In this article, we invite you to review the genesis and method of such decision-making, which is, for me, an example of an effective and intelligent approach to consultation.
A man working on a laptop outdoors, sitting at a table in a garden with a house in the background. The image illustrates the concept of teleworking, showing how it is possible to work remotely in a natural and comfortable setting.
What was Adimeo's situation before and during the pandemic?
Before the pandemic: a fairly standard teleworking agreement
Before the pandemic, Adimeo had already implemented an agreement on teleworking of 4 days per month , more or less used by employees. This agreement had been classically negotiated and seemed coherent to the various stakeholders. Some employees benefited from exceptions with different rhythms and we already had two employees in full remote .
An immediate transition to 100% teleworking in March 2020
Like most companies, Adimeo abruptly switched to 100% remote working in March 2020. This transition went smoothly, with the teams all equipped with laptops and collaborative practices via the Office365 suite already well in place.
Like all companies faced with this change, the challenge was to support and reassure employees , help managers monitor their teams and maintain social ties with the famous “Apéro Teams ”.
If the end of the first lockdown could have suggested a return to "normal" for many managers, the second lockdown and the government's successive recommendations to increase the number of days of teleworking gradually gave rise to the idea that lasting change was underway.
The observation: a return to the world before has become impossible
It quickly became apparent that resuming a reduced rate of teleworking would not have been consistent, for two reasons :
The vast majority of employees mentioned the significant improvement in their living conditions , without transport, with more time and more flexibility;
Management did not notice any decrease in productivity , the teams remained engaged and available.
Added to this observation was the issue of attractiveness : Adimeo operates in a world where the "war for talent" is raging. Faced with numerous competitors, Adimeo must demonstrate the quality of its botim database employer brand to attract competent and motivated profiles but also to keep its employees, who are constantly being hunted. The implementation of an extended teleworking agreement becomes THE key factor of attractiveness and also allows us to significantly expand our recruitment pool.
Our challenge: how to define a teleworking rhythm adapted to the performance of the organization?
In this illustration, a clock represents the teleworking rhythm.
It is impossible to go back and drastically limit the number of days of teleworking
The observation was clear: there was very little chance that life would resume its course in the same way as before the pandemic. This event would become the catalyst for new standards , such as teleworking. Unilaterally deciding to end this practice when the epidemic risk decreases, by not giving employees the possibility of maintaining this comfort, would amount to removing part of their benefits and could therefore have a negative impact on their commitment. Just as the number of days of teleworking authorized has become a determining factor in the attractiveness of the company. Based on this observation, we decided to build a shared vision of the future of work (and not just teleworking) at Adimeo. The goal is to take a step towards the digital company of tomorrow by co-constructing it with our employees.
Our questions about the success of the future teleworking model
We decided not to start this process with a pre-constructed idea of what the future organization of teleworking in the company should be, but to let the ideas come from all the employees and to discuss them collectively.
So we wanted to understand:
What would be the right pace for teleworking? Why?
What changes would this imply in the organization?
How to maintain the link and dialogue? The feeling of belonging to the company?
How to ensure team cohesion and the commitment of teleworkers in the daily life of the company? Maintain team spirit?
How to animate the company culture remotely, how to build the collective and maintain the commitment and productivity of more “distant and dispersed” employees?
What factors need to be put in place to ensure that the teleworking experience is effective and sustainable?
What tasks/functions can be done remotely? For which ones is it more complicated?
These questions are also supported by numerous studies that are flourishing today on the transformations at work in a context of expanded teleworking. The study carried out by Microsoft analyzing data from emails , calendars, instant messages, calls, connection times, etc. on more than 60,000 employees during the first 6 months of 2020 demonstrates an increase in productivity but a decrease in the capacity for innovation.
