Planning for Long-Term Hybrid Work Since the pandemic-driven transition to remote work, studies on remote work are in consensus that workforces can be productive and efficient without being co-located.   A hybrid working model - where teams comprise of employees working remotely and on-site - means less office space is needed and offers employees the possibility for flexible working, among other benefits. And although remote work can bring certain downsides, the home working ‘experiment’ has driven companies to consider alternatives to [...]

Encouraging Candid Employee Feedback Obtaining candid feedback from employees is not always an easy task. Employees may be reticent to give negative feedback, and leaders may be disinclined to expose themselves to criticism and put themselves in a position of potential vulnerability.  However, feedback can be hugely valuable to organisations. Gallup’s study of 469 business units, found that units with managers who received strengths feedback exhibited a higher profitability of 8.9% following intervention. Additionally, encouraging feedback could strengthen the employee voice, which research has linked with greater organisational employee engagement. So, how [...]

How to Achieve More Inclusive Remote Meetings Meetings help shape company culture and are thus an important component in building inclusive organisational cultures. However, according to a Harvard Business Review study at a global bank, only 35% of employees felt able to make a contribution at all times during meetings.  As many meetings are now taking place virtually, a new set of tools unique to [...]

The Growth of Telehealth and the Implications for Pharma Last year, largely driven by Covid-19, the use of telehealth services surged. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the term telehealth denotes “a broad collection of electronic and telecommunications technologies and services that support at-a-distance healthcare delivery and services.” Including virtual consultations, reminders, and mobile health, among other services, the rise of telehealth and [...]

Strategies for Succeeding under Pressure Managing pressure effectively is an important element of success at work. Indeed, high-pressure situations can be sites of learning, growth and professional development, as we feel pressure when the outcome is important to us, such as a critical mission or a public speaking event. In “Performing Under Pressure: The Science of Doing Your Best When It Matters Most,” Hendrie Weisinger and J.P. Pawliw-Fry argue that pressure itself in fact has a [...]

Technology to Support Workplace Wellbeing and Mental Health Mental health and wellbeing constitute a major challenge for organisations across the globe. According to the World Health Organisation, depression and anxiety cost the worldwide economy US$ 1 trillion per year due to lost productivity.   In recent years, technology-enabled mental health solutions have been on the rise in society more widely, and research suggests that this trend has reached the workplace. According to an Accenture study, 83% of employees [...]

Building Personal Resilience To Succeed at Work In the workplace as in life more widely, experiencing hurdles and difficulties are inevitable. Challenges can come in many forms, from organisational change to high-stakes projects or missions. Most obviously in current times, the global health crisis has introduced professional challenges and personal hardships for people in different ways and to varying degrees, along with the challenge of adapting to a remote mode of work faced by many. [...]

How Technology Can Improve the Onboarding Process While onboarding occurs right at the beginning of the employee journey, it has long-lasting effects, setting the foundation for the relationship between the company and the employee. Moreover, research suggests that 20% of turnover happens in the first 45 days, rendering the start of work a vital period in retaining employees.  Indeed, the onboarding process is a crucially important stage in developing [...]

Skills for Effective Virtual Leadership Managing remote teams inevitably introduces a different set of challenges for leaders, and given that many companies intend to continue with virtual work for the foreseeable future, it is important that remote leaders are confident in effective techniques for managing distributed teams, so they can motivate them and maximise their potential.   To start, while strong communication skills are a vital [...]

Boosting Communication in Conflict-Averse Teams According to the CPP Global Human Capital Report, more than half of employees (57%) have experienced negative feelings following a conflict, including demotivation, anger, or frustration. Given the undesirable consequences that conflictual encounters can have in personal or professional settings, it is not surprising that many people can be inclined to avoid conflict.   However, this is not necessarily a good thing for employees [...]