_Measuring the productivity of remote working and role of the office

While surveys show that both management and employees endorse the feasibility of remote working and returning to the office on a rotational basis, what then is the new measure of productivity?

Calvin Yeo January 14, 2021

With waves of COVID-19 resurging in many cities, there continues to be much conjecture on remote working and the role of the office.

While the office remains indispensable for interaction, many corporates are ensuring business continuity resilience essentially with safe distancing through remote working.

With sustained remote working are emerging issues around fatigue over virtual communications, the conduciveness of remote working from home and satellite locations as a viable alternative.

While surveys show that both management and employees endorse the feasibility of remote working and returning to the office on a rotational basis, what then is the new measure of productivity? Working with corporates, we are seeing productivity frameworks developing around 3 key measurements;

1. Measuring employee performance: while management by key performance indicators have been in place before COVID-19, with sustained remote working, corporates are increasingly layering workflow management with software such as team, task and project management apps to keep a measure on production activities.

2. Measuring digital enablers: the pandemic has had corporates expedite implementation and / or enhancement of online office administration platforms such as digital approval and document management systems. The ability to analyse user patterns, will in turn allow corporates to measure and calibrate the productivity outcomes of all digital enablers deployed.

3. Measuring office activity: with a remote workforce returning to the office on a rotational basis, the role of the office in facilitating face-to-face interaction has become even more critical. By leveraging digital technologies around capturing and analysing employee utilisation of office settings, the role of the office in empowering productivity can now be measured and calibrated more effectively by corporates more than ever before.

As it is said you cannot calibrate what you cannot measure and, on that note, the evolution of corporates embedding Artificial Intelligence (AI) into job processes has already started…….

Our consultants can support you in these unprecedented times. For some clients, we are already engaged in designing and delivering the answer. For others with a little more time, developing a deep understanding of your workforce will be the immediate next step.