Prior to lockdown, there was a level of apprehension that remote working would have a negative impact on productivity. However, that feeling was seemingly incorrect with 90% of CPs finding that productivity levels have been the same or better than in the office. In fact, one fifth found remote working to provide ‘far better efficiency’.
Interestingly, morale also doesn’t seem to have been too badly impacted, with 84% of CPs believing staff morale to be at office levels or better, perhaps driven by employees having more freedom to balance work and personal lives. 16% felt that employee morale had dropped since remote working became widespread.
Keeping employees motivated and engaged is a challenge that was tackled in a variety of ways by CPs. The most common being daily video calls (74%) and setting clear expectations (69%). Other efforts included wellbeing initiatives and entertainment such as quizzes.
Having the solutions and procedures in place to facilitate and enhance collaboration will only continue to grow in importance. With employees likely to remain spread away from centralised offices in some capacity, remote working capabilities will become a permanent feature within CPs everyday operations.