Canadian Government Executive - Volume 26 - Issue 03

6 / Canadian Government Executive // May/June 2020 Special Report lems in a secure way, where health and safety is a top priority. Technology and tools that support secure remote access and collaboration are essential, but it’s much more than that. Now, more than ever, we need to have a solid workplace culture (i.e. the capa- bilities and practices that distinguish the workplace and make it effective) and rethink how our people behave. Codes of conduct and social contracts will be something we may see coming up even more in our return-to-work planning and there will be new expectations for employers, employees, and clients. A clear plan that brings all stakeholders into the new way of operating will help to foster that strong culture. As organizations plan the return to work, leaders should be thinking about four areas: 1. Health and safety, privacy and social responsibility It’s important to protect employees, main- tain their privacy, and reinforce your com- mitment to social responsibility. Some ac- tions include maintaining a sanitary work environment, establishing new medical protocols (e.g. anonymized temperature checking), and complying with local, pro- vincial, and federal laws and guidelines, including privacy considerations. From a health and safety perspective, employers and employees are going to have to work together to maintain a safe workplace and we will need to support each other through these changes from a mental health and wellness perspective. 2. Work organization and technology A solid return-to-workplace plan should reflect an organization’s realities and capture opportunities to revisit the op- erating model and organizational struc- ture. This is especially critical consider- ing how much and how quickly digital tools and new ways of working have been introduced and will continue to be integrated into the everyday norm. Important first steps include identify- ing jobs that require in-person interac- tion with other people or technology/ Reboot Canada W e’re living through disrup- tion, unlike anything we’ve seen before. Remote work- ing has been a significant adjustment for some organizations, and adapting to our new normal has required extra structure, intention, and care. As the curve begins to flatten, businesses and society are considering what returning to normal may look like. Although organiza- tions have settled into new ways of work- ing, the implications of COVID-19 on the public sector, especially as they relate to the workforce, will remain long-lasting. Returning to the workplace can cre- ate anxiety and fear about the unknown, but at the same time, it creates an op- portunity to think strategically about how to emerge stronger. Now’s the time to consider the new skills we need and redefine what’s important now and into the future. Leaders will need to consider a reboot plan that meets the evolving needs of their organization and supports their people. Leading organizations will learn from the first stage of their crisis re- sponse to build resilience and future- proof their organization from further disruption. Workplace culture in the new normal Organizations will need to answer the important question of when and how to bring employees back to the workplace while meeting new business demands. From a social distancing perspective, a return to the workplace could be at around 20 per cent to 40 per cent of the capacity from before the pandemic. What’s more, organizations are consider- ing shifts and other plans to reduce the possibility of contact and avoid overlap between teams. And while virtual work may become a permanent feature, we still require human connection. It’s im- portant to make sure our people can come together and work through prob- BY Lesley Ireton Director, People and Organization, PwC Canada machinery and assessing where pro- ductivity decreases significantly if work is performed off-site. 3. Financial performance How to prepare for fluctuating demand after the initial crisis period is over is top of mind across all sectors. A reboot plan should explore opportunities for new rev- enue streams and possible cost efficien- cies. You should also model scenarios re- lated to fluctuating return-to-work plans. 4. Worker needs, preferences, and skills By putting employees at the heart of the reboot planning process, organizations will be able to effectively consider dif- ferent scenarios. This will drive manag- ers and leaders to revisit the way they manage both in the short and long term. To start, you can assess workers’ at- titudes toward health/hygiene and un- derstand their personal situations (e.g. childcare and financial constraints). Determine options for working models based on type of work and geographic location. From our experience with organiza- tional transformation in the public sec- tor, we have insights on how depart- ments and agencies can build their strategy to effectively plan, prepare and revisit business continuity to protect employees and the citizens they serve as we reboot Canada. Reproduced with permission ©2020 PwC Canada