remote working solutions - gartner
TRANSCRIPT
Remote Working Solutions Resetting the way we work for business continuity
April 2020
In this issue
Introduction 2
Business Continuity – Digitization Impacting Organizations 3
Benefits of Remote Working 5
Use Cases: Video Conferencing for Every Industry 7
Research from Gartner 10 Reap the Benefits of Remote Work for Your Midsize Enterprise 10
About Cisco 18
Introduction
Businesses globally are quickly adopting remote working solutions
for seamless business operations, and to provide flexibility to
employees, so they can connect from anywhere at any time.
Encouraging employees to reduce travel, and work from home is a
rising trend among companies. In-person meetings and events are
giving way to virtual conferences and meetings.
This paper explores how organizations are making a paradigm shift,
and the way people work and conduct business is transforming on a
global scale.
The Paradigm Shift
For most, digital is already part of daily life, creating new
possibilities, and introducing new ideas from brain storming to
executing projects. While the switch to digital meetings is already
a growing trend globally, the current situation has accelerated
the adoption of collaboration technologies that not only enable
employees to connect and share content in real-time on any device
but also facilitate seamless group work, both in-office and outside.
What’s impressive is the ease and pace at which companies
are adapting to safeguard their employees, their customers,
and their business. While the underlying technical ability was
always there, the size and scale of this transformation is new.
More importantly, all of this is happening without significantly
impacting productivity and quality.
If you look around, you will see events going digital overnight,
MoUs being signed virtually, companies urging employees to work
from home, students being asked to learn from home, and more.
Industries like media and entertainment are also adapting. Recently,
popular K-pop band, BTS, decided to hold a virtual news conference
over YouTube to launch their latest album. At Venice Opera House,
when COVID-19 forced performances to be cancelled, a string
quartet played Beethoven to an empty theatre, streaming their
concert online to virtual applause from hundreds of fans.
The world is certainly transforming to digital.
Business Continuity – Digitization Impacting Organizations
Disruptions and discontinuities never stop businesses.
It creates new possibilities and paves the way for
innovation. Imagine how disruptive businesses will
become in the days to come.
There are moments in time, where singularly pervasive
events have redefined everything we once took for
granted—for instance, getting up, getting dressed, and
going to work. In the last few weeks, the core concepts
of going to work and how we work have changed. While
remote working is not new, the focus it’s receiving now,
globally, is unprecedented.
What’s interesting is that we are witnessing business
and government leaders taking bold decisions to
enable work from home, something that seemed
outlandish just a few weeks ago. In India, the
Department of Telecommunications relaxed
regulations for IT service providers, to allow employees
to work from home. The Central Government ordered
50 percent of its employees to work from home; the
Assam Government instructed teachers to impart
lessons over WhatsApp and more doctors are treating
people over video such as Webex Meetings. Many of
these changes happened almost overnight.
The world is quickly transitioning and getting used to
working from home.
So, what does this mean for employees and employers,
and more importantly, the economy?
For employees, there is a direct impact on their daily
lives, giving them more flexibility and opportunity
for us to balance time with families, but reducing
commute time and tiredness from traffic.
4
Cisco leads by example. The leadership team was
able to boost productivity and innovation within the
teams. “I held a six-hour-long virtual workshop over
Webex, with a flurry of ideas emerging from every
participant. As a bonus, I now know whose dog loves
sleeping on the couch, whose kid is just learning
to walk, and who can cook! That’s the beauty of
working and connecting from home – it humanizes
the employee experience” says Sameer Garde,
President, Cisco India & SAARC.
For companies, apart from the obvious benefits
of reduced operational costs, this would mean
having a more diverse pool of talent, which will have
a positive impact on revenue and innovation. For
example, as companies start getting used to the idea
of Work From Home (WFH), they will become open
to employing gig workers who can contribute from
anywhere. This trend could also bring more women
into the workforce. Commuting to work still happens
to be one of the biggest challenges for working
women; according to India’s 2011 Census, 60% of
women limited their job opportunities to within 1km
of their homes. WFH could help move the needle
towards an equally distributed workforce. Additionally,
by casting the net across geographies, companies can
gain in-depth, real-time insights into evolving market
realities.
