Covid�19 Industry Survey
Have Your Say
www.EngageEmployee.com MAY 2020
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Introduction Coronavirus is a word that you have undoubtedly heard hundreds of times a day for the last two months at least - each time you turn on the radio, engage in conversation with anyone, or switch to any television channel, you will find facts, opinions and hypotheses flying around about the unprecedented pandemic that has turned 2020 on its head and swept its way around the globe, affecting anything and everything that gets in its way. As a leading source of news and media content to a global industry of employee engagement professionals, in April 2020 we decided to ask our community of 35,000 leaders how this pandemic was affecting them from both a business and individual perspective, as Covid-19 has changed the way that both organisations and humans will behave for the foreseeable future at the very least. In a ten-question survey that covers every angle associated with the changes brought about by Covid-19, key leaders in the employee experience world gave up their valuable time to tell us how they feel, what they’re currently doing, what they wish they’d done differently and what they think the future holds. You’ll find the full list of answers comprehensively listed throughout the pages that follow, which hopefully make for an insightful and interesting read that will help you on your own Covid-19 journey. Key findings • Our leaders are finding it impossible to switch off mentally, with over 90% of respondents telling us that they constantly worry about work. • Teams are responding extremely well – almost 80% of respondents say their team have responded positively to remote working. • We’re a proactive bunch – over 60% of respondents told us that they have been proactive in their response to the challenges that Covid-19 has caused. • Working in HR, having to keep up with internal communications to a now fragmented workforce has proven most difficult, alongside having to implement furlough procedures for certain members of staff. • Perhaps not surprisingly, almost 80% of respondents told us that their organisation has been negatively impacted by Covid-19. • This could change the way we work forever – 62% of respondents told us that, post-pandemic, they will allow more flexibility in terms of remote working. As you can see, these results highlight that significant changes have been seen within the Engage Employee community, and these changes will continue to disrupt the way that organisations and individuals operate going forward. So, if you’re ready to delve into the world of employee experience and how your peers are coping with the impact of Covid-19, then let’s get started…
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Q1
For you personally, what have you found most challenging about remote working all of the time? Respondents rated that working from home has caused issues in terms of finding a peaceful place to work, with problems staying connected to teammates and internet problems also featuring heavily in the responses we
“Delays to decision making and communication due to staff now working different rotas.”
received. We also allowed delegates to answer using an ‘other’ option, and 38% of respondents opted to tell us more in their own words. Common themes included interruptions to individual productivity as a result of more
“Excessive amounts of e-mails.”
emails being sent than ever before, missing the motivational ‘buzz’ that face-to-face meetings bring, and having to balance work with home
“Balancing childcare and work life.”
schooling/childcare. “The general buzz of the office and face to face These answers demonstrate the issues caused by Covid-19 in disrupting the
meetings.”
‘norm’ of the office environment and how this has affected employees “Face to face interaction with people.”
working in a structured environment, as we are forced to work in setups that we wouldn’t typically choose to be productive in if we had the choice. It’s clear that nothing beats the office environment of meeting face to face with colleagues, and having to home school children whilst balancing work will naturally have a
12 %
detrimental effect
Inte
rnet
conn
ectio
n at
hom
e
on productivity.
Other
Finding a peaceful working space
La
4 %
h wit ch tou bers g in pin mem Kee team key
8 %
Not being able to avoid my spouse/partn er
ck
Key due project s to la ck o losing c f co o mm nsiste unic n atio cy n
38 %
13 %
of
fre
ec
of
fe
ea
tt
he
of
fic
e
0 %
25 %
5
“I miss face to face interaction with colleagues. However digital meetings are becoming our norm.” “Keeping a work/life balance is hard - work seeps into my personal life since I'm already home.”
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Q2
When leading a team that doesn’t typically work remotely every day, how have the team responded? Here we saw an overwhelmingly positive response with almost 80% of respondents saying that their team have responded extremely well to the change. These results demonstrate the commitment of those in the industry to making remote working productive, and are also a testament to the leaders within our community who have engaged their teams to want to be productive regardless of their working environment.
Really well - they're working hard and are adapting 79% They never log on/they stop working early 4% They aren't as responsive 0%
They ask too many questions and don’t use their initiative as much from home 0%
They're being more proactive from home and using their initiative more
Other 13%
4%
4%
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Q3
Have you found it hard to switch off mentally when working from home? The results here concerningly show that over 90% of respondents are finding it hard to switch off mentally when working from home. This highlights that an extremely high number of our Engage Employee community are unable to switch off, demonstrating the impact of this pandemic on mental health, with both job security and business concerns causing individuals a high level of stress and an inability to stop thinking about work and their future.
