In the spirit of today being Independence Day (in the USA), it felt especially fitting to honor the global discussion around company policies that encourage independence within the evolving employee workforce. At OpenWork Agency we believe that employees who are honored with choice, flexibility, autonomy, and decision-making rights are more productive, healthier, and ultimately contribute to a more innovative-driven company culture. However, given the stronghold of outdated management styles, the policy structures in place that empower employees to work in this “new way,” are often underutilized (and underestimated in value) today. This conversation is catalyzing within companies all over the world. HR Directors, C-suite executives, and Corporate Real Estate pioneers are ruminating over how to evolve company HR policies and CRE strategies in a way that revitalizes company culture at the same time it improves the company’s bottom line. A progressive + pragmatic approach to the realities of a modern, evolving workplace strategy will ultimately enable companies to prosper in today’s ‘Future of Work’ environment.
The following are a number of thought-provoking articles recently published in June and July that highlight these important topics and discussion around evolving workplace policies:
OWA’s Recommended Articles Discussing HR Policies in the Future of Work
5 Practical Ways to Engage a Geographically Distributed Workforce
JUNE 05, 2018 – Think about the ultimate impact that having an engaged distributed workforce has on your company. You have the freedom to hire the best people not just in your country but the world. Then, you are empowering these talented employees with the responsibility of getting their work done from wherever is most convenient for them, putting the focus on results and execution instead of number of hours spent at the office. What does that translate to? Happier employees and better execution, which translates to a better product, which translates to happier, more loyal customers.
The Art Of Managing A Mobile Workforce
Jun 27, 2018 – We are seeing a dramatic shift toward a more distributed workforce as employees are increasingly prioritizing some aspect of remote work, while organizations are quickly understanding how they can benefit from it. In fact, of employees 50 years or older often work away from traditional offices already, along with 70 percent of millennials – and this number is growing. Gartner predicts that half of the future workforce will work outside the traditional office setting most of the time by 2020.
Eight Ways To Determine Where Your Company Policies Have Room For Flexibility
JUNE 11, 2018 – As an organization, it’s up to you to determine how flexible your policies should be, and whether you want to allow all — or just some — staff members to take advantage of remote work.If you need some help figuring it out, eight members of Forbes Human Resources Council offered their advice for crafting policies and communicating them effectively.
The challenges of HR in the disruptive world
JULY 2, 2018 – You might wonder how innovation is related to HR. Think of it this way — innovation is all about putting your users or customers at the very centre of what you do. And many organisations are not able to innovate all because of the misconception that innovation means new technology.
Why flexibility is the key to the future of work
JULY 4, 2018 – As we progress further into the future of work, offering flexibility to employees needs to be seen as having a positive impact on the business as opposed to a favour given to those who have to ask…Sheamus was the first to speak on the importance of flexibility and how businesses need to see it as an asset, both in terms of utilising the advances in technology as much as possible, but also in reducing the cost of physical real-estate office spaces that don’t have to be used all the time.
Companies should give freelancers the same onboarding as staff
JUNE 27, 2018 – According to Deloitte’s “2018 Human Capital Trends” report, which surveyed more than 11,000 business and HR leaders around the world, 37% anticipate a growth in contractors, 33% expect an increase in freelancers, and 28% predict an increase in gig workers by the year 2020. Today, however, only 16% have an established set of policies for non-traditional workers, only 32% track the quality of contract work, and only 29% track compliance with contact terms. Overall, only 45% of HR and business leaders provide these workers with training, and only 54% offer formal onboarding.
“You can’t keep contractors and freelancers to the side in a company, you have to treat them as part of your overall workforce ecosystem, and figure out how they’re going to play with your full-time employees,” says Erica Volini, Deloitte’s U.S. human capital leader and coauthor of the “Human Capital Trends” report.
Cultural Transformation of HR in the Digital and Cognitive Era
June 13, 2018 – HR professionals around the world are undergoing a major change, redefining the meaning of their position in their organizations. So accustomed to dealing with issues of organizational culture, HR is now facing a cultural shift in its own role in this digital and cognitive age. Because every change brings risks, it is natural that you might be thinking about how to handle all this. Be bold: Try, fail, learn fast, and adjust the course. Use data to guide your decisions and confirm your intuition. Embrace technology, but stick to your beliefs in people. Be the guardian of organizational culture—and a living example of it.
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