Lastly, the economy – as companies start actively
building a geographically agnostic and diverse
workforce, the economy will benefit from this
transformation. For instance, if the Indian IT sector,
which employs over 4.5 million people, were more
dispersed, rather than concentrated in Bangalore,
Hyderabad or other IT hubs, it would drastically
reduce pressure on city infrastructure and lead to
balanced economic growth across the country. More
importantly, as more women join the workforce, it
will boost the overall GDP. Besides, remote working
will create new business models and revenue
streams.
Learn More.
Source: Cisco
Benefits of Remote Working
More companies are becoming open to supporting
remote working style. The new practices at the
workplace continue to replace old processes,
however the acceptance of change is subject
to increasing scrutiny. Distributed and remote
workforces are among the changes that have the
biggest impact on organizations as employees are
the most valuable assets.
Cisco’s inherent culture supports work from home.
Almost 60% of employees of Cisco, work remotely
or are mobile, reporting to the office twice a week.
Here are some of the benefits of working from home
or from any location:
Brainstorming is Effective
Traditionally, remote working posed limitations
in communications, especially those that
required interpretations, views, counterpoints,
and discussions. The tone and urgency behind
discussions is often lost in text messaging tools.
Similarly, the inability to share drawings or suggest
changes to images was a handicap. This created
perceptions that tools were incapable of replacing
‘in-person’ meetings. Work space live sharing tools
including whiteboarding and video conferences,
empower remote participants with powerful
capabilities that give the experience of in-person
meetings.
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Work is still constructive without fully functional home offices
Prior to the mid-digital era, when desktops were
the only options and devices offered connectivity,
the experience was poor. This is no longer the case.
Technology has made handheld devices as versatile
as desktops, and, innovative tools like Webex
Meetings App, Webex Teams App, work on handheld
devices with full functional use. This combination has
turned devices into extensions of offices.
Remote workers value the company culture
The human centric experience of new age digital
tools has built a strong case for remote working.
Companies now possess the ability to organize video
conferences specifically for customer meetings,
town halls, socializing, product launches and many
more. New age digital tools permit organizations to
take activities to remote locations. This is primarily
because the employees are valuing the flexibility
given to them by their managers to work from home
and work from anywhere.
Remote workers are as productive if not more
In the knowledge economy, workplace productivity
is no more linked to the number of hours put in
by employees. Output has become more result
oriented. Traffic congestion, distractions at the
workplace hamper productivity—employees in Indian
metros spend an additional 1.5 hours just getting to
offices (likewise in many other countries). The present
suite of tools take the workplace to remote locations,
achieving productivity aligned with business outcomes.
A study by Cisco on benefits of remote working clearly
underscored this as it was found that remote working
increased workplace productivity by 14%.
Companies are more open to hire remote workers
It makes perfect business sense for organizations
to encourage employees to work remotely. As
mentioned earlier, 60% of employees of Cisco, for
instance, work remotely or are mobile, reporting to
the office twice a week. Real estate, office space,
commuting time, energy, and overheads are just a
few compelling reasons that make remote attractive,
slashed budgets by $ 196 million, reducing real
estate utilization and another $200 million in travel
expenses. Most organizations, including Fortune 500
companies are actively encouraging remote working.
Source: Cisco
Use Cases: Video Conferencing for Every Industry
Remote working is possible due to the video
technology enabled in the digital tools and
solutions. Today every industry, manufacturing,
education, retail, healthcare, IT/ITES and even
the Government is adopting video conferencing to
encourage the remote working.
“In the first 11 business
days of March 2020,
we have had 5.5 billion
Webex meeting minutes,”
says Chuck Robbins on
Squawk on the Street.