92 %
8 %
Yes - I work way beyond my
No – I barely do my contracted hours,
contracted hours and spend a lot
Netflix is way too good!
of time worrying about work
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Q4
How has your organisation responded to the current Covid-19 pandemic? Demonstrating the agile, innovative mindsets of those within our Engage Employee community, the results here show that over 60% of organisations have been proactively responding to the impact of Covid-19 in trying to showcase new products and services to suit the needs of customers. These
“We sent supplies to our local keyworkers but
figures demonstrate that when it really comes down to it, any organisation
otherwise just waiting it out.”
can be agile in their response to a situation and adapt at the most crucial of times.
“We've put a hold on non-essential current projects but commenced new initiatives as they have
Further to these findings, a refreshing and extremely positive sign is that
become apparent.”
respondents using the ‘other’ option told us that they are using their resources to deliver/manufacture supplies for key workers and for the NHS.
“As well as our normal work, we have additionally been manufacturing for three different companies for parts in the respirators.”
63 % We’ve been proactive and tried to implement new products and initiatives to help us through these times
25 % Other
We are very popular during this time and can’t keep up with demand
4 %
8 %
We’re sitting tight and are hoping things get ‘back to normal’ soon as we don’t want to invest precious budget into new ideas that may not work
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Q5
What do you do currently to help separate work and spare time? Respondents claim that their usual methods to separate work and spare time include working in a different room, exercising, or going for their daily outing. Each of these methods are helpful when disengaging from work and enjoying home surroundings with a sentiment of relaxation, and are critical in
“I go on my daily walk after work and have
maintaining good mental health when both working and relaxing within the
separated my working space from my other
same environment.
home space.” For those who are able to distinguish their working environment from their “Wine!”
home life, this is important in maintaining a work-life balance and undoubtedly has a positive effect on mental health.
“Lot of reading & exercise.”
37 %
21 %
21 %
17 %
4 %
I go on my daily outing after work
I exercise
I work in a different room to the one that I relax in
I save my new-found favourite boxset for the evening
Other
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“I stick to start and finish times where possible to create a routine from home.” “I spend time with my family.”
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Q6
Working in HR, what are you finding most challenging at present? Here we saw 34% of respondents telling us that they are finding it difficult to keep up with internal communications to remote workers, demonstrating the frustrations when trying to stay connected and keep remote employees engaged with what the wider organisation are doing as a whole.
“Maintaining positive mental well-being due to circumstances outside of my control.”
21% of HR professionals also claimed that having to implement furlough procedures for certain members of staff has proven tough – this shows how
“Redeployment of staff into alternative roles.”
hard it can be working in the department that implements these procedures and demonstrates that it is tough for those delivering the news.
“Keeping all staff 'on side' and updated with everything.”
Of those who opted to use the ‘other’ field, common themes included maintaining mental health and wellbeing when circumstances feel out of control, keeping all staff onside and also redeploying staff to other roles. These comments highlight the effect that implementing HR procedures has on the individuals having to tell members of staff what is happening.
8% 4% 21% 4%
Implementing a successful homeworking structure
Actually getting employees to put the ‘work’ into ‘working from home’
Having to implement furlough procedures for some staff
Technical issues with our systems when remote working
0% Not having enough company laptops to go around, meaning not all staff have one 4%
Having to implement procedures for remote working Keeping up with internal communications to remote workers
34% 25%
Other
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Q7
Has your organisation been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 crisis? The results here speak for themselves, especially given the responses to the other questions that we have asked our community to this point. It was therefore no surprise to hear that almost 80% of respondents claim that their organisation has been negatively impacted by Covid-19. This demonstrates that a huge chunk of our community has experienced a negative effect on their organisation, despite a solid effort to remain proactive and deliver on any products/services that are still possible.
79 % Yes
21 %
No, we're thriving
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Q8
If you could change one thing about your organisation during Covid-19, what would it be? One third of respondents wish they’d invested more in remote working technology prior to Covid-19, and 17% of respondents wished they had more flexible working structures in place, demonstrating that organisations have
“I wish we had further explored areas outside of
been hesitant to invest in any of the ever-growing remote working solutions
Retail at an earlier stage.”
on the market. By investing in these earlier and allowing employee collaboration by being connected from anywhere on the globe, organisations
“Include HR in decision-making and not keeping
would have seen a smoother transition to remote working.
everything at board level. Going through such a period of change and excluding HR doesn’t make
The next most popular answer here was wishing that an organisation had a
any business sense.”
more digital offering that wouldn’t have been as impacted by a pandemic like Covid-19. These results show that organisations who both operate digitally and boast products/services that utilise technology are less impacted by this global emergency.
