Social isolation won’t last forever. But learning new ways of working will drive unprecedented global collaboration and deliver better projects, says Arcadis’ Paul Allan.
“For many organisations, this shift to remote working, is like being thrown in the deep end of the swimming pool. They are quickly learning how to swim,” Allan says.
Arcadis’ client development leader, Paul Allan has seen his fair share of “global disasters” – from the dot com bubble to the global financial crisis to September 11 – and remains optimistic about the future.
“A crisis forces us to change the way we work – and generally for the better. A crisis forces people and businesses to be more efficient in what they do.”
Allan points to the rapid shift to remote working. While 70 per cent of Australian companies offer flexible working, that doesn’t mean employees can ordinarily work from home. In fact, the most recent and reliable data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests, prior to Covid-19, just a third of us regularly worked from home.
By the end of March, 88 per cent of organisations were encouraging people to work remotely, according to a survey by global tech analyst Gartner. Some of those people won’t return to their office desks. Gartner says nearly a quarter of companies plan to shift at least 20 per cent of their previously onsite employees to permanent remote positions.
But Allan says the exponential uptake of collaboration tools offers an even bigger potential for a “productivity pickup”.
People have turned to digital tools and discovered they aren’t so difficult to use, Allan explains.
Live stream webinars can cast a wider net than in-person events. Online meetings can eliminate unnecessary travel and carbon miles. Remote workforce solutions like telemedicine and online learning are being tested at scale.
In the property and construction industry, resistance to advanced technology like 3D modelling and virtual reality inspections are evaporating, Allan observes.
“While we’ve relied on printed documentation in the past, now I’m finding, because we have to share the 3D generated model on our screen, our clients are seeing the value and now understand how it can save them money and time.”
The desire for human connection won’t dissipate.
“There’s nothing like sitting down and having a coffee with a person to build rapport. That won’t change. But the rapid adoption of all these tools will encourage global teams to work side by side.”
We’ll all get better at harnessing global talent.
“Arcadis is a global firm headquartered in Holland with experts around the world. I can see pulling together a bid will be an easier proposition in the future because clients will understand that an expert in Paris can contribute to a rail project in Sydney.
“This will shrink the world. The flexibility and the willingness are now there – and we’ll see greater opportunities for people to participate in exciting projects and to share their expertise like never before.”