The current crisis of COVID has accelerated the pace of changes that have been in the process, the companies which were already doing it have a first-mover advantage but this crisis can be used as an advantage for organisations to make the paradigm shift in the way they are working.
Work from Home
Indian organisations and managers have aversion to work from home, but I feel this needs to be changed. An employee’s productivity or efficiency cannot be measured by monitoring them continuously by managers.
The managers and organisations have to acknowledge that quality of work and timeline delivery has not affected.
One of the reasons why I am in favour of WFH is exorbitant rates for commercial spaces in cities like Mumbai, along with commercial rates for electricity. These huge non-productive overheads cost a major chunk of expenses liabilities for the company.
Another reason is recruitment, imagine you are an organisation based in Mumbai, you find someone with the right skills in Delhi, with the WFH option the person does not need to relocate and the company can hire talent from anywhere from the world. Imagine the talent which can be unleashed by this policy.
If you live in a crowded city like Mumbai, the average commute time is 90 minutes, for a one-time journey. WFH options give the employees to use these wasteful commuting time for better use.
Working remotely is a reality, sooner the organisations adapt this and cut the flab, better the chances of survival in this post COVID world.
THE NEW TEAM STRUCTURE
Say goodbye to the old permanent employees’ team structure, if companies want to be lean and agile. The team should compromise of permanent employees, temporary employees, freelancers aided by A.I. Teams will now come for a project which will be the basis of skill sets needed for a particular project.
The teams will evolve organically for projects, gone are the days of the paternalistic and patronising attitude of managers where they select team members, it is the age of self curation and decentralisation of powers with the team.
The companies which will adapt to the times will survive and grow is what I feel.
