Category Archives: Hybrid Working

Hybrid Working, Mental Health

Blue Monday – How Employers Can Recognise and Help Struggling Employees

While ‘Blue Monday’ is widely credited to a travel company, with the goal of selling more holidays, feeling blue after the return to work can often be a very real phenomenon – and employers can play a vital role in spotting the signs of the ‘Winter Blues’ and find ways to support them.    Irene van der Werf, People Partnering Lead, Omnipresent, a global-first remote working organisation, shares useful tips for HR leaders who may be new to the challenges of managing a hybrid, multi-national workforce.

When you’re not doing well, people try in vain to separate work from their personal life – in reality, their emotional and mental state clearly impacts their work. Sometimes it’s their work that is causing that distress. It shows up in many ways.

Spotting the signs

Someone dealing with burnout may speak less in team meetings or give fewer ideas. Someone with depression may self-medicate or drink at work, or not be able to concentrate. They may simply not feel up to anything and prefer to lie in bed. Someone with anxiety may not be able to get any work done because they are in a state of panic, or think they are having a heart attack because of a panic attack.

For employers, the cost of people having mental health problems is much higher than they may think. Helping teams deal with wellbeing is not only the right thing to do but actually is also in the best interest of the business.

Speaking Openly

To help support teams, companies and managers must speak openly and create awareness about mental health.

We opened up discussions on Slack about Seasonal Affective Disorder and found that many our team members opened up to us and their managers after that because they felt they could. Keep this in mind when performance is a bit lower and help make the appropriate arrangements for them. Talking about it is the first step.

We also created a wellbeing page on our Intranet with a public statement on how we approach well-being for teams and how to reach out for help. By opening discussions, it demonstrates how this is not a taboo topic that should be hidden, but rather discussed and dealt with appropriately.

Recognise your own limitations as a manager

Since our managers are not mental health professionals, we have subscribed to a platform to access people who are: Plumm. It is an anonymous platform and helps professionals of different backgrounds by providing not only therapy sessions, but tools to help our teams find the support they need, such as coaching, articles, videos, meditation, concentration music, etc.

Overcoming remote working wellbeing challenges

As more employers move to a hybrid working environment, leaders need to find new ways to offer support.

Remote work can make it more difficult to see one another on a daily basis, requiring a little more effort in tacking wellbeing. Especially in a remote environment, you cannot see when an employee is not doing well. They need to come to you. Our job as leaders is to create an environment where people feel they can speak up.

As such, we want to make it easier for our leaders to talk about it. We’re launching a page and training on how to discuss wellbeing with employees, regularly. We have live interactive sessions about wellbeing in a remote work setting, how to deal with stress and other triggers. It helps open up the conversation, and people walk away with helpful tips. It goes beyond being something only HR professionals have to deal with.

In addition, companies need to deal with well-being by understanding the importance of ERGs. These are communities where teams can share tips and tricks, have someone to talk to, and organise things they are passionate about. This ultimately helps with engagement and helping people focus on new things they love, even if it’s outside their work.

Hybrid Working, News

With many working from home again, what is it that we miss about the office?

To reduce the spread of the coronavirus, a large percentage of the UK’s workforce are starting 2022 working remotely – in fact in Wales, it’s now illegal to work from an office if you can work from home, with workers even facing fines (although no fines have yet been issued).

However, while working from home is a dream for many, a report on remote working carried out by Deloitte discovered that 45% of office workers miss the social interaction being in the office provides – but what is it they miss?

Missing interaction with colleagues?

Cartridge Save decided to investigate, conducting a survey that questioned 1000 UK office workers aged over 18 on their office habits and then investigated the data further according to age, closest city and gender.

The survey questioned workers on their office habits on matters such as where they like to catch up with their colleagues once back at the office, the types of favours they ask their coworkers, the numbers of office workers who print personal documents using the office printers and if office workers know the difference between ink and toner.

A catch-up with colleagues?

Interaction with colleagues is something high on the list of things they miss – whether it’s a catch up while waiting for the kettle to boil or a quick chat at your desk.

Cartridge Save’s survey revealed the top area office workers enjoy having a catch up with their colleagues is at their desk (50%).

This is followed by their co-workers’ desk (29%), in the kitchen (29%), in the canteen (19%), at the printer or scanner (12%) and finally at the water cooler (8%).

