What’s been done
so far?
so far?
Recently, we ran a global survey on how firms are managing their people as they adjust to new work schedules, redefine work-life balance, and get used to the rhythm of a virtual workplace. From the approximately 1000 senior executives we surveyed in Latin America, 38% of the firms have more than 81% of their employees working remotely. Nearly 70% of the respondents also stated that productivity has suffered very little – below 25% - as a result of remote work, including 25% who said that working from home had no impact at all on their overall efficiency.
Firms are doing everything they can to keep their employees motivated, engaged, and efficient during these trying times. When news of the disease first started emerging around the world at the beginning of 2020, many Latin American General Counsels (GCs), alongside their c-suite executives, formed COVID-19 crisis committees. These are interdisciplinary teams whose primary focus is to develop a company strategy on how to tackle the effects of COVID-19 on the business and disseminate messages regarding the pandemic across the company.1 Energy companies formed an internal team of doctors who were brought in to advise them on medical matters alongside the members of procurement, supply chain, finance, and the legal department. The focus of these daily discussions was on data privacy, safety, and the health of their employees.1
Additionally, many companies in Latin America are leveraging this time at home to direct attention to training. According to our survey, 37% of firms are investing in training and development. This is approximately 8% higher than what firms in the US are investing in training and development. Companies whose sales and workload have been impacted by this pandemic, the people leaders are introducing virtual training programs like those on time management to assist employees in their ongoing professional development.
COVID-19 and the respective quarantine measures have impacted the way companies operate. Moving from handling business in person to hosting every meeting virtually, to ensuring daily leadership interactions for motivation, firms are learning that efficiency can be maintained as you telework. These changes, however, also highlight some of the gaps which lie in areas of IT, change management, and the talent required to support it. With 78% of meetings conducted by video and 72% of the firms rolling out regular communications from their leadership, what we see now is a new phase of forced digitization. The effectiveness of a remote world is revolutionary, as highlighted by Sergio Rial, CEO of Santander Brazil. We realize that those who work remotely don’t work less… I have said that the coronavirus ends the industrial age, because all the processes that can be automated will be from now on.”2
Firms are doing everything they can to keep their employees motivated, engaged, and efficient during these trying times. When news of the disease first started emerging around the world at the beginning of 2020, many Latin American General Counsels (GCs), alongside their c-suite executives, formed COVID-19 crisis committees. These are interdisciplinary teams whose primary focus is to develop a company strategy on how to tackle the effects of COVID-19 on the business and disseminate messages regarding the pandemic across the company.1 Energy companies formed an internal team of doctors who were brought in to advise them on medical matters alongside the members of procurement, supply chain, finance, and the legal department. The focus of these daily discussions was on data privacy, safety, and the health of their employees.1
Additionally, many companies in Latin America are leveraging this time at home to direct attention to training. According to our survey, 37% of firms are investing in training and development. This is approximately 8% higher than what firms in the US are investing in training and development. Companies whose sales and workload have been impacted by this pandemic, the people leaders are introducing virtual training programs like those on time management to assist employees in their ongoing professional development.
COVID-19 and the respective quarantine measures have impacted the way companies operate. Moving from handling business in person to hosting every meeting virtually, to ensuring daily leadership interactions for motivation, firms are learning that efficiency can be maintained as you telework. These changes, however, also highlight some of the gaps which lie in areas of IT, change management, and the talent required to support it. With 78% of meetings conducted by video and 72% of the firms rolling out regular communications from their leadership, what we see now is a new phase of forced digitization. The effectiveness of a remote world is revolutionary, as highlighted by Sergio Rial, CEO of Santander Brazil. We realize that those who work remotely don’t work less… I have said that the coronavirus ends the industrial age, because all the processes that can be automated will be from now on.”2
