This Major Perk for Professionals is Here to Stay After COVID-19
In the past, remote work was considered a major perk for senior employees. Now, it’s an integral concept for many organizations trying to stay afloat. Is it here to stay? CFOs say yes!
CFOs have spent the past few months scouring balance sheets for costs that can be reduced or cut - understandably so, given the widespread, far-reaching impact of the coronavirus pandemic. We’re dealing with unprecedented times, and for many organizations, lockdowns have resulted in a severe decline in revenue as customers face economic uncertainty, fear surrounding their health, and ultimately, are staying home and opting to put off purchasing decisions for the time being.
Remote work was once considered a major perk for senior employees. These employees had been around for a while and proven their capabilities to self-manage. Now, remote work is a way of life - a means to continue operations, despite the difficult times we’re in. It’s a necessity to maintain social distancing, and in turn, slow the curve.
Will remote work continue to be the new normal?
In the simplest terms, absolutely. When it comes to lifting lockdowns, it’s essential to continue social distancing for the foreseeable future, to minimize the potential for a massive second wave. CFOs looking to cut costs will continue to embrace remote work as a way to minimize real estate expenses, as well as costs associated with purchasing and maintaining on-premises equipment.
Gartner surveyed 317 respondents to learn more about what CFOs are doing to manage cash flow. Here are some findings from the survey:
- 81% plan to exceed their contractual obligations to hourly employees using remote work to offer greater schedule flexibility.
- 74% plan to shift some employees to remote work permanently, even after lockdowns are lifted.
- 20% are cutting on-premises technology spending with another 12% planning to do the same.
- 13% have cut some or all of their real estate expenses, with another 9% planning to do the same.
Remote work opportunity
Remote work provides a wealth of cost-cutting benefits, which is especially important right now more than ever. How so? Take a look:
- Provides access to flexible at-home workers as needed to add or reduce staff quickly, depending on demand.
- It offers access to different labor markets as there’s no need to focus on a specific geographic location.
- Prevents wasted time spent commuting to and from the office, which, in turn, means more productive hours spent working.
- Improves employee satisfaction as they feel more of a home/work-life balance, and in turn, reduces high costs associated with turnover.
- Lessens or even eliminates the need for purchasing and maintaining costly real estate that needs to be upgraded as the company grows.
- Avoids the need to purchase, maintain, and upgrade on-premises technology as more affordable cloud-based alternatives become the standard.
Alternative cost-cutting
For CFOs, there are many other ways, aside from remote work, that costs can be cut. Here are some findings, according to the survey mentioned above:
- 58% have frozen any hiring
- 60% have canceled leadership/offsite events
- 49% have delayed capital expenditures
- 32% have delayed or frozen new hire offers
- 51% have frozen travel expenses
Prepare your technology ahead of time
Naturally, those who continue to embrace remote work will need to prepare their technology ahead of time:
- Use the right cloud-based solutions for any time, anywhere access to data, applications, and systems.
- Implement enterprise-grade security solutions, including firewalls, antivirus software, and web filtering, on home devices.
- Enforce the use of a secure collaboration platform, such as Microsoft 365, for email, calendar, video conferencing, and file sharing.
Ready to create a cohesive remote work strategy to thrive in the new normal? Get in touch with us via the chat box to speak with one of our professionals.