What types of favours do workers ask of their colleagues at work?

People at work will often work collaboratively, but will also do favours for each other.

Cartridge Save investigated the types of favours that office workers ask of their colleagues and they found that the top favours were asking for a cup of tea or coffee (25%), printing something off for them (19%), waiting for them to take a lunch break (18%), helping them with their printer settings (16%) and finally asking for a lift home (11%).

They also found that the youngest age group, 18 to 24 year olds, were most likely to be asked by their colleague to make them a cup of tea or coffee (38%).

In Cardiff you’re most likely to be asked to make a cup of tea or coffee for your colleague (52%), whereas in Aberystwyth, you are most likely to be asked by a coworker to print something off! (50%).

However, it’s notable that Cartridge Save’s survey found that a whopping 77% of workers admit to printing personal documents using office printers – 17% admitted they do it often while only 16% said they never use the office printer for personal use.

Of course, some workers are really happy to have the flexibility to work from home, but the new hybrid working, with more flexibility may the best way to offer the best of both worlds.  To read the full findings, visit: https://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/office-habits/

Hybrid Working, News

89% of businesses plan to host tech off-premise propelling shift to ‘Destination Offices’ that aid collaboration, learning and socialising

Remote and hybrid working is driving a permanent shift in how businesses are organising their tech. Dependence on on-premise infrastructure, to support a full capacity office, is no longer required, shows survey.

 Surveying 200 business leaders across the UK, a new study by Zen Internet has found that:

  • only 11% of planned tech operations will be hosted on-premise
  • off premise tools are among the top tech investments set to be made in the next 12 months, alongside artificial intelligence (25%) automation (24%) and application programming interface (24%)

It’s estimated that only 55% of office space and desks are expected to be in use over the next year, with a majority of workers set to spend three days there a week in 2022 (or less in-line with government guidelines changes).

More space will also be created when on-premise data centres move ‘online’; currently on-premise data centres are found to take up on average of 8% of office floor space.

When determining what companies who have a data centre are doing with their office space in 2022, 39% of those questioned said that they will use the extra space for ‘collaboration meeting areas’.

Other plans include creating social spaces (36%) and individual working spaces (33%) to aid hybrid working. Meeting rooms (32%), adding additional equipment (32%) and leaving it as open space (28%) would also be amongst the plans if they did not have an on-premise data centre, according to business leaders.

Commenting on these findings, Becky Turner, Workplace Psychologist at office interior design fit-out, furniture and technology company Claremont, said: “As we’re propelled into the Hybrid Era, the purpose of the office is rapidly evolving, becoming a place where the primary goals are for colleagues to meet, collaborate, socialise, and learn – becoming The Destination Office.

“Whilst focused tasks can largely be carried out from home, the Destination Office maximises the office space for those necessary functions that have been noticeably absent from our working lives over the past 18 months; the Coffee Shop provides a social heart to your space, enabling you to build relationships with your colleagues over a coffee or lunch; the Department Store is your support centre, where you can find helpful resources to work effectively from any given location; the Co-working Bureau enables teams to come together to work from a central location, providing mentoring, meeting and collaboration opportunities; and the Forum is a flexible space to facilitate larger-scale collaboration sessions or town hall meetings.

“With the introduction of each of these spaces, your workspace will become the cultural epicentre of your organisation, a place where your colleagues can come to feel energised and connected with the principles and values of your organisation.”

While small to medium sized businesses are moving to CloudComms to benefit overall business operations, and adopting the latest solutions for remote and hybrid working, the move away from on-site hardware opens up of lots more space within working environments and allows space to be re-utilised more creatively.

Steve Warburton from zen.co.uk added:

“The combination of fewer employees working full time on site, advances in cloud technology and less siloed ways of working between departments will reach a crescendo in 2022 to fuel a permanent reconfiguration in office design. More businesses may even now take the step to reduce square footage altogether as a means to adapt to this shift.

 “The consensus certainly seems to be big change in 2022 and recreating ‘the destination office’ as an environment to engender greater collaboration among staff than ever before.” 