17 % Other
33 % I wish we had invested in remote working technology earlier
8 % I wish we were less siloed so that we could have acted more quickly when altering our approach to our product/service
8 % I wish we were a food retailer!
17 % I wish we’d created more of a digital offering
17 % 0 % I wish we’d hired employees who log in on time
I wish we had more flexible working structures in place before this
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Q9
Post-Covid-19, do you think your organisation will continue with certain aspects that employees have found beneficial about remote working? Answers to this question tell the future of organisations post-pandemic, with 62% of respondents saying that, as leaders within their fields, they will allow more flexibility in terms of remote working when we go back to ‘work as normal’. To go hand in hand with these figures, 25% of respondents reported that they already have sturdy remote working strategies/technology in place and only 13% of respondents deemed going back to the office as necessary, demonstrating the popularity of a move to remote working as the connected world continues to develop.
25 % Yes, we already had a lot of remote working as part of our culture
62 % Yes, we’ll certainly implement more flexibility as staff have adapted exceptionally well
13 % No, we need staff back in the office!
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Q10
Please use the text box below to highlight any particular issues/annoyances you’re experiencing whilst remote working/keeping your organisation afloat during Covid-19. Feel free to rant! The most popular free text answers here relate to the overuse of emails, respondents feeling a sense that they are not trusted to work from home,
“Small number of staff who are still working whilst
feeling burned out, having to balance work with childcare, a lack of HR
rest are furloughed are on a rota to cover site
systems, employees wanting to be involved in decision-making relating to
security etc which means not everyone is available
Covid-19 rather than be dictated to by boards, and projects not going ahead
on the same days and is slowing decision-making.”
due to budget cuts.
“Excessive amount of e-mails is difficult to keep on
This array of responses highlights the impact that Covid-19 has on every
top of.”
individual and emphasises the need for us to unite as a community to support one another where we can.
“Feeling really burned out.”
.
“I wish every school was told to provide online
“Ergonomics - wellbeing in the long term for employees who may not have access/funds for the right type of work environment.”
teacher led training to all of the children. Too many schools have opted out of providing effective learning resources and have left parents/children to fend for themselves. This is already a challenging time for working parents, to have suddenly been faced with also having to home school children whilst holding down jobs has not been practical and more onus should have been on teaching staff.” “Feeling of not being trusted to put the hours in by working from home.” “People not joining meetings on time because they think it is 'alright' because you have nowhere to be!” “We are working as hard and being as adaptable as we can.” “The fact that I warned the company that they were not prepared but they ignored it - leaving us to then flounder around when it was not necessary.” “Now is a time to build relationships with HR and trust their skill set and experience.” “Overuse of email.” “Inflexibility of not having an HR system, running CJRS through excel spreadsheets.”
“Managing expectations of others is harder than I thought it would be. Need to be more flexible with regards to everyone and how they are coping.”
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Conclusion How did you find that? We understand that it was probably a tough read, discovering first-hand how organisations and individuals are coping with a global pandemic that has changed the way the world operates. However, despite the negative impact of Covid-19, we have also seen several positive signs from our community of HR leaders, such as: • A newfound trust in employees when remote working that most leaders will take forward post-pandemic. • An appreciation for the technology available to us and how the digital world can help transform organisations and keep them afloat at even the toughest of times. • The proactive nature of organisations in not just burying their heads in the sand, but looking at ways to survive by quickly turning around new initiatives and ideas. • New opportunities in terms of refining products to be available to consumers online. That’s it from us – we hope you found this research helpful in determining your own approach to life both during and postpandemic, and we are always open to hear your own stories and opinions by email at marketing@ebm.media. Stay safe!
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About Us Engage Business Media (EBM) is a global media company designed to help its community of 120,000-plus leaders in the customer and employee engagement space to devise and implement sustainable, winning business strategies. Our mantra is that organisations need to cut across their own internal silos, take a more holistic view of their customers, both internal and external, and deliver a consistent and appropriate customer and employee experience. In support of this EBM runs a series of highly respected, CPD-accredited, world-class thought leadership events for its community throughout the year — including our annual agship Customer Engagement, CX Marketing and Employee Engagement Summits and our Engage Awards. All of these face-to-face activities are underpinned by our websites, as well as weekly newsletter alerts, webinars, and ground-breaking research reports. Visit www.ebm.media for more information.
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