This is the only piece of research to garner responses directly from CEOs and Board Members and it provides invaluable insights into how businesses are managing the increase in remote working that has been catalysed by Covid19.
Chief Executive Group’s Marshall Cooper commented “The volume, variety and depth of answers we received from this survey clearly showed that working remotely has provided some real challenges for businesses, and that’s why we’ve launched RemoteWork360 – as a hub of education, resources, guidance and insight to help businesses manage their remote workforce”
The survey benchmarked the proportion of workers operating remotely pre-covid, currently and projected and found that the percentage of remote workers doubled from an average of almost 13% precovid to a projected 30% 12 months from now. The current average proportion of remote workers is almost 50% but this is likely to be higher if you discount manufacturing or businesses which have no choice but to have staff onsite.
The survey also delved into the challenges’ businesses faced, asking CEOs to rank their key issues. Maintaining culture came out as the top concern with 60% of respondents’ votes, closely followed by enabling effective collaboration and communication. RemoteWork360’s Publisher Heidi Williams said “For businesses used to being together in an office-based environment, covid19 has thrown a real curve-ball in terms of how they continue to perpetuate the business’ values and identity, how they keep staff connected, engaged and feeling part of a team – and as remote working looks set to continue for the time-being, it will be important for businesses to address this head-on and look for deliberate and thoughtful ways to continue to maintain a company culture and brand.”
Marshall Cooper agreed, commenting “What’s interesting here is the impact that struggling to maintain company culture will have on retention. If you lose that feeling of connection and trust, if a company’s values aren’t being perpetuated actively so that they are no longer resonating with you, you’re more likely to seek work elsewhere. And, with remote work ongoing across the country, there is also a surge in opportunities that weren’t previously there, because employees are no longer location dependent, so I think we’ll see a real shake-up in recruitment in the coming months.”
The survey also gathered CEO’s perspectives on the handling of the covid crisis and questioned which sources businesses were using for their information. The quantitative data suggested CEOs were satisfied they had the information required to make decisions but qualitative responses showed a very strong sense of disappointment and frustration at both Government and Media for their handling of the crisis and the lack of continuity and clarity of decision making.