 

Hybrid Working, News, Remote Working

UK managers least concerned about maintaining physical office space compared to global counterparts

New research reveals that globally, managers are still reluctant to let go of the physical office, despite clear indications that remote and hybrid working are being embraced by the vast majority of companies. UK managers, however, remain least dependent on on-site working, compared to global counterparts. Sixty three percent of UK managers have a preference for keeping some form of physical office space compared to 76% of US managers, 72% of German managers and 66% of Canadian managers.

The report, ‘How managers are adapting to the future of work from anywhere’ is from Omnipresent, a SaaS-based global employment services company, and PerchPeek, the digital relocation specialists. It includes responses from 1,000 managers globally (including 200 UK managers) on the benefits and challenges of remote working from anywhere.

The survey shows that 46% of UK managers feel that the physical workspace is important for employees to stay productive, nearly 4 in 10 (38%) feel that employees need the space to collaborate and connect, while over a third (35%) believe it is important for employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

In contrast, in the US, Canada and Australia, the top reason the physical office space remains important is so that employees can collaborate to complete their work. This is cited by 69% of US, 54% of Canadian and 53% of Australian managers.

In spite of this, hybrid and remote working are the current reality for the majority of respondents. In the UK, 81% are either using remote or hybrid models and another 7% intend to adopt a remote or hybrid model in the future. While fears over communication and productivity with hybrid and remote work are clear, companies are still addressing the challenges.

Kate Gray, Head of People at Omnipresent, states:

“While most organisations intend to remain fully remote or incorporate a hybrid model, there are still question marks about how this is actually possible. Since we’re still in a transition period, managers’ concerns are influential and can shape the future of an organisation. Addressing these issues is essential – for both the employer and the employee.

“Importantly, when creating a new strategy, HR and managers must start fresh without comparing to old onsite strategies that are likely no longer relevant in today’s business environment. Don’t try to apply old habits and practices to new models as they will not work as well and can cause frustration or setbacks in the long run.”

Despite reluctance to leave physical office spaces behind, many managers are still finding key benefits for their people when it comes to remote and hybrid working.

According to the study, four in 10 UK managers feel their people have a better work-life balance as a result of remote and hybrid work, 35% feel communication works well in these conditions, more than a third (34%) feel employees are equally or more engaged and 32% state they have access to a broader talent pool when hiring remotely. As well as this, over a quarter (28%) state that productivity is the same or better than in previous years.

Oliver Markham, Co-founder, PerchPeek, adds:

“Interestingly, ‘our studies show that improved communication and productivity’ are cited as a key benefit of both remote or hybrid working, as well as on-site working, suggesting a clear divide over this issue. In particular, when working remotely, managers and company executives are most worried that working asynchronously will lead to poor communication and productivity slumps, with 58% of respondents stating that working across time zones is a significant challenge.

“Realistically, working from anywhere and remote work isn’t for every person, nor every company. But the same goes for working on-site. We’re seeing increasing numbers of companies working nimbly, and offering employees the option to work in a way that best suits them while also ensuring it works for the business. More and more companies are getting to grips with the best ways to interact, making their work style efficient for their business needs and growth.”

Careers, COVID-19, HR, HR News, Hybrid Working, Job Opportunities, Jobs, Mental Health at Work, News, Wales News

The Welsh HR Consultant Helping Businesses from her Garden Shed

Julie Grabham, Director and Owner of JG HR Solutions has taken remote working to a new level, as she moved her business to her garden shed during lockdown, where she has been helping her delighted clients across the UK with HR advice.

 

With over 20 years of HR experience, Julie’s passion for fairness in the workplace led her to set up her own HR consultancy in 2015. The business has gone from strength to strength, with a 300% growth of clients and over 800% growth in revenue since year 1.

 

The impact of Covid-19 has brought so much uncertainty for many businesses. In 2020, Julie set up an office in her garden shed at her home in Lampeter to ensure that she was readily available to help her clients with confidential and difficult conversations throughout the course of the pandemic.

 

Speaking of setting up what is now known as #HRFromMyShed, Julie said: “The thought of me conducting professional and confidential phone calls, surrounded by pots and tools in my shed was ludicrous. I sent my daughters a photo of me working in the shed and they texted back with “#HRFromMyShed”. I knew that there was an idea there and started filming videos of me giving business advice from my shed.”

 

Thanks to #HRFromMyShed, Julie has significantly grown her social media following, with over 50 videos created since the start of the pandemic.

