Employers prepping for long-term remote work
Execs are split on whether remote work or in-office social distancing is a bigger killer of productivity.
Over half of executives surveyed by West Monroe said their workforce is still mostly working from home in order to avoid social distancing measures in the office, and 42% are cutting back on real estate.
The dilemma for execs is that allowing employees to work remotely is only slightly more productive than implementing social distancing in the office. Forty percent of executives said social distancing measures were employees’ top productivity killer, while 37% said remote work was the biggest obstacle to employee productivity.
Related: Tax implications of telecommuting for employers and their employees
West Monroe surveyed 150 executives at large companies to ask how they’re managing operations during the pandemic and what they will change in the coming months.
The reality of remote work has identified some stress factors in businesses’ agility. A third of executives say training their workers is the biggest hurdle to the company’s ability to work faster, and 30% said not having employees together physically was a problem.
Legacy technology and company cultures are a clear problem for businesses trying to pivot to a new reality, with over a quarter saying this was their biggest hurdle. Execs are responding in force, with 69% saying they are increasing tech investments in the next six months.
Data and analytics platforms are the clearest opportunities for executives, the survey found. Fifty-seven percent say they’ve tried a data or analytics platform in the last six months. The most important use for these tools is getting a clear picture of companies’ financial strength. The survey found 37% say cash flow and financial data are the most important type of data informing their business decisions, followed by 28% who say customer surveys are the most important data in their decision making processes.
Execs are split on how to invest in employees during the pandemic. Over a third say they are pulling back on investments in labor, and 25% say they are increasing their investments. Fewer than 10% of execs say competitor or employee sentiment data is their priority in decision making.
Other findings include:
- Mergers and acquisitions are part of executives’ growth strategies, with 43% “strongly considering” an acquisition in the next 6 to 18 months.
- Travel is an obvious area where business leaders can cut back, with 69% saying the plan to cut back on travel.
- Although many companies are looking for ways to cut back, nearly one in five execs say they don’t plan on making any cost cuts.
- More advanced technologies are still out of reach for some businesses. Roughly one in five said they have tried tools that use artificial intelligence, machine learning or intelligent automation.
- Most respondents don’t expect to see operations stabilize until the second quarter of 2021 or later, but 23% say they’ve already stabilized. Another 23% are looking at Q1 for things to settle down.
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