South Africa, and the world over, have seen a great evolution of the workplace in the last year. Covid-19 has completely transformed the traditional commercial landscape. No longer are employees required to go to the office and clock in at a certain time, businesses have cancelled rental leases and re-invested their finances into technology and other kinds of soft infrastructure - the world as we know it, has changed. How is your business staying ahead of the curve?
Although we are all hoping that the current circumstances do not last any longer, many countries have already entered into the third wave of the Covid-19 virus. South Africa sits in a difficult position following the recent news that the targeted number of people to be vaccinated will not be reached. This puts the country, and more particularly business owners, at risk of losing more revenue, retrenching more employees and working from home even longer.
There are a number of things that employers now have to consider; should there be new policies put into place for employees who work from home? What are the new terms of conduct for meetings, client engagements, sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination in the workplace? Has your business looked into the redrafting of company policies that will ensure the current working conditions will not become a point of contention for you or your employees? Global giants such as Twitter, Facebook and Google have already developed hybrid working arrangements for their staff in anticipation of their companies allowing employees to return to their office work environments.
In the past, MW has found that the cause of conflict can often arise from a number of issues:
Poor drafting of company policies
Little to no knowledge of existing company policies due to poor communication strategies
A team with limited experiences in policy implementation and development
How can MW assist?
We would like to encourage you to take this time to revisit your business policies, to plan strategically and to ensure that your employees know that you care. Remember that policies are meant to reach everybody and cannot always be duplicated across departments or in various branches. MW has worked closely with a number of small and large companies on redrafting internal policies, offering the services of an independent investigator or chairperson for disputes and enquiries, and hosted workshops on a number of issues including; ‘Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace”, “Presiding Officer Training”, “Facilitating Negotiations” and more.
If you would like to find out more about our services, please contact our offices on 087 150 5283 or send an email to info@mediateworks.com and find out how we can help you.