 

Speaking on JG HR’s services, Adam Culley, Crunch Digital Media said: “Julie’s advice and support during the coronavirus pandemic has been crucial in understanding the sometimes-conflicting advice and guidance issued. Through her regular #HRFromMyShed videos and contact with our team, we’ve felt that we’re in a much stronger and knowledgeable position having her at the forefront of our discussions around Covid action plans, risk assessments as well as the regular HR catch ups.”

 

Working with clients of all sectors and sizes, Julie has a strong Welsh client base, as well as national businesses across the UK.

 

Recognised as an expert in her field, Julie has received much critical acclaim, including winning ‘Independent HR Consultant of the Year’ at the 2019 Wales HR Awards and being named in the Top 100 Business Women in Wales.

 

Julie has also been shortlisted for numerous awards this year, including the 2021 CIPD Wales Awards and both the UK and Wales Women in Business Awards 2021.

 

Julie concluded: “Over the next 12 months, there are plans to grow steadily, with an aim to continue to practice a healthy work-life balance. I have many plans to help my clients to grow strategically, as well as continuing to share HR expertise and updates via #HRFromMyShed.”

HR Tech, Hybrid Working, News

Hybrid Workers Bring Dangerous Hybrid Habits: New Aruba Survey Uncovers Emerging Security Threats Linked To ‘Generation Novel’

Business leaders must strike a balance between flexibility and security to address risky behaviours and evolving expectations of today’s tech-savvy workforce

After years of responding to the needs of Gen X and Gen Y, a new study from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, suggests employers have a whole new generation to grapple with post-pandemic – with 85% of hybrid workers saying they identify with the traits of the emerging Generation Novel (Gen-N).

Coined by digital anthropologist Brian Solis, Gen-N describes a cross-generational cohort of people who thrive on digital-first experiences, and place greater value on personalization, customization, and transparency from the brands they buy from, work for, and support. Above all else, they also understand, use and demand more from technology than ever before – both at home and work.

According to the study of 5,018 hybrid workers across Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK, 78% of respondents say they use technology more now than they did before COVID-19, and 75% consider themselves to be ‘digitally savvy’. Sixty-nine percent of respondents agree they now have more of an opinion on the technology they use at work and 71% feel it’s important to be able to customize their workplace tech set-up to suit their individual preferences.

The survey also revealed the risks this new generation will bring to the workplace if their expectations continue to go unmet. As it stands, only 38% of respondents say they have any significant choice in their workplace technology. Without the right technology, workers indicated they will experience decreased productivity (35%) and a poorer work/life balance (23%). Gen-N’s expectations around increased flexibility and confidence in their technical abilities also opens businesses up to a number of security risks relating to where, when, and what employees connect to the network – with 50% of respondents, for example, claiming they are more likely to try to resolve a tech issue themselves now than they would have been before the pandemic.

Additional key findings from the report reveal:

Hybrid workers have a new perspective on the role of workplace technology:

  • 80% of our respondents say their company must maintain policies that encourage healthy technology use.
  • While 73% believe technology has a role to play in fostering an inclusive environment in the new hybrid workplace, 44% believe it is not currently doing so.

Hybrid workers bring new risks to the workplace if their needs go unmet:

  • When encountering a tech issue at work, nearly three quarters (74%) of hybrid workers say they expect it to be resolved in 20 minutes or less – and over two fifths (42%) in under 10 minutes.
  • Over half (55%) of our survey respondents admit to connecting to a non-password protected public network at least once a week, but only a third (33%) consistently think of the security risks in doing so.
  • Meanwhile, as many as 82% are still using their personal mobile device to access work information.

“Our research suggests that this emerging generation of hybrid workers, with its evolving behaviours and heightened expectations, will put new demands on employers when it comes to workplace technology,” said Morten Illum, Vice President, EMEA for Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. “In order to mitigate the security risk that Gen-N poses, as well as boost efficiency within their workforce and support their employees, businesses must address these new needs. Striking the balance between an open but secure network will afford employees the flexibility, freedom and personalization they now seek, without compromising on security.”

To read the full report, including recommendations on the actions business leaders much take to meet the needs of Gen-N in a hybrid workplace, visit here.

About Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is the global leader in secure, intelligent edge-to-cloud networking solutions that use AI to automate the network, while harnessing data to drive powerful business outcomes. With Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform) and as-a-service options, Aruba takes a cloud-native approach to helping customers meet their connectivity, security, and financial requirements across campus, branch, data center, and remote worker environments, covering all aspects of wired, wireless LAN, and wide area networking (WAN).

Report Research Methodology

The survey was conducted among 5,018 hybrid workers from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in August and September 2021 using an email invitation and an online survey.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 1.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

Sample was selected from online partner panels.

Home Working, Hybrid Working, Remote Working, Return to Work, Tech

SME’s Urged to Not Neglect Their Homeworker’s Needs

19 July (England) and 9 August (Scotland) have been heralded as ‘return to the workplace’ milestones, but with many major businesses continuing to meet the preferences of the three out of four workers who still want the flexibility of working from home1 Zen Internet is urging small to medium sized firms not to neglect their homeworker needs.  

Zen’s survey of UK businesses highlighted that despite nine out of 10 (86%) employers questioned professing they were willing to offer hybrid working, few felt prepared in achieving this – with one in five businesses (17%) claiming to be unprepared for long-term flexible working.

The research also highlighted the key challenges SMEs in particular were facing in realising the infrastructure needed to support flexible working practices.

  • Almost half (46%) of SMEs claim poor internet connections in staff homes is a major challenge.
  • One in five SMEs (21%) said staff were unable to access the company system from home.
  • One in 10 (12%) SMEs vs. one in six (17%) large businesses referenced poor integration of communication systems as barriers to a smooth remote working process.

While the government is promoting its ‘back-to-work’ message, the reality is that many small businesses are still facing the same issues of catering for new hybrid and home working cultures.

This is being compounded against a backdrop of large employers who are enabling employees to continue to work in a flexible way.  TUI, which last week told its UK staff that they only need to work from the office one day a month, is just one of thousands of major businesses enabling more flexible working longer term.

And according to the latest employee surveys, consensus is towards the continuation of home working. A recent study by CV-Library shows that in a poll of more than 1000 people, half felt anxious about returning to work and three out of four said they preferred the flexibility of working from home.

Whilst some businesses are geared up for longer term remote working (half of UK businesses are already using a cloud-based solution for integrating their communications channels), when figures are broken down it is clear that smaller sized firms are lagging behind, with only two fifths (40%) of SMEs having already transitioned to a cloud-based model.

Perhaps unsurprisingly over a third of business owners cited budget constraints as a hurdle to cloud adoption. However over half (53%) of SMEs and 38% of large businesses who don’t currently use a cloud-based solution claimed to be considering it.

Looking at how businesses are overcoming the other homeworking issues, the Zen Internet survey revealed that more than a fifth (22%) of businesses claimed that they planned to look to invest in providing / subsidising the cost of better home connectivity for their employees that work from home on a regular basis. Meanwhile, two fifths (39%) of businesses will invest in laptops and smart devices.

Georgina Lord, Managing Director of the retail division at Zen.co.uk, said: “As the government gives the green light for workplaces to return to normal, businesses which take their eye off the ball when it comes to catering for long-term homeworking will do so at their peril – especially as a flexible workplace and systems to support hybrid working will be high up on many job hunter’s wish list.

“There are clear indicators that it’s not a time to ditch digital advancement programmes that cater for homeworking.

“While poor internet in prosumers’ homes may have them rushing back to faster broadband speeds in the office, some sectors where there is high demand for talent, such as the digital industries, may find that employees will choose to work with firms that have focused on homeworking needs – as this is how many employees want to be able to work.

“As workers finally begin to consider the return to centrally located work spaces, or not, now is the time for organisations once again to re-evaluate their systems, IT and comms; it’s paramount that investment continues in remote working capability that truly meets the needs of their valued staff longer term.

“Where successful hybrid working is happening is where IT has become a core part of a business’ organisational strategy and a board level focus.

“From an employee perspective the crucial thing moving forward is investing in the systems and infrastructure that mean they can work seamlessly from any location – moving to cloud-based solutions, upgrading employee broadband connections and ensuring that they have the right technology and devices to do their job from anywhere. In particular, the rise of the prosumer has meant that reliable, ultrafast connectivity in the home is absolutely an essential commodity.

