TecHRseries Interview with Camille Sharrow-Blaum, Strategy Lead at Rightpoint

Two of the common learnings and takeaways from this year’s Covid-19 pandemic has been that companies can support a remote work culture more easily today with the right use of HR Technologies and the concept of remote work is here to stay, while teams and companies adjust to the new normal. Catch more on what you can do to improve employee experience and processes during this time from this interview with Camille Sharrow-Blaum, Strategy Lead at Rightpoint.

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Tell us a little about yourself Camille!

I am a Lead Strategist in the Business Design practice at Rightpoint working across digital strategy, analytics, research and change management to find answers to complex business problems. I’m focused on helping companies challenge the status quo and better understand the needs and desires of their customers in order to stay ahead of the pack.

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 We’d love to hear about your latest research at Rightpoint, the key highlights would be great!

After speaking with our clients, we realized that many are in the same boat: where do we go from here? We decided to take on this research to help our clients and peers in the industry understand the pivots that have taken place over the last few months. What we found was surprising: although the majority of employees are feeling stressed or burned out, they are enjoying the ability to work from home and want to continue to have that option in the future. We also found that, although many executives believe they need a Digital Workplace strategy, only half have actually implemented one.

What are your top thoughts (not inspired by this survey / research) on how teams globally (and businesses) have adapted to the changing norm?

It’s been a really interesting few months to say the least. I think one of the more positive changes we’ve seen is a realization that businesses can, for the most part, operate successfully with a remote workforce. There’s also been a sort of humanization of the workforce: seeing a dog or child on video calls has reminded us that we’ve all got home lives outside of work. This contributes to a collaborative spirit many companies are experiencing: a banding together to support each other during this time. From an offerings perspective, companies have pivoted and are mobilizing new products and services quickly in order to better serve their customers.

What are some of the pros of having teams extend work from home policies until the end of the year – from your point of view, what would you feel is better, having a back-to-office routine or not?

It’s a really difficult decision for business to make, but official policies and guidelines are still being developed and tested. In my opinion, waiting a few more months will likely be beneficial as it will reduce guesswork and potential rework when creating space for employees to work that complies with social distancing guidelines. It also allows some time for extensive exploration into the feasibility of a long-term remote workforce: many companies will now offer full-time remote positions, but creating a culture that supports and sustains a remote workforce takes time: it’s not an overnight transformation. This extension would also allow those 50% of companies without Digital Workplace strategies to implement those and ensure a smoother transition and better support for employees.

How would you advise globally distributed teams to capitalize on this time to invest in better HR Tech / Other Tech to support remote work initiatives?

Creating a remote work culture requires the technology to support it. Use this time to survey your employees and understand where they are feeling unsupported, evaluate infrastructure and create and implement a Digital Workplace strategy.

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What are the workplace trends that will remain long after the Covid-19 situation is dealt with, according to you?

Remote work is here to stay: that is clear from our research. There is likely to be an increase in people moving out of dense urban areas, shifting talent pools for many positions. The overall success of remote work and the uncertainty of physical workplaces over the past few months will certainly create interest for companies to move to more remote options.

I also think that physical locations for companies will be changed forever: offices and consumer-facing locations alike. With the rise of e-commerce, businesses will need to rethink what the purpose of their physical locations should be.

While Covid-19 is still an ongoing threat, what are the top points/ cautionary tips you’d share with the global workforce?

Don’t rush reopening physical offices. As we see states loosening restrictions, there is still hesitation from people to return to life as it was prior to Covid-19. Listen to your employees and, if possible, make returns to the office voluntary even once you decide to reopen offices. Most of all, execute a Digital Workplace strategy to support your employees wherever they choose to work.

A few general last minute wrapping up thoughts (on team building during this time, collaboration, etc)

We purposely called this report a snapshot: sentiment is changing every day as we all get used to this new normal. The best advice we can offer is to really listen to your employees and customers. And, as always, Rightpoint is here to help create a culture of innovation that supports employees and customers alike.

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