How Indian tech space is planning to move back to office
Many Indian entrepreneurs, CEOs, and HR professionals are eager to create offices as quickly as possible.
The main dilemma Indian businesses faced after the lockdown was lifted last year was whether or not to summon staff back to work. The situation has now returned to square one, with the country facing the COVID-19 second wave.
Twitter said in May of last year that a large portion of its staff would be able to work from home permanently. “I think it's plausible that over the next five to ten years- may be closer to ten than five, but somewhere in that range- we might get to around half of the company working remotely permanently,” Facebook founderMark Zuckerberg said.
However, not all tech leaders seemed to be on board with the idea of full WFH. WFH doesn't work "for those who want to hustle," according to Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan.
So, once the government begins the unlocking process, what are India's tech companies intending to do? Let's have a look.
WFH outlook from Indian tech leaders
Many Indian entrepreneurs, CEOs, and HR professionals are eager to create offices as quickly as possible.
“Working from home will not only help employees boost their productivity, coordination, and collaboration, but it will also allow them to socialise and stay in touch with their coworkers. You may not only protect your employees' physical health but also improve their mental health by taking all of the preventive measures,” said SatishKannan , MediBuddy's co-founder and CEO. A total of 1,100 people work for Medibuddy, a telemedicine business that joined with DocsApp last year. In July 2021, the business aims to begin hiring staff in stages.
Minal Anand, CEO and Founder of GuruQ, a home-tutoring platform also believe that resuming to the office is a better call to improve productivity and employee welfare.
Many employees have found that working from home hasn't harmed their productivity. However, according to the founders, it's not just the executives who want to return to work; many employees do as well. People prefer to work from home for both personal and professional reasons, according to Chetan Yadav, Tally Solutions' Chief People Officer. Tally Solutions is a software development firm headquartered inBengaluru and caters to more than 6 million users in over 100 countries.
Significance of vaccination
Vaccination drives are being held by several tech businesses to make the workplace safer for employees. More than half of Acer India's employees have already received their first round of vaccine.
“We're encouraging the remaining employees to finish their vaccinations as soon as possible. We aspire to have 100% immunisation across the organisation by the end of July 2021,” stated Bhasker Bhandary, Senior Director-HR, Acer India. “At this moment, completing the immunisation process will be the main priority to protect everyone's safety,” he added.
Re-office protocols
Most businesses are considering reopening based on internal surveys of individual and team comfort and requirements, as well as feedback from the leadership team. The protocols are as follows:
At the entrance, the Arogya Setu app and travel history checks are to be performed.
Hand sanitisers to be made available in a variety of settings.
Cleaning and sanitization of workstations, seats, and other essential places done daily.
If an employee becomes ill, a designated quarantine area is prepared.
Employees' education sessions.
Before entering the office, temperature readings are taken.
Hybrid office model: the new cool?
While reopening of offices are already in effect, many businesses are adopting a hybrid workplace model, followingGoogle 's lead.
Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, recently sent an email to employees informing them of the company's decision to create a hybrid workplace model in which roughly 60% of employees would come together in the office a few days per week, another 20% would work in new office locations, and the remaining 20% would work from home.
Acer, for example, has agreed on a "hybrid" strategy. “We believe this will provide the freedom that employees require to balance work with personal care while still achieving organisational requirements,” Bhandary added.
A hybrid work model can actually be the middle ground to tackle the ongoing pandemic as it does combine the best of both worlds. While maintaining the work-life balance of employees in check, hybrid work systems also facilitate productivity and office essence in one's daily day work culture.
For instance, some Indian firms are also going on board for a hybrid model instead. UST, a digital technology business with branches in over 25 countries that provides advanced computing and digital innovation solutions to global companies, has no imminent plans to reopen its India offices. Whenever it does, though, it will choose a hybrid workspace.
“The hybrid strategy has numerous genuine and concrete benefits for both the organisation and its colleagues. Family bonding, health and well-being, and enhanced autonomy are huge but unseen benefits that will be critical as we seek new ecosystems in which to create value,” said Manu Gopinath, UST's Chief Operating Officer.
