The most important things now are motivation, cohesion and reorientation, shows a recent study.
Two thirds of the companies dare to bring their workforce back to their usual place of work – initially in smaller steps. Often the employees are also free to obey the call.
The camps are divided: While some are looking forward to finally seeing their colleagues again and are happy to say goodbye to the often lonely work at home, others fear the innovations that will come their way.
Every second employee expects that their employer will change due to the experience of the crisis, shows a study by the online job platform Stepstone. At the beginning of June, 8,500 employees were surveyed, including 1,200 managers.
Requirements: New behaviors, better organization
On-site at the old place of work, the employees first have to rehearse new behavior patterns and organize themselves in such a way that the way out of lockdown succeeds. For many, home office solutions will also find their way into the world. After all, the Corona crisis has shown that work at home in most cases works better than expected.
Basically, the study offers the first positive findings. The majority of companies no longer see their business operations as endangered after the relaxation. And those who still classify themselves as endangered are at least convinced that they have given themselves some breathing space.
In addition, productivity has already “increased significantly” compared to the previous month. Around three-quarters of the companies about which the study received information are now back to the pre-Corona level. For comparison: at the end of April the value was just 60 percent. A narrow majority of companies are even certain that they will be able to generate sales in the amount they had before the crisis in six months at the latest.
Crisis management: search for the “right” employees
Now it depends on the employees: 90 percent of the executives surveyed are convinced that the “right” employees decide how the company can pick up speed again after the crisis. A third of the companies even see an increased need for staff. During the crisis, a little more than half had to forego recruiting new employees for a time.
But now a more positive trend is emerging again. More than 50 percent of managers state that they will be hiring more staff again within the next six months, and a quarter will even start immediately. Companies want to invest in recruiting, especially in the areas of IT, sales, and human resources.
In order to underline their attractiveness as an employer, more than two thirds of the companies have decided to continue working from home in the future. “The majority of companies do not want a home office forever and for everyone, but rather a mixture of face-to-face and home office days,” says Tobias Zimmermann, job market expert at Stepstone.
The employees welcome this move – especially as a hybrid concept. 86 percent of those surveyed enjoy it.
Not without controversy: the importance of social interaction
But the home office does not meet with approval in all companies: A third of the companies do not want to allow home office at all or only in exceptional cases. The main reason given by the companies is social interaction. “The personal exchange between the employees in the office will remain important in the future,” says Stepstone expert Zimmermann.
In all of this, the company’s managers are primarily concerned with maintaining motivation in the workforce. According to the study, this has “currently the highest priority”. It is even more important than supposedly “hard” aspects such as cost management or achieving competitive advantages.
Near future trends
Investments:
Four out of five companies want to use the latest experience as an opportunity to invest in their digital infrastructure and digital culture. The need is obviously great: Because almost 90 percent of employees demand corresponding steps in the survey.
Further training:
The survey identified digitization and employee further training as the most important fields of innovation. The majority want to train their employees primarily in the use of digital tools and for virtual collaboration. E-learning formats and webinars in particular are to be used for this purpose. That suits most: Because 86 percent of employees want it.
Health protection:
The corona pandemic has brought the welfare of company leaders onto the scene: Almost three-quarters of the companies have put in place individual concepts for protecting the health of their workforce. You attach particular importance to hygiene and distance rules and restrict meetings and access to central points of contact.