Use Case #1 : G20 Summit – Government Connected over Video Conferencing
Cisco made history on 26 March 2020, as the
first ever virtual G20 Summit, chaired by King
Salman, was held using Cisco Webex technology.
27 leaders from the 20 member countries of
G20 attended the Summit over video conference
and discussed ways to fight COVID-19 together.
Use Case #2 : Digital Schools – Educational Institutes Networking over Video
We understand how to help schools innovate to
drive higher levels of student engagement and
improve learning outcomes. We also understand
the power of networks. That’s why we have
applied our knowledge and expertise to create
the Digital Schools Network, a community-based
8
program designed to enable educators and students
to connect, collaborate, learn and share experiences
and resources within a secure digital collaboration
platform – to transform traditional schools into
Digital Schools. Learn More.
Use Case #3 : CEO Board Meetings - Large IT Firms Connect over Video
Indian Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and
promoters are making full use of working from home
by attending board and management meetings
9
through video conferencing during the COVID-19
days to stay safe and yet connected.
Indian CEOs like Tata group Chairman N
Chandrasekaran, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand
Mahindra, RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka,
Bajaj Auto CEO and MD Rajiv Bajaj are working from
home and are making sure that all office staff are
also safe and sound while company’ operations are
not affected.
As told to Business Standard “For the past few days,
I see almost no loss of efficiency so far, barring my
inability to review new product sketches models and
prototypes. All other discussions are often sharper
and crisper,” said CEO and MD Rajiv Bajaj, Bajaj Auto.
Ramesh Nair, MD and CEO of JLL, says he created
a designated place in his house as ‘home office’.
“I believe this is extremely essential for each one
of us to do as we begin working from home. I have
also shifted my Cisco DX80 from office to home that
enables me to connect frequently with my leadership
team via video conferencing.”
Source: Cisco
Research from Gartner
Reap the Benefits of Remote Work for Your Midsize Enterprise
CIOs in midsize enterprises can use remote work
technology to drive organizational resiliency
against world-impacting events. MSE C-suites are
hesitant to allow remote work for fear of a drop-off
in productivity. Work with HR to dispel fears and
highlight benefits.
Overview
Key Challenges
■ MSEs that limit talent acquisition for the newest
skills types to only their physical location will be
limiting their talent pool and must compete with
other local organizations that can provide better
flexibility.
■ MSE CEOs and executives fear that the potential
negatives of remote work outweigh the positives,
slowing or even stopping remote work initiatives
before they have started.
■ Lack of direction and understanding of remote
work practices have led to immature policies and
programs that have failed due to poor adoption
by business employees and management.
Recommendations
As MSE CIOs looking to establish a remote work
policy, you should:
■ Collaborate with HR to determine what the top
barriers are for your organization and how best
to address them.
■ Identify the benefits of remote work for your
organization by working with HR to determine
the roles that lend themselves to remote work,
and with finance to determine the potential cost
benefits.
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■ Create your remote work policy by taking your
findings from barriers and key benefits, and work
together with executive peers to craft a policy
that makes sense for your specific needs.
Introduction
MSE CIOs must take the lead in building remote
work strategies in the organization. In many cases,
the close-knit nature of MSEs has been one of their
key advantages. By switching a subset of employees
to remote work, it can raise concerns over the
cohesion of the organization. This could lead to
disagreements with executive peers, as well as the
CEO or ownership, as to the validity of remote work.
Younger generations of workers are looking for
remote work flexibility. The Gartner’s Digital
Workplace Consumer Survey asked respondents,
“If you could make the schedule yourself, what
proportion of time would like to spend working
…?” The data shows that over 40% of Gen Z and
millennial respondents in the U.S. and Europe
currently working for MSEs wish to work in a more
nomadic way. It also shows that over 30% of Gen X
and baby boomer respondents want the same (see
Figure 1).