Conclusion
Both traditional and hybrid models have their own advantages and disadvantages. Full-time WFH is another way out. However, a conclusive answer to how and whether the re-opening office is gonna be a good choice is still a question. COVID-19's third wave is already speculated. Therefore, by far, what the future holds- only the future may preside, and that is a settling statement for most of us.
Twitter said in May of last year that a large portion of its staff would be able to work from home permanently. “I think it's plausible that over the next five to ten years- may be closer to ten than five, but somewhere in that range- we might get to around half of the company working remotely permanently,” Facebook founder
However, not all tech leaders seemed to be on board with the idea of full WFH. WFH doesn't work "for those who want to hustle," according to Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan.
So, once the government begins the unlocking process, what are India's tech companies intending to do? Let's have a look.
WFH outlook from Indian tech leaders
Many Indian entrepreneurs, CEOs, and HR professionals are eager to create offices as quickly as possible.
“Working from home will not only help employees boost their productivity, coordination, and collaboration, but it will also allow them to socialise and stay in touch with their coworkers. You may not only protect your employees' physical health but also improve their mental health by taking all of the preventive measures,” said Satish
Minal Anand, CEO and Founder of GuruQ, a home-tutoring platform also believe that resuming to the office is a better call to improve productivity and employee welfare.
Many employees have found that working from home hasn't harmed their productivity. However, according to the founders, it's not just the executives who want to return to work; many employees do as well. People prefer to work from home for both personal and professional reasons, according to Chetan Yadav, Tally Solutions' Chief People Officer. Tally Solutions is a software development firm headquartered in
Significance of vaccination
Vaccination drives are being held by several tech businesses to make the workplace safer for employees. More than half of Acer India's employees have already received their first round of vaccine.
“We're encouraging the remaining employees to finish their vaccinations as soon as possible. We aspire to have 100% immunisation across the organisation by the end of July 2021,” stated Bhasker Bhandary, Senior Director-HR, Acer India. “At this moment, completing the immunisation process will be the main priority to protect everyone's safety,” he added.
Re-office protocols
Most businesses are considering reopening based on internal surveys of individual and team comfort and requirements, as well as feedback from the leadership team. The protocols are as follows:
At the entrance, the Arogya Setu app and travel history checks are to be performed.
Hand sanitisers to be made available in a variety of settings.
Cleaning and sanitization of workstations, seats, and other essential places done daily.
If an employee becomes ill, a designated quarantine area is prepared.
Employees' education sessions.
Before entering the office, temperature readings are taken.
Hybrid office model: the new cool?
While reopening of offices are already in effect, many businesses are adopting a hybrid workplace model, following
Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, recently sent an email to employees informing them of the company's decision to create a hybrid workplace model in which roughly 60% of employees would come together in the office a few days per week, another 20% would work in new office locations, and the remaining 20% would work from home.
Acer, for example, has agreed on a "hybrid" strategy. “We believe this will provide the freedom that employees require to balance work with personal care while still achieving organisational requirements,” Bhandary added.
A hybrid work model can actually be the middle ground to tackle the ongoing pandemic as it does combine the best of both worlds. While maintaining the work-life balance of employees in check, hybrid work systems also facilitate productivity and office essence in one's daily day work culture.
For instance, some Indian firms are also going on board for a hybrid model instead. UST, a digital technology business with branches in over 25 countries that provides advanced computing and digital innovation solutions to global companies, has no imminent plans to reopen its India offices. Whenever it does, though, it will choose a hybrid workspace.
“The hybrid strategy has numerous genuine and concrete benefits for both the organisation and its colleagues. Family bonding, health and well-being, and enhanced autonomy are huge but unseen benefits that will be critical as we seek new ecosystems in which to create value,” said Manu Gopinath, UST's Chief Operating Officer.
Conclusion
Both traditional and hybrid models have their own advantages and disadvantages. Full-time WFH is another way out. However, a conclusive answer to how and whether the re-opening office is gonna be a good choice is still a question. COVID-19's third wave is already speculated. Therefore, by far, what the future holds- only the future may preside, and that is a settling statement for most of us.
0 Comments