For the next 3 years, Companies are likely to need to adopt a remote first approach wherever possible. If you assume people are working from home and a few come into the office and someone gets sick, there is minimal impact. If you try to bring everyone back, and something happens, everything comes apart and you have to start over.
Taking a remote first approach may or may not be easy. Years ago, IBM did it as an experiment with a lot of their workers. They sent everyone home with a laptop to see what would happen. After about a week, they told people to stay where they were and that they were closing offices. It has worked very well for years. Many well known companies, especially in the consulting or IT sector have this as a standard practice. When I worked for Coopers and Lybrand (Now Price Waterhouse Coopers), we had a large area of the office which was referred to as a hotel. You reserved a desk (just like a conference room) if you were going to be in the office. People who normally worked remote would have a place to setup if they needed to come into the office for meetings.
Fast forward 20 years and I think you will see companies begin reducing their footprint and number of actual offices. They are likely to have more of a hotel or internal co-working space. You may not have your houseplant and children’s artwork, but you will have a place to work in the office.
Distributed Second
Maintaining a building for 1000 people may no longer be practical – or safe. With a remote first strategy, you may have an actual distributed need of 5 buildings that hold 100 each. Or better still 10 that hold 50. It reduces you’re your risk, and probably makes for a better commute for your workers.
Some companies have done this on a large scale. Outdoor retailer REI recently announced that they are selling their 8 acre campus having never moved into it. They are adopting a model of satellite campuses for their headquarters. This supports people working from home, and if they need to shut an office because people get sick, it doesn’t completely upend operations.
Manufacturers should also think distributed operations. The early news stories around Covid 19 had numerous food plants shut down that interrupted the food supply. What used to be a benefit of consolidation has now turned into a liability. Distributed operations reduce risk, and in many cases reduce transportation costs. There may be some higher operating costs, but overall they should be comparable to what they were before Covid 19.
Protected Third
When all else fails, put on the space suit. Some businesses can’t operate remote and they can’t split themselves to reduce risk. If you are in the medical field, grocery, restaurant, hotel, or retail space you probably are limited to providing additional safety protection in your existing location. Spread out if possible. Put up barriers. Clean and sanitize on a regular basis. And make sure that customers follow your rules to keep your staff as safe as possible.
Home Coming
At some point you may need to bring back some or all of your people to your existing office or a new one. A lot depends on your office location and configuration. Are you a free standing structure, or are you in a shared office space? Can people access the office through multiple doors, or do they have to use an elevator? Let’s say you have a 10 story building that normally has 800 people. Your initial target occupancy should be around 150-200 total. Elevators are the enemy in a social distancing world.
You can come up with your own formula for a number, but the goal is to ensure social distancing within the building. It’s also to try and have minimal impact in the event that the office has to close again. Most people with Covid 19 can still work; they just can’t work around other people.
Your Strategy
For every company who says “We can’t do a remote first strategy” there is another that is headed in that direction. It doesn’t mean that you have to shift a large number of workers to being remote, but if you can – go for it. Zillow is a classic example of a company that resisted remote work for a long time. They had a culture they were proud of and they didn’t want to lose that by having people be disconnected. Now they are making the transition to a flexible work environment that takes into consideration the current world situation.
Adopting a remote first strategy probably means a few HR changes. Maybe you need a form to work in the office instead of from home. Are there cost of living adjustments based on where you choose to reside? Working hours and sick days take on many new dimensions as well.
The biggest reason to adopt a remote first strategy is resiliency. You will be more able to handle the ongoing threat of Covid 19, and you will be more adaptable to other world situations that may occur in the future. You can stand up to the wave or you can ride it. Companies, organizations and schools that try to stand up to the wave are likely to get knocked own. Those that learn to ride the wave are likely to be here for the long term. So grab your metaphorical surfboard and dive in.
