Remote working has never been a unique concept. Nor has it been a mainstream option.
What was once a choice mainly utilised by freelancers and online business owners is now being seen as the “new normal for work”.
Many global tech giants such as Facebook have even announced that their employees will be allowed to work from home for much of 2020, while Twitter has gone as far as to say that employees will be given the option to work remotely “forever“.
Transitioning to working remotely may not be as difficult for companies as keeping and sustaining a healthy work culture. Over the years, it has gained a negative reputation as it raises questions on lack of productivity, team interaction and trust.
However, due to the unforeseen circumstances, companies are forced to make the shift towards the “new normal”.
The pandemic certainly didn’t spare PropertyGuru from making a shift, either. The Singapore-based proptech giant, which has a strong market presence in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, had to make arrangements for its workforce to work from home since the virus outbreak.
Currently, 80 per cent of the employees have reported an increase in productivity.
PropertyGuru’s Chief People’s Officer Genevieve Godwin highlights the value of empathy as a key component of creating dynamic remote teams which are highly productive and well-connected at a time where face-to-face interaction is minimal.
“For me, if you look after your employees in a crisis, then they are going to look after you in the good times as well,” she told e27.
In this interview, Godwin also talks about maintaining a strong team connection and establishing a dynamic remote team in an unexpected scenario.
Home distractions vs company goals
Some people often argue that virtual interaction is not the same as physical interaction, and remote working can often lead to employees getting more distracted and falling behind on key performance indicators (KPIs).
Godwin admits that it’s not practically feasible to keep an hourly track on people. For example, in an office, a manager can easily tell who is working extra and who is arriving late. However, it is not possible to do this with a remote team, which is why it should be a more goal-oriented process rather than a time-oriented one.
Besides, she also sees this as an opportunity to discover employees in their most “authentic” state, which is a crucial component of forming deeper connections.
“I start every meeting with a connection question. For example, small things like ‘where would you like to go on a holiday after COVID-19’ can help people express themselves and bring their authentic selves to work, and to connect,”.
“I think we also have to look at how the pandemic is something that is an exceptional circumstance to allow people to bring their authentic selves to the workplace,” she added.
“So that means it doesn’t matter what your house looks like during a video conference, or if you have a child sitting on your lap during the meeting. You might even have to sign out to deal with a Grade III math question. So, I think it’s essential that people are now able to bring their authentic selves to work. We are all going to work at different times, and by doing that remote working should be more focused on results and outcomes rather than the hours worked.”
Hiring and retaining employees
For a study released by SAP, Qualtrics, and Mind Share Partners, researchers surveyed more than 2,000 employees in Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and the US in March-April this year. The results found that 40 per cent of individuals felt that their mental health had declined due to increased levels of isolation and work burnout.
Godwin feels that now more than ever, managers must use technology as an enabler to bring social initiatives that employees enjoyed in physical proximity virtually.
“Ultimately, the health and well-being of our “gurus” (PropertyGuru employees) is something that has always been the priority for us which has underpinned every decision that we made during COVID-19,”.
“We wanted to make sure that we create social initiatives that were enjoyed in the workplace and bring it to everyone who was working remotely. So even small activities like hosting a cook along session with your team can create a team bond within the company,” she said.
But more often, simply hosting fun activities is not all that goes into showing employees that they are being cared for. Value-adding to a team member’s career/personal growth is also crucial to developing stronger bonds.
Godwin believes that creating an environment where employees can continuously learn and develop is paramount to retention.
“One of the big projects that we are doing at the moment is called our “job architecture project” where we’re establishing clear competencies across all of the roles so that people can have a great understanding of where they are to create a greater sense of clarity. So at the moment, we do that throughout goal setting and planning, but we want to take it one step further and create that competency mapping to bring transparency to that process as well,”.
Also Read: PropertyGuru promotes Genevieve Godwin to Chief Human Resources Officer
With her diverse background of working in several countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Godwin feels that interacting with people from different backgrounds and cultures contributed to her passion of building and developing talent.
“I don’t think many children grow up to say I’m going to be an HR professional. But for me as a child, I was interested in international cultures, and travel and different countries which have contributed to my career, and working with people from such diverse backgrounds has shown me the value of empathy,” she concluded.
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Image Credit: PropertyGuru
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