While periodic remote working has existed in pockets across many organisations for years, never before have we seen entire workforces being forced into it overnight and for unspecified lengths of time.

Such a situation, therefore, inevitably brings with it challenges and opportunities. In terms of opportunities, “employers now have a chance to explore the deeper rewards of allowing people to work from home”, which includes saving time on commuting, says Chris Dyer, chief executive of employment background check provider PeopleG2 and author of The Power of Company Culture.

On the risk side of the equation is the fact that any organisational cracks relating to culture and communication are only likely to become deeper unless swift action is taken to remedy the situation.

Measuring success and shortcomings

As a result, finding actionable ways for senior leaders to measure the success and shortcomings of their working-from-home policies and initiatives is vital. Doing so will enable them to learn which approaches are effective and those that are not, to ensure their business is set up to flourish both now and into the future.

Employers now have a chance to explore the deeper rewards of allowing people to work from home

According to Jane Sparrow, founder of consultancy The Culture Builders and author of The Bank of Me: The Remote Working Edition, the secret to getting it right in measurement terms is, on the one hand, to use quantitative, data-based metrics to understand how people are behaving. These metrics include regular key performance indicators to help understand productivity, output and engagement.

On the other hand, it is about employing qualitative techniques to evaluate what employees are experiencing, to obtain a more rounded picture. Useful approaches include adding specific wellbeing questions to employee surveys to understand sentiment more accurately.

“To ensure working from home initiatives are successful, it’s about focusing on helping people to be productive and also ensuring they’re experiencing the right level of wellbeing. So measuring these two areas is vital to ensure a process of continuous improvement,” Sparrow concludes.

As company-wide home working has become the norm for such a large majority of organisations, due to restrictions enforced in an attempt to staunch the spread of the coronavirus, ensuring efficient communication and collaboration is a colossal challenge.

Businesses have worked hard to embrace tech solutions, including Zoom Video Communications, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and Slack. And it’s fair to say there have been teething problems, in terms of people having inadequate technology, time being lost to tech issues and an over-reliance on video conferences. In additon, there are growing concerns about data privacy for those using these tools.

Zoom, in particular, has rocketed in popularity in the UK and beyond. With people required to reconvene virtually, the app has assisted with the rapid adjustment to home working.

Rather than using your 14-inch laptop, why not employ a much wider monitor or even a TV screen for meetings?

Apptopia, an app-tracking firm, found Zoom was downloaded 2.13 million times around the world on March 23, the day the lockdown began in earnest in the UK. Two months earlier the download figure was a more modest 56,000.

“Zoom gives people the ability to collaborate using the devices they already have and provides multiple channels of communication when travel and connectivity are limited,” says Zoom’s chief executive Eric Yuan. “We believe every business has the social responsibility to contribute back to the community and to society.”

Staff wellbeing

Supporting workers, and treating them like loved ones, is imperative, according to Adrienne Gormley, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at file-hosting giant Dropbox. “First and foremost, leaders need to recognise it is a very anxious time for everyone,” she says. “One of the most important things leaders can do is to show they care, by connecting and communicating these worries with their team.”

As many organisations become accustomed to the new ways of collaborating and communicating, their effectiveness will increase. And the chances are home working, in some capacity, is now here to stay. Lino Notaro, retail sales director at computer networking titan TP-LINK, believes businesses must invest in home-working tools.

“I see no reason why we could not begin using larger screens for our virtual face-to-face meetings,” he says. “For example, rather than using your 14-inch laptop, why not employ a much wider monitor or even a TV screen for meetings that involve a large number of attendees?”

The sooner companies see the bigger picture, the quicker any areas to improve, regarding communication and collaboration, will be identified.

While for many people working from home may have been a perk, which allows flexible working options, the reality can be very different.  On top of the usual time management and day-to-day organisational concerns, extensive remote working generates a whole new set of challenges of its own, such as possible feelings of isolation.

Sir Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at Alliance Manchester Business School, explains: “People are worried about the health threat to their family and themselves, but they also feel insecure about their jobs and financial wellbeing. There are problems around the routines involved in working from home, which for parents include home schooling, so all kinds of basic questions have to be readdressed."

Beyond individual workers’ emotional responses, which will vary on a day-to-day basis depending on circumstances, there are also four other issues to be considered, says Jane Sparrow, founder of consultancy The Culture Builders and author of The Bank of Me: The Remote Working Edition, based on her experience of working with companies in China and Hong Kong during their lockdown.

The first is employees’ physiological wellbeing due to lack of exercise and “eating rubbish out of the fridge”, she says. The second is ensuring staff focus on the right things, while the third relates to personal growth based on feedback and “the little interactions with colleagues and customers, which don’t happen as naturally when you’re at home”.