Figure 1: Proportion of Time Would Prefer Working From ...
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MSE CIOs need to understand the reality of sourcing
new and emerging roles such as those in artificial
intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), as well
as automation specialists and Internet of Things
(IoT) architects. Gartner’s Midsize Enterprise Talent
and Skills Survey shows the main sourcing approach
is to reskill internally either from within, or outside
of, IT. For several emerging roles shown in Figure 2
(selected out of the 14 tested in the survey), 30% or
more of MSE CIOs surveyed said they will look for an
external hire.
Gartner has significant research on remote work best
practices. In this research we contextualize those
practices to key areas MSEs should focus on.
Analysis
Work With Human Resources to Address the Fears of Remote Work
Refer to Gartner’s research, “Overcome the Fears,
Embrace the Benefits and Launch a Remote Work
Pilot Program,” which provides a list of the eight
most common fears leadership has in regards to
remote work. Of those eight, based on Gartner
interactions with MSE clients, the most common
three for MSEs are included in Table 1.
Figure 2: Midsize Enterprise Skills Sourcing
13
Also consider the fears that employees may have and how you will need to mitigate
them (see Table 2).
Barrier/Fear Why MSEs Should Care How to Address
Culture doesn’t support it MSE leadership
consistently names culture
as the No. 1 barrier for
digital growth.
This will require a cultural change to some
degree. Managers will need to be educated
about leadership and management principles
that are appropriate for the age of digital
business. They need to move away from a
command-and-control approach to one that
manages employees toward results.
Managers must also be aware of the benefits
of providing remote work, particularly the
ability to widen the pool of high-caliber
talent. This is a critical reward element in the
competition for talent.
Creates a “haves and have-
nots” perception
In sub-1000 employee
organizations malcontent
can spread easily and
have significant impact on
employee productivity.
Determine which roles and what kind of work
can be performed remotely. Give employees
the option, when possible, to opt in or out.
Create a marketing communication plan
to explain the purpose of the program and
criteria for eligibility.
Employees misuse the
program
Misuse of the program can
lead to time and money
lost on projects. With
limited resources to begin
with, this can be highly
detrimental to MSEs.
Focus on the deliverables and outcomes of
remote workers, rather than the amount
of time people work. Note: There are some
exceptions where work is tracked for client
purposes (e.g., in consulting for billable
hours), but the point is to focus on outcomes.
Table 1: Top MSE Barriers and Fears for Remote Work
Source: Gartner (March 2020)
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Barrier/Fear Why MSEs Should Care How to Address
Isolation Isolation can be a major
problem for MSE employees
switching to remote work.
Going from a close-knit
community to no community
can be a shock to them and
hinder initial productivity.
Encourage remote workers to:
■ Take a break and get out of the home office, if only
for a walk.
■ Get together for coffee or lunch if they work near
other employees.
■ Attend local events, such as industry association
meetings.
■ Text, email and have calls formally and informally
with colleagues.
■ Participate in virtual celebrations.
■ When possible, employees should meet face-to-face
when it makes sense to have in-person interaction.
Negative impact
on career
opportunities
and professional
development
It can be easy for employees
to be out of sight and out of
mind, especially if they are
doing good work. As openings
in MSE are limited in most
cases if career opportunities
and development are not
addressed, good employees
may leave the organization.
■ Discuss how to maintain a remote worker’s career
and professional development opportunities.
■ Employees will need to be proactive to ensure they
are not invisible. They should take advantage of
any opportunity that will raise their visibility. This
includes volunteering for projects (high-visibility
ones, when possible) and using email and other
electronic communication to maintain visibility in
critical social networks.
Work too much/
distractions
This can go in one of two
directions, both of which lead
to less productivity. Either the
employee works too much and
burns out or has too many
distractions and does not
complete tasks in a timely
manner.
Encourage remote workers to:
■ Set appointments on a calendar for work hours, and
maintain control and discipline in managing the
calendar.
