“Can you work from home?” is a question I’m often asked by friends, relatives, and others when making small talk these days. In addition to the weather or sports, I’ve noticed that a person’s work environment has become a hot topic of conversation since the pandemic began. Most of us are curious to see how our workplace compares to what’s happening elsewhere.
We recently launched a quick LinkedIn poll to gather this information on a wider scale. We asked followers of the TTEC company page, “What does a ‘return to normal’ look like at your company?”
Of the more than 1,800 respondents, 50% said they will work in a hybrid environment permanently, followed by 36% who said they will work remotely full-time. Another 12% plan to go back to the office, and 3% cited working with an outsourcing company to manage remote employees while the rest return to a physical office.
This poll illustrates that there isn’t one way to “return to normal” for employees now that the pandemic is subsiding. Many employees will have unique individual situations and will want some control over how they conduct their job going forward.
To keep employees engaged, motivated, and productive, employers must understand their unique needs to provide them with the right resources, tools, and options to make the best decision for their job. From a corporate to a department to even an individual level, understanding what makes employees feel valued will help stave off the Great Resignation and increase employee engagement. That ultimately leads to better customer experiences and higher revenues, brand reputation, and company strength.
The articles in this issue of the Customer Strategist Journal provide tips and strategies to do just that, as well as discuss new ways to approach customer experience in nascent industries like cryptocurrency and electric vehicles. We also profile one company on its digital transformation journey and explore how retail and financial services industries meet changing employee and customer expectations.
Enjoy the issue!
