Special interviews
Written by: Kuang Yueting
2021-04-21 07:00
Last update date: 2021-04-21 07:00
Under the new normal of the epidemic, companies have implemented remote offices to reduce the risk of epidemic transmission.
Microsoft today released the "Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index Report". 66% of the incumbents interviewed hope that the company can retain the option of remote working; 62% of local business leaders feel positive about the remote working model, indicating that Hong Kong companies will continue to adopt flexibility Office model.
Chen Shanshan, general manager of Microsoft Hong Kong and Macau, estimates that in the future, companies tend to adopt a mixed office model, allowing employees to decide whether to return to the office according to their needs, and work becomes more flexible and flexible.
At the same time, the remote office model will no longer be limited to video conferencing, but will also include virtual collaboration and digital corporate business processes, such as signing contract documents, sharing corporate proprietary data and information, and reimbursing expenses and asking for leave.
As the number of employees working in the office decreases after the implementation of mixed office, some companies are more likely to reduce the office area or redesign the office to add more shared working spaces and meeting rooms.
Chen Shanshan said that Microsoft has allowed employees to work anytime, anywhere (flexibly choose when and where to work) since 2005. As long as they report to their boss and do their work on time, employees can decide when to return to the office.
She also pointed out that the company has been open during the epidemic to allow employees who cannot work from home to continue to work in the office. "There are colleagues who have smaller houses or children, and their homes are noisy. They may not be suitable for working at home, so we implemented a mix The office model is for employees to choose by themselves, and to get results, the boss’s management style will change.”
Microsoft organizes team building (Team Building) activities from time to time to promote employee relationships. Last Friday, Chen Shanshan went hiking with employees.
(Photo by Kuang Yueting)
Work remotely or reduce employee communication
However, Microsoft does not advocate completely remote office, because the company believes that the remote working model may reduce the interaction and communication between employees, or hinder innovation, so the company prefers to use a hybrid office model.
Chen Shanshan said that the mixed office model is applicable to all walks of life. Taking the real estate developer Chinachem Group as an example, many employees have to "site" to inspect the site environment. They will be scattered in different places and it is not easy to communicate. Later, the group used the cloud Office plan Microsoft 365, employees can share files here, and they will be more efficient at work.
Li & Fung, a veteran export trader in Hong Kong, has offices in different places. In the past, the communication and document collaboration process was relatively cumbersome. After using Microsoft 365, in addition to smoother work, the design product cycle was shortened from 6 months to 3 months. Months.
"No stool meeting room" reduces meeting time
When asked whether Microsoft Hong Kong would consider redesigning the office to meet the needs of a mixed office model, Chen Shanshan laughed and said that the company had done a major renovation five years ago, and after that, all employees had no fixed working positions and added more meeting room.
In order to encourage employees to do things efficiently, there is a meeting room in the company that does not have chairs, allowing employees to stand for meetings and reduce meeting time.
The Microsoft Hong Kong office has a conference room without chairs. We hope that employees will not have more than 30 minutes of meeting time.
(Photo by Kuang Yueting)
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