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How to successfully leverage working from home post coronavirus

By: Keith Buckley, Managing Director and Area Vice President for Australia and New Zealand

Keith Buckley, Managing Director and Area Vice President for Australia and New ZealandCredit: Citrix
Keith Buckley, Managing Director and Area Vice President for Australia and New Zealand

As business leaders and human resource teams work tirelessly to maintain employee motivation, productivity and efficiency during a period of widespread remote working, it is important to understand what drives the remote working employee experience and how it benefits both employees and employers.  

Back to five days in the office? No way.

Although the broader impact of the COVID-19 crisis is still widely unknown, the opportunities for organisations and emerging business leaders are endless. The forced transformation to a working from home model has shown there is appetite from Australian workforces to continue this style of work post-pandemic. Also, Citrix’s recently conducted Work From Home (WFH) survey showed that 78 per cent of Australian workers believe that working from home arrangements will become more common after the COVID-19 crisis. 

The future of work has been radicalised and the benefits are clear: Working from home has enabled personal flexibility on several fronts. Employees can spend more time with their family and on leisure activities instead of wasting this time commuting. Most have been able to save financially, building a more secure future for themselves and their family.

Citrix’s WFH survey also revealed 70 per cent of Australian workers believe their productivity is the same or higher when working from home. From an employer standpoint, there is now greater accessibility to untapped pools of skilled talent that were previously in-accessible due to geographical or home-duty limitations. 

Bolstering corporate culture through flexible working arrangements

In this ‘new’ workplace, establishing a healthy professional environment is directly correlated with the success and output of employees. To drive positive experiences, emerging leaders must foster a culture of connectivity, focusing on driving inclusion and creativity, while orientating attention towards outcome not presenteeism. 

Corporate culture relies on how organisations have pivoted working structures towards the desires of employees. Although experiencing criticism, the shift to remote and flexible working models has been accelerating in businesses for years, but in recent circumstances it has been widely adopted – a trend that is likely to continue when organisations return to work.  

Integrating the latest technological solutions

During a period of business uncertainty, investment in digital technology is a necessity to maintain business continuity, and deliver a supportive and encouraging employee experience. In Citrix’s Working From Home survey, 51 per cent of Australian workers claimed a separate workspace would improve their productivity, while a further 31 per cent wished they had more opportunities to interact with colleagues. Although an employer has no influence on the spatial situation at home, they can provide employees with modern technologies that promote communication and enhance productivity.

Equipping employees with the right technological tools, such as Citrix Workspace, and providing easy access to the information and applications that they need will enhance efficiency and productivity, improving their working experience. Emerging leaders must recognise that a failure to invest in up to date technological work tools will only put employees and the entire business at a disadvantage.

The future of work

Emerging leaders must invest in ways to enhance corporate culture and provide accessibility to the right technologies, thus bolstering the employee experience. Not only will this allow organisations to build resilience, it will allow them to thrive once isolation restrictions ease and the economy recovers.

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Keith Buckley, Managing Director and Area Vice President for Australia and New Zealand

Keith Buckley joined Citrix in January as Managing Director and Area Vice President having held previous leadership positions with multiple senior operational and sales positions at Riverbed, McAfee, Symantec and Dell. Keith’s depth of experience in cloud, security and channel complements his proven leadership skills to drive Citrix’s go-to-market strategy for customers and partners in ANZ.