“And it’s not just about getting the infrastructure right for employees – customers and suppliers also demand a seamless experience when dealing with remote workforces. Taking a holistic business and board level view to remote working will continue to be vital.”

Georgina added:

“As hybrid and more digitised working models continue to be the norm, businesses of all sizes will need to adapt to this cultural shift in modern working practices by taking a pragmatic approach and adopting new technologies which can support the ongoing, long term transition to remote working. This will ensure businesses can continue to communicate effectively with their customers, clients and colleagues.

“Organisational culture will become increasingly important. Culture has always been central to digital transformation but getting the culture right and ensuring it permeates into employees’ homes is essential in looking after employee welfare and helping build a sense of community and purpose.

“It is clear that the next two to five years will be crucial for many businesses when it comes to adapting to the so called new normal and being agile to adopt to new ways or working and new customer habits. Those organisations who embrace these new requirements will flourish, while others who revert back to old practices could struggle and lose their competitive edge as well as valued staff.”

  1. Survey by CV-Library June 2021
  2. Survey by Zen Internet of  1000 SMEs

More information on homeworking can be found here https://www.zen.co.uk/business/large-business/challenges/remote-working-solutions and https://www.zen.co.uk/the-great-british-switch-off

 

Hybrid Working, News, Return to Work

Experts explore how to re-imagine the workplace

Industry experts discussed the changing face of the working environment, sharing their experiences and strategies in the latest virtual event facilitated by leading business membership organisation Chambers Wales.

80 businesses registered for the session which was chaired by Rachael Flanagan, Managing Director of Mrs Buckét Cleaning Services and featured Gemma Archibald, COO of Alcumus; Cecilia Fritz, Senior Manager of the People Department at Sony UK Technology Centre; Kevin Mashford, Sales Director at Paramount Interiors; and Mark Siddons, Associate at Cooke & Arkwright.

An in-event poll revealed that 41% of businesses are still working from home full time, 59% will not be changing their premises and 50% placed mental health and wellbeing as the main consideration regarding where their team will work in the future.

The results and interactive Q&A shaped the conversations of the panellists as they explored how to re-imagine the workplace through the lenses of cost, productivity, wellbeing and safety during the hour-long event.

Kevin Mashford said: “Agile working is working when, how and where you want and this poses a massive challenge for businesses who have traditionally had offices with long-term leases. To manage this, employers will have to look to three criteria – equity, engagement and ease – as we increasingly move to a more flexible, hybrid way of working.

“Bringing joy into an agile workspace will make people want to be in spaces. More people are seeing the value of workplace analysis as they reimagine their offices as destination spaces and hubs of collaboration to enhance the employee experience and reflect company culture.”

Mark Siddons added: “While tenants are generally reducing their office space, there is a desire for quality accommodation and making more of the space that they have. Creating spaces for collaboration and making the office an engaging experience will encourage more employees to return.”

In addition to changes to physical spaces, the panellists shared their experiences of remote and hybrid working, performance management and company culture during the pandemic.

Gemma Archibald said: “Changes to working practices have forced us to rethink our work/life balance in a much more holistic way than previously. The last year has blurred the lines between work and home; it’s humanised people more and that openness has carried on. To support our staff through remote working and maintain a ‘family feel’ company culture, we have really invested in health, safety and wellbeing and trained 25 wellbeing champions across the business.”

Cecilia Fritz said: “As a manufacturer, the majority of our employees continued to work on site so regular communications were very important to ensure that people felt safe. We carried out comprehensive risk assessments, split our site into zones in order to minimise physical interactions and introduced safety measures such as testing, face coverings and sanitiser stations very early on.

“Although most of the workforce remained on site, some roles were possible to carry out from home and we are hoping to continue with hybrid working where possible. It has prompted us to consider what else could be possible, what other preconceived notions we have about working practices and how we can be creative, not stagnant, moving forward.”

Finance and Banking, Hybrid Working, News

Coventry Building Society to establish ‘hybrid working’ in offices

Coventry Building Society has announced plans to introduce ‘hybrid working’ at its head office and operations sites in Coventry. Around 2,000 employees who are currently working from home will be able to split their working hours between the office and their home once government advice allows more people into the workplace.

