Businesses around the world have been forced to embrace remote working due to the global spread of Covid-19, and this is likely significantly to transform communications in almost every industry.
Whilst companies such as Zoom and Skype are thriving on of a sudden increase in the need for teleconferencing, many corporate networks, unprepared for the many connections coming through their personal computers and laptops, are experiencing serious difficulties in continuing work as normal. And, some less tech-savvy workers may struggle with the new digital communication software that has become a requirement of the everyday working life.
Long before the pandemic, the digitalisation of the way we work was already underway. Companies that were already using internal chatrooms such as Microsoft Teams and they already had remote access to their work through Microsoft SharePoint and Trello; these companies have now emerged as the most equipped for the temporary switch to remote working. Others have had little time to prepare for being without traditional face-to-face communications.
Undoubtedly, the long-term impacts of the pandemic could be a huge increase in the normalisation of working from home, so encouraging an increase in remote working Employers will be more likely to implement remote work policies if they don’t already have them, particularly as millions of people are beginning to experience working days without long commutes.
Of course, the ‘traditional workplace’ won’t disappear as a result of widespread remote working. Many of us are currently craving that essential human quality of meeting, greeting and face-to-face talking.
Meetings will still be held in person, gathering together to network at conferences and events, and we may even shake hands as we have always done. If the House of Commons starts conducting its business via Skype, political discourse will live on through conversations in the corridors of power. Having a coffee and a real-life chat with a colleague will forever remain integral to building effective and trusting work relationships. But in future, we will have more virtual collaboration which will undoubtedly advance the way in which we communicate for years to come.
The Whitehouse team are experts in the impact of global crises, providing crisis communications, risk management and public affairs advice to a wide range of clients, not only in the United Kingdom, but also across the member states of the European Union. For more information, please contact our Chair, Chris Whitehouse, at chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.
