This post was originally published on ExpertMarket.com
In the past year, the entire world has become reliant on technology to stay connected. Here are some eye-opening stats to prove it…
The Changing Face of Workplace Communication
COVID-19 has completely changed the workplace climate. With so many people working from home, we’ve seen lounges turn into offices, and bedrooms used as conference rooms. This has greatly affected the way we communicate.
In the US, 42% of the labor force is now working from home full-time. That’s almost half the working population forsaking face-to-face meetings for new technologies in order to connect with clients, customers, and colleagues.
The working from home trend isn’t likely to end soon, either. This will bring about new opportunities for businesses, but also some challenges.
We’ve collected our own data on remote working (plus some other eye-opening statistics on communication in the workplace) and provided tips on how to perfect your own workplace comms.
Our Research on COVID-19 and Remote Working
We wanted to know how many companies are currently working remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We surveyed 100 businesses based in North America and Europe, from a range of industries, asking them how they’ve found the switch to remote working, and what their plans for the future are. Here are the key findings:
74% of business owners and CEOs said all employees at their company are working remotely. Before the pandemic, only 7% of participants said the majority of employees were working remotely
72% anticipated employees will want to remain working from home, even once the organization returns to the office.
The overwhelming majority of businesses (90%) saw positive benefits in working from home, including an increase in employee engagement and happiness.
Yet, at the same time, 71% said they’ve witnessed negative impacts, such as a reduction in productivity, difficulty in maintaining the work/life balance, and difficulty assessing accountability.
63% of businesses are unsure when their employees will return to the office, but most expected it to happen somewhere between January and spring 2021.
For keeping in touch with colleagues, 67% reported using Zoom and email, followed closely by Slack. Skype, which has seen a fall in popularity over recent years, was only reported by 12.7% of respondents.
Kevin Miller, Founder & CEO of the online tool The Word Counter, commented on the challenges they’ve faced working remotely:
It has been a challenge to determine exactly how productive all of my employees are. Creating check-in times and assigning clear deliverables has been very helpful for accountability but that is the toughest part of having my workforce be at home. We have every task assigned in Basecamp to keep things tracked and organized
Aleksandra Horwood, of Happy Stance Yoga Therapy, commented on the pros of remote working:
Remote working has given us more chances to reconnect with our true motivation, why we do what we do, and refresh that initial spark. This pandemic has simply hardened our resolve in realizing that we always need to be on our toes to be at the forefront of our industry. Someone said to me once, If you’re not the lead dog, the view never changes… COVID-19 has proven that to be so true!
The State of the Workplace
How is the working world communicating during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what are the common trends?
1. 32% of organizations are replacing full-time employees with contingent workers as a cost-saving measure.
2. In our recent survey, 74% of participants said that all the employees at their company are now working remotely. Before the pandemic, only 7% of participants said most employees were working remotely.
3. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 29% of Americans can, or are able to, work from home.
4. Returning to work is currently at the forefront of many HR strategies – 64% of poll respondents said their organization had developed a plan, while 23% said theirs had not, and 13% didn’t know.
5. 63% of people in our survey were uncertain of when they will return to the office.
6. A recent Gartner poll showed that 48% of employees will likely have to work remotely at least part-time after the pandemic, versus just 30% before COVID-19.
7. Gartner also revealed that 16% of employers are now using technologies to monitor employees more frequently.
The Importance of Good Communication
With the sudden move from office-based collaboration to remote-working collaboration, some businesses have struggled to maintain best practice in terms of communication. Below are some stats that highlight how communication can benefit your business.
Increase Productivity
8. Organizations with connected employees show productivity increases of 20-25%.
9. 64% of businesses list communicating their ‘strategy, values, and purpose’ to employees as a key priority.
10. 97% of workers believe that communication impacts tasks every day.1
11. 28% of employees cite poor communication as the reason for not being able to deliver work on time.
12. Miscommunication costs companies with 100 employees an average of $420,000 per year.
Team Building
13. 86% of corporate executives, educators, and employees cite ineffective communication and poor collaboration as reasons for failures in the workplace.
Increase Trust and Loyalty
14. 69% of managers are uncomfortable when communicating with their employees, with 16% preferring email to face-to-face interactions.
Give Everyone a Voice
15. Employees that feel their voice is heard in the workplace are almost five times more likely (4.6x) to feel empowered to deliver their best work.
6. 39% of employees around the world feel that people don’t collaborate enough within their organization, yet 75% of employers rate collaboration and teamwork as ‘very important’.
Engagement in the Workplace
17. Employees who are engaged are 27% more likely to report ‘excellent’ performance.
According to Gallup, employee engagement is determined by factors such as feeling clear about your role, having the right materials to do your job, working with a common mission, and having strongly committed coworkers. It’s about communication.
Below, we’ve got some tips on how to keep your employees engaged while working from home:
For the rest of the article and statistics, head over to the original article: https://www.expertmarket.com/phone-systems/workplace-communication-statistics