HR departments, facility managers, IT departments – not just IT support, but also architecture and data security – are all currently incredibly busy trying to adjust to the new normal, while simultaneously planning for the workplace of the future, which is arriving much more quickly than many anticipated.

Looking at Twitter’s latest announcement last week with regard to the matter – their employees can now work from home “forever” – we believe that companies big and small should prepare for the workplace of the future by asking themselves and their workforce a few questions to help them in their thoughts and plans. Although these questions will vary depending on business sector, size and the current workforce, we list below five areas that we think businesses should be exploring with their employees.

• Do current working patterns change expectations around flexible working and working from home in the future?
• Is there a desire for more flexible work patterns or does your workforce want to go back to BAU once this is allowed?
• How do employees feel about how the whole crisis was managed to date and what do they think their employer can learn from this?
• How do employees view business resilience and disaster recovery planning? Is this now more front-of-mind and how can this be addressed in the future?
• How were workforce-related decisions communicated and what impact does this have on your employer brand?

If you’d like to discuss how Accent might help pull together an employee research programme for you, please contact AnnaMaria.Haque-Everding@accent-mr.com