■ Once the work day is completed, turn off the
computer and leave the home office.
■ Take frequent breaks to remain refreshed and
focused.
■ Have a dedicated office and separate phone line.
■ Get day care, as needed, and ensure others know
they are working and not to disturb them when
working in the home office.
Source: Gartner (March 2020)
Table 2: Addressing Barriers and Fears of Employees
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Identify the Benefits of Remote Work for Your Organization
In the “2020 CIO Agenda: A Midsize Enterprise
Perspective,” we show the responses from MSE
respondents to the 2020 Gartner CIO Survey,
including what disruptions they had experienced and
Effect of Disruption Benefits to MSE Needs How to Address
Thirty-seven percent of MSE
respondents to the 2020
Gartner CIO Survey indicated
that it was difficult to attract
the right talent for their needs
following a disruption.
Access to a wider talent pool: Limiting the hiring
search to just the immediate geographic location
could lead to a significant fight for local talent with
other local enterprises. By using remote work,
you have the potential to pull from a national and
international level for new hires.
Determine with HR
which current and
emerging roles may
lend themselves to
remote work.
Thirty-five percent of MSE
respondents to the 2020
Gartner CIO Survey named the
ability to fund new business
initiatives as an issue in the
wake of a disruptive situation.
Twenty-five percent of these
same MSE respondents named
operating cost competitiveness
as a postdisruption issue.
Reduced real estate cost: As remote work
becomes more commonplace, the need for
physical office space may drop. This will also drop
the associated cost for things such as furniture,
maintenance and security. These costs can then
be reallocated to other business initiatives to stay
competitive.
Work with your finance
department to identify
the cost benefits
associated with
reducing real estate
costs taking into
account secondary
costs, such as
furniture.
Thirty-four percent of
MSE respondents to the
2020 Gartner CIO Survey
indicated that the speed at
which business initiatives
are successfully completed
suffered as a result of a
disruption.
Increased employee productivity and better
employee satisfaction and retention: There is
consensus that a clear benefit of remote work to
the enterprise is retention, particularly of talented
people. Often there are also valuable savings on
employment costs and a reduction in unproductive
time, including travel and less absences from
work. In the case of unplanned events and
disruptions, such as severe weather, damage to
the office or pandemic concerns, remote work can
help with organizational resiliency by not tying
employees to an office.
MSE leaders must
fairly and transparently
measure remote
work productivity and
performance, and as
stated previously, focus
on the deliverables and
outcomes of remote
workers, rather than
the amount of time
people work.
Source: Gartner (March 2020)
Table 3: Falling Behind Due to Effects of Disruption vs. Remote Work Benefits
what the effects of disruption have been on their
enterprise’s abilities.
The inherent benefits of remote work can tie well to
alleviating some of the effects felt from disruption
(see Table 3).
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Work With Executive Team to Establish a Remote Work Policy
Review your findings with the executive team on how
to mitigate fears and drive benefits of remote work.
Continue to work on fears and values the executive
team may also have. Use Gartner’s “Toolkit: Remote
Work Policies,” as a template to create your policy.
How you plan to address barriers and fears, as well
as cultivating the benefits of remote work, should
all be highlighted in the policy. A further goal of
the policy should be to help prepare employees
for remote work and to clarify what demands will
be made of them. The policy will also help enable
supportive interactions between workers. Consider
the following key policy points in Table 4.
Table 4: Key Policy Points
Key Policy Point Why MSEs Should Care How to Address
Determining the appropriate
equipment and resources.
Many MSEs have tried
to stretch out the use of
technology to keep costs flat.
This may cause issues for
remote workers. Conversely,
remote workers may need to
provide specific hardware and
services of their own.
Work with your IT team to determine what
the hardware minimum should be for
remote work. Establish if the business, the
employee or a combination of both will
provide hardware and resources. Define
the mandatory minimum bandwidth the
employee home internet must provide.
