Telstra report highlights how APAC business decision makers are optimizing for hybrid work, with 70% getting their technology right.
The recent Telstra Asia Pacific Transformation Vision: Optimizing for Hybrid study examined four key areas to help businesses bounce back from the pandemic: Collaboration, Leadership, Productivity and Economic Impact, and Optimized Hybrid Work and Technology.
Key findings from the report include:
- 21% of Asia Pacific organizations have put expansion plans on hold owing to uncertainty around the pandemic
- 7 in 10 organizations are now recruiting talent from all locations and allowing hybrid work arrangements
- 85% of organizations are promoting hybrid work arrangements, and 74% of employees believe that they and their teams are more productive with flexible work arrangements
- Three out of four employees feel that digital tools have made it easier to stay engaged and drive cultural exchange
- 60% of APAC leaders and employees are seeing progressive changes with a clear timeline to achieve full hybrid policies and guidelines
Kantar, an independent market research company, was commissioned to conduct the study. Gathering insights from over 450 business decision makers and 560 employees from across the Asia Pacific region – including Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – the research found that 21% of organizations have put expansion plans on hold owing to uncertainty around the pandemic.
However, global and APAC expansions remain high on companies’ operations growth plans, with 38% looking to expand globally and 28% looking at APAC markets.
With the disruption brought about by the pandemic, the study highlighted how businesses have also adapted to the new work order. 85% of organizations are promoting hybrid work arrangements, and seven in 10 organizations are now recruiting talent from all locations and allowing hybrid work arrangements. Organizations surveyed are expecting virtual work to increase by 83% in the next six to 12 months, despite offices reopening.
In addition, 74% of employees in APAC believe that they and their teams are more productive with flexible work arrangements.
“The changes from the past two years have triggered leaders to respond to new expectations from their employees and prompted businesses to accelerate their digital ambitions to stay relevant and continue to be available for customers,” said Geraldine Kor, Managing Director, South Asia, Telstra.
“As we learn to navigate further uncertainties in the current economy, leaders must continue to be compassionate, and lean on digital tools to facilitate open communications with their teams. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to building the work environment, but the right use of technology has the potential to facilitate employee engagement and foster corporate culture despite a decentralised workforce.”
Right technology?
In terms of how technology is facilitating successful hybrid work environments, three out of four employees say that it has become easier to stay engaged and drive cultural exchange with technology.
70% of organizations already have a strategy in place to identify and deploy the right technology and tools to facilitate both office-based and remote work.
As for strategic technology transformation priorities for their organizations, APAC business leaders have identified three areas for investments: emerging technologies (45%), cybersecurity (43%), and digital innovation projects (41%).
Large and small businesses differ in their focus priorities. While large companies are focused on improving agile processes, including the way they work with partners such as service and solutions providers, smaller organizations prioritize cybersecurity improvements.
- Wireless networks and other related services (57%)
- Quality and uptime of remote working services (55%)
- Communication and collaboration (52%)
Interestingly, 37% of employees in small organizations show more affinity towards immersive digital experiences, like augmented reality and virtual meeting platforms, than those in larger organizations (29%).
To drive hybrid-working experiences, the research highlighted the clear need for policies and guidelines to keep pace with remote work scenarios.
60% of APAC leaders and employees are seeing progressive changes with a clear timeline to achieve full hybrid policies and guidelines.
Currently, organizations are measuring productivity by frequent goals communication (57%); usage of tools for teamwork and collaboration (56%) and output over the work completed (50%). For future productivity strategies, organisations tend to look toward future-focused goals (66%), consistent policy on performance rating (58%) and updated performance indicators (53%).
