At the onset of the lockdown imposed in SA in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, most organisations expected their staff work from home only as a temporary measure. But now, almost a year later, they have a more formal and permanent remote workforce in place.
Moderator Arthur Goldstuck, World Wide Worx CEO, said digitally transformed companies are not only more productive, but have also built long-term resilience into their businesses. According to research conducted by World Wide Worx, 38% of digitally enabled companies will allow staff to work remotely post the pandemic. Of those companies that are digitally transformed, 70% reported greater productivity.
Rob Bothma, Oracle strategic business solutions engineer, said line managers have been the hardest hit with the new demands being made on them, primarily because many don’t have the necessary skills required to manage their people remotely. “There is a skill to working from home. I’ve realised that I no longer work from home, but rather that I live at work.”
Mundusha Jialal-Dasrath, reward and organisational development director at Tiger Brands, said a successful transition to remote working requires more than just equipping staff with laptops and 3G cards, but also providing staff with education and guidance on the etiquette of working from home.