic has affected the society in many ways. Social distancing forced a change in daily routine, especially the professional one.

However, these changes were fundamental for a recycling of thoughts, processes and priorities.

And all levels of companies had to reinvent the business to offer the necessary structure for the employee to maintain productivity.

The fact is that remote work has arrived and consolidated itself. Although it was forced in the beginning, companies are studying to make the home office permanent.

But, what are the challenges to make this become a reality? And what impacts will this have on people management? Shall we discuss this a little more?

The home office so far

Initially, it should be noted that the perception of the home office has changed. A study by Robert Half showed that 80% of respondents saw remote work as a benefit. Today, they see it as a way of working.

This is largely due to the corporate culture and vision of work that we have lived for a long time. Uniform, badge, a big company and full of rooms. This is the past.

In this context, with a positive experience, the permanent home office has gained strength in large, medium and small organizations.

Companies that joined the permanent home office

The permanent home office has major financial and relationship impacts. At this point, management and leadership assume important roles for the execution of the work without impairing the teams’ productivity and performance.

For some companies, remote work has already worked and will be a reality even after the end of social distance.

Twitter, Petrobras and XP Inc. are examples of companies that will adopt the permanent home office for part of their teams.

Common factors among companies that choose this model of work are the proposals for the creation of smart offices. They are nothing more than points for strategic meetings, social gatherings and for use by the teams when necessary.

The measures seek to contain expenses and invest in a more sustainable way of working. Now, the search is for the well-being of the organization and the people.

After all, what about remote management?

The remote management of people was one of the points of greatest attention to organizations. Although face-to-face management is more “simple”, dealing with teams at a distance has proved to be a challenging but pleasant and evolving task.

The challenges

  1. Managers

The first and greatest challenge of distance management is the managers themselves.

Leaders are adapting to the new management format. Since the challenge is to keep the organizational culture alive and performance at a high level, managers must be trained and prepared to handle situations remotely.

  1. New processes

A new work format requires new processes. Especially for companies that did not have the culture of remote work. The permanent home office requires new rules and organization in communication between teams in order to avoid noise and performance drop.

  1. Investment in infrastructure and technologies

The permanent home office will definitely have major impacts on the technological evolution of companies. To maintain the smooth running of activities at a distance, people must have the equipment and support necessary so they are able to carry out their activities accurately.

In addition, managers need tools to better organize and manage the activities of their employees.

  1. Maintenance of organizational culture

Another major challenge is to transport the culture applied in the physical environment to the digital environment. Transparency and communication must be preserved and further promoted.

The advantages

  1. Cost reduction

Although not directly linked to people management, cost reduction is a direct impact on the organization when opting for the permanent home office. However, the savings in the reduction of internal expenses can be applied to the development of employees’ careers.

  1. Attract new talent

Remote work allows relationships with professionals from different parts of the world. Breaking the “locality” barrier is beneficial for attracting new talent and retaining those who are already part of the team.

  1. Technology investment

While investment in technology is a challenge, its implementation becomes an important competitive advantage. The use of task and time management tools is extremely important for the manager to be able to maintain the level of productivity of his teams.

  1. Flexibility and autonomy

The permanent home office will allow the manager to give more voice and autonomy to his team. In this way, a bond of trust and respect is created. This certainly has a positive impact on productivity and performance.

Permanent home office and opportunity management

Finally, the permanent home office will be an opportunity for the evolution of people management at a distance. From the practices of feedback and rewards, and also the use of engagement and motivation tools for teams during remote work.

This is the era of artificial intelligence and machine learning platforms. Gamefic, for example, is a support tool for remote management. Gamification assists in processes, task organization and gives information about the performance of each individual in the team.

As much as it is questioned, the home office has become a reality and its practice should not be interrupted. Management must adapt and be prepared to deal with the challenges mentioned above and take advantage of all the advantages that the moment offers to evolve processes, people and performance.

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