Last August, many companies were anticipating the return to the office this fall. A subject that is at the heart of many leaders’ concerns. In Quebec, the government has set and changed the date for the return to the office on several occasions, creating a sense of urgency for many to return to the office.

The integration of teleworking into business models was accelerated following the pandemic. It was a quick way to adapt to mandatory containment while continuing operations, allowing companies to grow and meet their goals. Now that remote work is integrated into the daily routine, your business is up and running. So why rush an on-site return?  How about defining Work 4.0?

Do you want to take advantage of this opportunity to create a model that will be optimal for your company? Take the time to analyze the situation, define and plan the transition to this new work environment. 

• ANALYZE the pre-pandemic model versus the current one. Were there things that needed to be improved in the way you did things before the pandemic? Were any of the processes improved with the new structure in place with telecommuting? How did the transition to telework go at the beginning of the pandemic? What are the lessons learned?  
• DEFINE the optimal model for your organization. Keep the best of the pre-pandemic and current practices, but also take advantage of them to solve ongoing problems by improving the way things are done. Combine these two ways of working and innovating to create the ideal model for you.
• PLAN THE TRANSITION to your ideal model. Based on lessons learned, determine how, and how fast, the transition will occur.  Create a plan of all the activities needed to get there. It is important to note that public health standards are a consideration in the transition, but they are not the focus of your model and will evolve over time.

It is important to take the time to ask yourself these questions, to think about them, to analyze the ways in which you can create an optimal working model for your business. You have the chance to create the 4.0 work environment, a work environment where you will optimize your employees’ commitment, your business processes, your ways of doing things, your customer service, the quality of what you produce in products and services, your way of recruiting, etc. You have a tremendous opportunity right now to revisit your workplace and combine all the technologies, the ways of doing things that you discovered during the pandemic, with what you had before, to create your optimal model. An opportunity to revitalize your business.

As I said at the beginning of the article, right now your business is working, so why rush things? Take the time to plan the activities to experience a smooth transition to this future work environment, that 4.0 workplace, thoughtful and optimized to your image. What the government is giving us are only guidelines to inform us that it is now possible to go back to on-site work, not the obligation to apply it immediately. 

Photo from Alexas Fotos