We are currently living through a time that we didn’t foresee or expect in our lifetimes. The pandemic has affected our health, well-being and our pockets. During these times of social isolation, companies trying to make it work, have pivoted to working remotely. Sure, as we all expected, the ones that were preparing themselves for this mode of work in advance, have adjusted better than the others.
Across industries, experts have suggested that this shift isn’t temporary and companies shouldn’t build makeshift plans to work remotely. Companies should brace themselves for a more sustainable remote working environment to truly prepare for the coming years. And that’s how it should anyway be. Put simply, if you can get something done from where you are and want to get that done, you shouldn’t have to travel to a mutually agreeable place every day along with others to do that. Conflating work with the workplace doesn’t make sense. Meeting with your co-workers isn’t the same as compulsively going to the same desk to work from 5kms away.
Let us shed some light on how some of the highest revenue-generating sectors in India have gone digital.
Real estate – Developers in large numbers have resorted to digital launches to avoid open house meetings. They are also setting up online site visit schedulers through these launches. However, the agents are finding it difficult to follow the new norms, which are unlike their traditional business practices. While obvious modes of communication such as phone, email and WhatsApp are critical to this remote mode of sales and servicing; video conferencing is generally becoming a go-to method for client sales presentations. 3D presentations are super handy, which can be viewed remotely from mobile devices or laptops by the customers. VR headsets can also prove handy but lack of setup outside of experience centres is a major impediment for users.
Education – E-learning has taken over the education sector amidst this lockdown. Schools and colleges across the world are conducting online sessions for students to complete their curriculum and access any course-related material. This has largely been enabled by technological companies that offer a variety of tools and software for efficient online learning. As a result, educational institutions can use e-books, simulations, quizzes, games, and e-notes to make learning more accessible, engaging, and contextualized.
Sports/Fitness – To put things in perspective, 46-yr-old- Krishnan Padmakumar ran a full marathon inside his house. Krishnan clocked an impressive 4 hours and 26 minutes to cover 42.2km, probably something never seen before in India. It is a challenging time for smaller as well as franchisee led fitness centres. Gyms and other fitness hubs have started giving online training sessions and fitness consultations for its members. Just like in other cases, the fitness trainers are doing their best to instruct their clients on how to stay fit and healthy. A lot of innovation can be seen when it comes to ‘no equipment workout’ or working out with whatever equipment is available at home. This is achieved by a mix of pre-recorded and live sessions for its clients.
Additionally, two of the largest technical consultancies of India, TCS and Infosys have recently announced that they shall continue to keep the majority of their tech workforces remote. This clearly showed exactly how much could have been done to prevent the unnecessary hassle of moving around for work especially for people whose job is from the desk.
A recent study (from before the pandemic) conducted by AND CO and Remote Year shows the most interesting aspects of working from home. People have been working remotely for a while. According to the study, 73% of remote workers are new to it, having gone in the last 4 years. The growth is observable in remote working, yet, some factors cause disillusionment.
Considering the intensity of the current crisis it would not be wrong to say that companies will have to work remotely for several weeks or even months at length. The change management process of going remote may seem simple, but if not managed properly can fail. Hence, companies must figure out the key steps needed to achieve efficiency in these newer environments. Necessity, as usual, will breed invention.
About the Author
An entrepreneur, strategist and a creative, fact – based thinker, Debprotim Roy is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Canvs. Embracing the core values of integrity, innovation, and growth, he is credited with building Canvs from the ground up and is an integral part of all business functions within the company.
In his role, Debprotim leads a young and growing team at Canvs, providing all aspects of leadership, and in doing so is continually analysing business models, building new processes, and systematising structures to develop a holistic service for his clients and partners .