It has been a few weeks since iTOO implemented its new flexible work arrangement that allows employees to work from home or the office.
“It’s the best of both worlds,” said Mamoeti Nosi, iTOO Business Development Consultant.
She said the option of working from home and also coming into the office made all the difference.
“It’s 60% of the working week in the office and 40% out of the office [working from home],” said Nosi.
While the transition to remote working, driven largely by the Covid-19 pandemic, has mostly proved to be a positive experience for many companies, it has added an element of complexity, specifically around aspects of team management and business governance.
Justin Naylor, MD at specialist risks insurer iTOO, says remote working is here to stay.
Most organisations are unlikely to switch back to a permanent office-based workforce.
Instead, most will likely embrace some type of hybrid working model, where employees’ time is split between home and the office.
As such, the concept of a traditional five-day workweek and fixed office hours are a thing of the past, meaning that companies will have to adjust their approach to management and how they think about governance.
“I’m sure that many bosses would like to see employees back in the office, where a lot of management was traditionally done by physical presence and sight … in other words, seeing employees at their desks, doing their work,” says Naylor.
“This meant that it was easy to keep your finger on the pulse.
“But with the way the world is moving, most employees have gotten used to some element of flexibility.
“Essentially, this means that the world needs to move from measuring time to measuring output.”
With the National State Of Disaster lifted earlier this month on 4 April, iTOO has gone the route of Covid-19 vaccine mandates, except for religious and health reasons permitted on merit.
In short, iTOO has made the workplace as safe as possible.
After being apart for so long it’s natural that workers want the camaraderie of the office environment, but they still appreciate the extra time they can have with family when they work from home.
For now, bosses are keeping an eye on the production, having given employees the responsibility to make it all work.
A lot of the success of this new work arrangement rests on the discipline of the staff.
Jurie Erwee, Graduate, iTOO Special Risks says he prefers to work the whole week in the office.
He wants to get to know the inner workings of the company, the culture so to say, besides he says he wants to “feel the energy” of his colleagues and mentors.
The iTOO workspace is also different – there are no permanent seats.
Plus if you need to have a private conversation, there are booths for that and the option of a variety of different sized board rooms.
Menziwa Radana; Technical Assistant in the CUO office, says he loves using the booths when he has to speak to his mom.
“The booths are convenient,” says Radana.
Naylor, whose iTOO company seems to have got its right, explains that this approach adds a lot of complexity to the traditional style of management.
He says it requires a different mindset, yet many companies are not geared for this.
“It is, therefore, critical that organisations adapt to managing a remote or hybrid workforce, based on output metrics,” says Naylor.
One of the areas around which complexity has increased, he says, is company culture, which in turn has a profound impact on governance and employee performance.
“Company culture is more important than ever and basically guides employees in terms of how things are done within any given organisation,” says Naylor.
“Yet, it is difficult to maintain company culture when you have an entirely remote workforce.
“Employees need to be in the office at least some of the time to get a consistent demonstration of culture and shared messages, and yet companies also need to maintain a level of flexibility around hybrid work or risk losing talent.”
It helps to have free pizza and an after-work gin bar at the office for staff, just like iTOO.
If you want to know more about the risks and how to keep a grip on things follow iTOO Special Risks on www.itoo.co.za
