Mark Cooke, a Starling advisor, recently authored a post on how the Covid-19 pandemic is changing the way we work. In it, he observes a historical tendency to revert back to “normal” following a crisis. Covid, however, is likely to result in a “new normal,” and one that challenges our notions of what it is to manage the workplace. Given a consensus view that remote working will be an enduring feature following the pandemic, how do we manage staff or collaborate with co-workers who are, effectively, “invisible”?
The remote working capabilities demonstrated by banks and financial services firms has been one of the success stories of the Covid-crisis, thus afar. However, current work circumstances are to become “the new normal,” then firms must start now to prioritize and reimagine several several things: employee well being, developing talent, operations management and corporate culture.
Success in any of these domains will necessitate new tools and processes to support remote work — and those tools and processes have yet to be created. The future poses many questions and we may end up surprised to some extent in how the office environment is ultimately transformed. But we should be careful not to lose sight of the human element. Systems and processes are not enough: both require a well-oiled human element if they are to deliver on promise.