Availability and
communication requirements
To help maintain the close-
knit nature of MSEs, proper
communication planning will
help ensure that employees do
not lose their connection to the
rest of the organization.
Make clear what communication
technology is available to employees to
connect with one another. Set mandatory
minimums that remote workers must
connect with colleagues on a weekly
basis. Ensure that direct managers are
connecting with remote workers, at
minimum, biweekly.
Source: Gartner (March 2020)
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Evidence
Gartner’s webinar, “Midsize Enterprise Approaches
to Talent Management,” was held on 1 October 2019
with a total of 115 attendees, with 45 responding to
the question “Does your organization have or plan to
offer a remote work option?” Note that it is possible
for attendees from large/global enterprises to attend
these webinars.
■ Yes, full implemented: 56% (25 votes)
■ Next 12 to 18 months: 18% (8 votes)
■ Next 19 to 24 months: 2% (1 vote)
■ No plan to implement at this time: 24% (11
votes)
Gartner conducted the Midsize Enterprise Talent
and Skills Survey in June and July 2019 in order
to discover the current staffing and skill levels of
midsize enterprises. The respondents, 303 CIOs, or
the most senior IT leaders in midsize organizations,
were considered qualified and surveyed.
The sample by country coverage is as follows:
■ NA (n =113) — U.S. (n = 80); Canada (n = 33)
■ Europe (190) — France (n = 62); Germany (n =
39); Italy (n = 36); U.K. (n = 53)
■ By size: Small IT Organization (n = 87); Medium
(n = 166); Large (n = 50)
The survey was developed collaboratively by a
team of Gartner analysts who examine IT’s role in
business, and was reviewed, tested and administered
by Gartner’s Research Data and Analytics team.
The results of this study are representative of the
respondent base and not necessarily the business as
a whole.
The 2020 Gartner CIO Survey was conducted online
from 4 June 2019 through 5 August 2019 among
Gartner Executive Programs members and other
CIOs. Qualified respondents are each the most
senior IT leader (CIO) for their overall organization or
a part of their organization (for example, a business
unit or region). The total sample is 1,070, with
representation from all geographies and industry
sectors (public and private), including 258 MSE
(excluding government and education) CIOs. The
survey was developed collaboratively by a team
of Gartner analysts, and was reviewed, tested
and administered by Gartner’s Research Data and
Analytics team. Results do not represent “global”
findings, or the market as a whole, but reflect the
sentiment of the respondents and companies
surveyed.
The 2019 Gartner Digital Workplace Consumer
Survey was conducted online from March through
April 2019 among 7,261 respondents in the U.S.,
Europe (France, Germany and the U.K.) and APAC
(China, India and Singapore). Participants were
screened for full-time employment in organizations
with 100 or more employees and were required
to use digital technology for work purposes.
Respondents’ ages ranged from 18 through 74
years old. Quotas and weighting were applied for
age, gender, region and income, so that results
are representative of working country populations.
The results of this study do not represent “global”
findings, or the market as a whole, but are a simple
average of results for the targeted countries covered
in this survey.
Gartner Research Note G00718929, Joe Mariano, 13 March 2020
Remote Working Solutions is published by Cisco. Editorial content supplied by Cisco is independent of Gartner analysis. All Gartner research is used with Gartner’s permission, and was originally published as part of Gartner’s syndicated research service available to all entitled Gartner clients. © 2020 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. The use of Gartner research in this publication does not indicate Gartner’s endorsement of Cisco’s products and/or strategies. Reproduction or distribution of this publication in any form without Gartner’s prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Although Gartner research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Gartner does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner is a public company, and its shareholders may include firms and funds that have financial interests in entities covered in Gartner research. Gartner’s Board of Directors may include senior managers of these firms or funds. Gartner research is produced independently by its research organization without input or influence from these firms, funds or their managers. For further information on the independence and integrity of Gartner research, see “Guiding Principles on Independence and Objectivity” on its website.
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