Dealing with reality when it bites

The final consideration is staff motivation and ensuring individuals feel as if their activities have value.

“At the start, everything is new, frantic and adrenalin fuelled as people work out how they’re going to work, so there’s plenty of connection from a wellbeing perspective,” says Sparrow. “But another couple of weeks on and reality bites, so people start needing help in managing their emotions.”

There is no one-size-fits-all approach, not least as each individual’s situation can change rapidly. Moreover, she warns, by month two, people often feel very siloed, which not only affects their wellbeing, but also means they stop collaborating with others so much, which in turn hits productivity.

If managers aren’t given the support they need, their wellbeing will crash, which is hugely contagious to the rest of the team

In other words, people’s need for emotional support and guidance actually increases as time goes on. Key to providing such pastoral care are line managers, who now more than ever are required to demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence and effective people skills.

But they themselves also need support at the tools, process, professional development and personal level to keep others on track.

“If managers aren’t given the support they need, their wellbeing will crash, which is hugely contagious to the rest of the team,” Sparrow warns. “For example, if they set an anxious tone, it impacts everyone else’s productivity.”

Sparrow goes to point out that if managers are able to get this balance right, they can build stronger teams than ever before.

Motivating staff to perform in tough times is a challenge, particularly for managers with less experience of remote working. Yet for those organisations able to use emotional intelligence to balance human needs alongside those of the business, the long-term productivity rewards will be enormous.

So says Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development research adviser Jonny Gifford, who argues that in the absence of the camaraderie of the office to sustain and motivate people, managers should deploy a high level of tact and diplomacy.

“Finding out what peoples’ individual circumstances are and how often they want you to communicate with them will help build rapport, as will making it clear you trust them to get on with the job,” he says.

Although overly heavy-handed management would be a mistake in the current climate, Gifford argues that to be successful, virtual management should lean towards the more directive.

“When you get together via a video link, make it crystal clear what you expect each member of the team to do that day or week and set firm deadlines rather than leave any space for misinterpretation,” he advises. 

“Structure, clarity and, above all, directness will allow people to get on with the task at hand.”

Different approaches

All of us approach remote working in a different way, depending on our personality, lifestyle and caring responsibilities.

While extroverts will need “a lot of face-to-face contact via video calls”, introverts may relish the opportunity to “crack on autonomously”, says Andy Davies, senior vice president of the human resources outsourcing consultancy MHR.

He believes that by being open to the many positives of home working, organisations can shape new, more successful management models going forward.

“As all managers know, creativity is a delicate thing and while some larks may require a group brainstorming at 6am to be at their most inventive, a night owl may come up with their best brainwaves in the wee small hours,” says Davies.

Structure, clarity and, above all, directness will allow people to get on with the task at hand

But whether your team works best in a pack by day, alone at dead of night or somewhere in between, maintaining links with them is vital, he adds.

With established job roles now changing and adapting to suit the new circumstances, some staff may not be as busy as previously. It’s time to “mix different people up and encourage them to collaborate to sharpen their focus and foster creativity,” adds Gifford.

With a plethora of online coaching, podcasts and webinars guiding inexperienced remote workers in the art of remote working, help isn’t in short supply. While good leaders will take the opportunity to experiment with different approaches, initially at least, it’s about “making sure current productivity is maintained where possible”, he says.

Productivity ties into so much more than tangible measurements. Ensuring your workforce remains engaged and committed to a shared purpose is also vitally important.

Business leaders around the world have rethought and rebooted their home-working processes completely, almost overnight.

Some organisations and individuals have been able to adapt easier than others. Some of the new habits and systems quickly put in place will hopefully bring some positive insight into how to motivate and bring people together remotely.

This report explores the trio of crucial areas of home working for Nespresso: wellbeing, collaboration and creativity. These interlinked aspects have become increasingly vital for organisations in recent years and integral to successful workforce policies, both in the office and with remote working.

Workplace wellbeing is an issue that Nespresso champions and now it is in sharper focus as teams and people begin to normalise home working.

Nespresso’s trio of home-working imperatives: wellbeing, collaboration and creativity

Nourishing mental health in these times of stress is imperative and business leaders realise openness and flexibility have been critical to allow for different working hours and new ways of communication.

Now more than ever it is about individual needs. As we adjust to the new normal of home working, evolving targets and video conferences, it is essential for colleagues to remain in good contact with one another. Those at the top of organisations should reassure and actively communicate. In times of considerable uncertainty, true leaders are agile, inspirational, empathetic and human.