businessinfomag.uk magazine 30 PREDICTIONS THEWORKPLACE Office culture Paul Clark, Senior Vice President EMEA, Poly RIP 9-5. Long live ‘anytime’ working Like a genie that has been released from the bottle, the workers who relished the perks of hybrid and flexible working have no desire to return to corporate life full-time. According to recent research by Poly, 80% of employees in EMEA prefer to spend some days working from home. They want flexibility, and with the economy picking up and the ‘great resignation’ underway they have more power to choose how and where they should work. People want work-life balance with the flexibility to visit their dentist, attend a school play or swap their working days around to be able to meet up with an old friend who’s in town. Rather than being an asset that requires managing, employees have adopted a customer persona; they know what they want, why, when and how – and they’ll tell you. Ignore them and they’ll go elsewhere. Polymorphic offices supercharged by tools, not toys Offices will no longer necessarily be physical spaces with defined, individual spots. Future workplaces will be ecosystems of spaces and rooms that match the working habits or needs of The changing workplace different personae. People will no longer go into the office because they must, but because they want specific, personto-person interaction. This will lead to significant changes in architecture, real estate, room design and investment in collaboration devices and technologies in future office buildings, as all these disciplines collide to provide the very best work experiences. Organisations that fail to support a flexible workplace in 2022 will struggle to build a collaborative culture. During the pandemic, shrinking networks affected innovation and creativity. Informal chats or unscheduled meetups no longer happened, yet collaborative moments like these contribute to knowledge sharing and problem-solving. Collaboration is required for a happy workforce, with the link between employee wellbeing and business performance well documented. Equality: the new imperative During the pandemic, it was all about business continuity, but companies will need to adopt a people-first philosophy, based on choice. Choice is a great leveller and a catalyst for easy, meaningful and productive collaboration, enabling all workers to engage and perform at their very best. That approach presents a great opportunity for HR, IT, facilities management and the wider business to be more attuned to what employees want from their experience of work. Recent Stanford University research shows that over 40% of workers would actively look elsewhere if their employer failed to offer hybrid working. The main challenge of flexible, hybrid working is creating equity for all. Clarity and quality of image and sound are essential to better collaboration between colleagues. No matter where people choose (or have) to work– their car, a meeting room or home – they will expect to be supported by devices and technologies that guarantee equal inclusivity. Access to reliable communications is key to ensuring people receive the same information, at the same time to avoid any inadvertent bias. www.Poly.com Christal Bemont, CEO, Talend Corporate culture will be lost if businesses don’t create real-life, shared experiences When employees are distributed and the corporate office is no longer at the centre, it becomes critical to create in-person shared experiences. Corporate culture thrives through shared experiences and, no matter how much our industry tries, technology isn’t going to replace human connection. Companies cannot rely completely on digital communications to replicate human connections, but instead must actively enable real-life connections, for example by extending in-person onboard sessions to a month or holding micro-regional events near where employees live. Shared in-person experiences must anchor and lead corporate planning rather than being an afterthought as, through them, come trust, bonding and empathy, all of which contribute to corporate culture. www.talend.com Chris Baker, Managing Director EMEA, Anaplan Soft skills will be critical for leadership In evaluating company leaders, soft skills have often been side-lined or considered secondary, but as we enter the third year of the pandemic, they will take centre stage in the war for talent. Transparency, trust, inclusivity and collaboration will be critical to establish and maintain a strong company culture in an environment where workers may not be able to meet in person or interact face to face with colleagues, managers and company leaders. Employees are checking their own core values against those of their employer, and will increasingly make culture the number one criterion when What are the key trends businesses will need to take note of in 2022? We asked the experts for their predictions Paul Clark, Poly Christal Bemont, Talend
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