Before 2020, many British SMEs were skeptical about the prospects of embracing remote work.
However, a recent study by the Censuswide research group reports a significant shift in attitudes towards a hybrid or even fully remote working environment. The survey, sponsored by leading European provider of cloud-based voice solutions NFON UK, spoke to 500 UK small business leaders to assess their plans for changes to their working environment as they prepare to emerge from the pandemic conditions.
According to these business leaders, some 29% reported that they plan on either downsizing or completely abandoning their office spaces at the earliest possible time allowed by their leasing agreements. This would account for an estimated 1.7 million British small businesses making a significant change to their working environment.
Researchers have attributed these intended changes to office use to the increased acceptance and even satisfaction of remote working since the start of the pandemic.
Before COVID-19, 50% of respondents told researchers that they did not encourage remote working.
The SME business leaders had a range of reasons for having concerns about working out of the office. Some 51% of those surveyed believed that it would have a negative impact on teamwork, while 31% stated that they lacked the necessary IT infrastructure to make remote work a possibility. Another 17% admitted that they were not confident that their staff would work quite as diligently from home as they would at the office.
However, after spending over a year working remotely, at least 34% of the respondents reported being pleasantly surprised by their employees’ ability to adapt and thrive from home. Moreover, 26% believed that it enhanced their team’s spirit. They cited positive changes in the lower number of sick days and improvements in overall wellbeing.
Changing Priorities are Shifting Purchasing Decisions
As a result of the changes in attitudes regarding remote working environments, the SME business leaders told researchers that they plan to alter their spending in the coming year to meet the new reality.
In his statement to the press, NFON UK’s Managing Director, Myles Leach, noted that:
“The shift to hybrid-working has been steadily growing over the last decade, but the pandemic has acted as a catalyst by bringing it to every business across the UK. Companies that had been culturally adverse in the past had to make the shift, and they have seen first-hand a host of benefits – to their staff, operations and costs”
Office space rentals are likely to take the biggest hit when it comes to cost-cutting. At least 29% are planning to change their leasing status at the earliest possible time. At least 17% expect to go fully remote in the future while another 12% plan to move to smaller, cheaper offices.
As a result of these changes, respondents reported that they expect to save 37% of their office costs, freeing up cash for other uses.
Nearly half of the business leaders (45%) stated that they plan on using these funds to increase their investment in digital transformation, with 43% citing technology as their top strategic investment priority.
My Take
Over the past year and a half, businesses of all sizes have had to choose between flexibility and potential failure. Those businesses that have been able to embrace technologies like cloud-based communications that allowed their teams to continue working from home have found themselves on considerably better footing.
Even as conditions continue to improve, businesses are taking into account a variety of factors in planning their next move for where and how their employees will be working. These organisations have understood that they need the flexibility to keep their businesses running from anywhere –– be it the office, home working, or any combination in between.
Having gotten over the mental barrier of concerns that they will take a hit to productivity, this report would imply that business owners understand that they can benefit from the reduction in costs from maintaining large real estate operations and requiring their teams to travel daily to the office. More than just saving on costs, it would appear that these SMEs have in fact gained in productivity, and are planning their future accordingly.
On the other end of the stick, employees are also watching closely how employers are laying out their next steps. As more businesses offer hybrid or even fully remote employment, employees may find themselves preferring to work for companies that offer more flexibility. Less time on the roads means less expenses for employees and more time for them to focus on work and home life.
Over the next year, we are likely to see companies putting hybrid flexibility at the top of their list for recruitment incentives –– fast replacing cafeteria meals or other in-office benefits.
NFON UK’s Leach statement reflects this change.
“As we look ahead, the hybrid-working shift has the scope to democratise the world-of-work; levelling the playing field so that location or family commitments no longer mean you cannot apply for and secure a dream job,” he says, explaining that, “The key for small businesses is to ensure that they have the processes and technology in place to enable seamless collaboration and communication, so that home-working colleagues feel just as much part of the team, like those in the office.”