Lucy Becque, Chief People Officer at Coventry Building Society, said: “As the country begins to recover, we’re taking this opportunity to reshape how and where our colleagues work in future. While our branch teams have been serving our members throughout the pandemic, many others haven’t been to their ‘normal’ place of work for over a year. We’ve listened to colleagues’ views and the consensus is to have a blend of home working and time in the office. In future, hybrid working will apply to most of our non-branch colleagues.

“From the outset of the pandemic, we did everything we could to help people adapt physically, practically and psychologically, whether they were working from home or keeping our branches open for our members. We provided equipment and invested heavily in technology and adapting our existing wellbeing programme.

“Colleagues have shown they can do a fantastic job from home and many have enjoyed the flexibility it brings. Equally some people prefer to work in the office, for a variety of reasons, and we will continue to support that.”

HR Tech, Hybrid Working, News, Remote Working

Michael Cantor: Challenges of Supporting a Remote Workforce Adopting Hybrid Infrastructures

By Michael Cantor, CIO at Park Place Technologies

Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged IT operations in various ways, from limiting the availability of on-site staff to supporting an often sudden transition to a work-from-home model. As many organizations return to the office, they are adopting hybrid infrastructures that further challenge IT departments.

Gartner¹ states that this decade will see a mix of Cloud and on-premise application deployments becoming the established norm for large organizations. This will facilitate a move for less sensitive applications and systems to become hosted via private and public clouds. The report suggests that brand new initiatives that achieve digital empowerment for employees are the most likely candidates to move first, with Gartner surmising that by 2024, more than 45% of IT spending on system infrastructure, infrastructure software, application software and business processing will shift from traditional solutions to cloud.

This hybrid infrastructure approach is not without its own set of challenges with IT now having to manage a dual approach to delivery – that of on-premise data centers and server rooms plus private and/or public Clouds. Selecting what goes where depends largely on the needs of the organization, the tactical requirements, and assurances over issues like personal data protection and the physical location or country in which the data center is located. Internal business processes offered by SaaS apps (such as Microsoft Office applications) are obvious candidates with lower risk profiles and fast adoption timescales for infrastructure teams to embrace into Cloud delivery.

Asset discovery

The first stage of migrating to a hybrid infrastructure starts by acquiring an in-depth knowledge of assets already operating in the estate. A journey of asset discovery across locations and departments can be thankfully self-determining using a third party service such as ParkView Discovery™ (PVD) to automate and document IT inventory without manual overhead, in real time. This ongoing monitoring and discovery casts a spotlight on hardware and vulnerabilities within server rooms and allows IT to better match the appropriate housing of applications depending on needs and performance of the hardware powering it. Also, with remote working by employees set to continue, auto-discovery allows certain applications to be hosted safely on employees’ own personal devices.

Auto-discovery is bound to reveal legacy hardware that is working perfectly well but falling outside of vendor-dictated EoSL dates. Here companies face a choice: To leave the applications running without interruption or overhaul, but to seamlessly extend maintenance using a Third Party Maintenance (TPM) provider for complete surety, or to take the plunge and start the process of migration of onsite hosted apps into the cloud. To do this without invoking large monthly costs, IT departments will firstly have to work out individual responses to operational questions such as:

  • Can I manage the public and private cloud hosted applications centrally alongside my on-prem install?
  • Do the finances really add up? What will be the true TCO of moving data and applications to the cloud? For instance, are there storage limits to adhere to? How many read/writes to the cloud storage layer will actually be needed? Will I incur added latency when using cloud-based apps over the internet? The last thing you want to do is decrease service levels and increase bandwidth bottlenecks.
  • How fast will I need to access the data – in any eventuality?
  • Am I worried about governance? How safe will my personal data actually be, and can I be sure of its location and compliance to country legislation at all times? Regulatory and security challenges perceived with cloud infrastructure hosting remains a primary concern for IT managers in public bodies as they relinquish direct control of aspects of security and privacy to the cloud provider.

Management strategy key

There is no single, perfect solution for IT teams as they seek to balance a “new norm” of hybrid infrastructure in a post-lockdown workplace. Companies will need an integration and management strategy that seamlessly unites applications and systems deployed anywhere; on-premises, in private clouds, a hybrid cloud infrastructure, or in a public cloud.

Gartner¹: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/cloud-shift-impacts-all-it-markets/)