Five actions to future-proof remote working

Getting unified communications right isn’t all about technology. It demands a unified approach from people. As companies evaluate new ways of working, introduced in response to the crisis, creating the digital workplace of the future is certainly not a job for the IT department alone. HR and other internal teams need to be involved in systems architecture and solution development.

Working from home brings a host of changes to workplace culture. Remote collaboration needs a different style of leadership. Micro-managers will struggle. Businesses will need to continue to consider how to support the social side of work. Even as people begin to go back to the office, there will be more people working remotely more often. There’s a need for training and mentoring to support development of soft skills ranging from collaboration and communication skills through to leadership.

Natasha Davydova says: “Any technology change should be of course, supplemented by change management. There are very good technology tools. But if you don’t train people to use them, people get disengaged or shy away from using collaboration tools. They need to see it makes their job easier or quicker.”

Offering flexible work is also a strong way of attracting and retaining skilled people. Natasha Davydova adds: “In Salesforce, we have digital nomads. Some companies have been trying out condensed work weeks and they have realised that productivity doesn’t suffer, it goes up.”