A pandemic that has accelerated the transformation of the “work-life”.

We have all experienced the effects of COVID-19 over the past few months. Like it or not, the pandemic has somehow accelerated the transformation of the work-life. Be it businesses or individuals, many Malaysians are not used to work-from-home. And, we all know that it is not easy for most employees to be working from home without having to juggle their time between work and family. Communications went from offline to online with the occasional drops in internet access. As we all are coping and pivoting our business priorities, businesses are also thinking beyond and re-looking into their workplace arrangements. Eventually, all of us will want to go back to our offices to connect with our colleagues. Workspace is still a valuable place to collaborate, operate and focus.

Normal may never be the same as before

Now there is a ‘What if?’.

What if the MCO is lifted and businesses are allowed to operate back in the office? This does not mean that the virus is going to go away in the next six months. The number of cases is rising, and vaccines are still being tested at the same time, that if proved successful, would again take another year to be mass-manufactured for the rest of us.

Therefore, there is still an inherent risk of having your whole organisation back together in ‘one building’, while working in fear of a mass-exposure to COVID-19.

Challenges that businesses are facing during this period

1. The need to stay agile: There is now a need for businesses to remain nimble and more agile to adapt to market shifts – while maintaining a level of operations that is optimised to serve the change in customer demands.

2. Maintaining business continuity: Businesses will also need to ensure business continuity to prevent any disruptions in daily operations. The biggest asset for any organisation is its people and having them fall ill would be a considerable cost. If work has to be done from home to reduce risk, then managers will have to manage their team’s task across multiple locations to minimise risk.

3. Establish open communication: One of the challenges managers will face next is to maintain open communication with all teams. Employees are often behind masks these days and are living in fear of feeling exposed to the risk of COVID-19. Therefore it is essential for management to ensure that their teams are safe, healthy, and regularly informed of what is unfolding on the ground.

What can businesses do to re-look into their workplace arrangement?

The importance of a business continuity plan, starting with an alternate site

You can decide to work with a trusted and reliable real estate manager to manage multiple locations and sites, together with the right amenities to make your staff feel comfortable and safe. We believe that you should stop worrying about the workplace, to focus on what is more important, your business.

Learn more about WORQ’s Business Continuity Plan Services by contacting our excellent enterprise consultant, Christina Chong at +6012 656 0478 for a FREE CONSULTATION on how to plan for your CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RELIEF contingencies.