The tech implications of returning to the workplace post-lockdown

In mid-July, the Prime Minister announced that from the 1^st August, employers would have more discretion as to where their employees work. As more people are expected to return to the workplace, employers need to consider the tech implications of such a move and how their HR practices will need to be adjusted.

Companies will continue to rely heavily on tech skills to accommodate workers returning to the office, and as such, they will need to plan their hiring strategies to ensure they have a pool of candidates to choose from.

Let’s take a closer look at what tech considerations companies will need to make as employees return to the workplace:

Managing remote workers alongside office staff

One of the most challenging aspects of employees returning to the workplace will be managing both remote workers and on-site staff. According to a recent survey shared by Yahoo Finance, 57% of employees said they did not want to go back to ‘the normal way of working’ in an office environment with normal office hours. As such, companies will need to ensure that their IT infrastructure is configured for both eventualities.

CWJobs’ Confidence Index 2020 revealed that the most time-consuming task for tech teams during lockdown was setting people up to work remotely. With all the effort that went into setting up new infrastructures, companies will need to ensure that their office infrastructure still works effectively and is in sync with that of its remote teams.

For example, companies will need to ensure that all software is up to date and that internal filing systems are accessible by everyone. As workers start to return to the office, we would expect to see companies embracing project management tools and making more use of cloud storage.

Cyber security

Cyber security will need to be a top priority for companies as workers return to the office. According to Info Security Magazine, hacking and phishing attempts were up 37% at the start of lockdown in March 2020.

Throughout lockdown, it’s likely that company laptops have been used for non-work-related activities, whether it be children logging in to Zoom Classroom or online shopping. Companies will therefore need to scan their network to identify unknown devices that are being used to access it. They’ll also need to reset passwords on all devices that are brought back into the office.

According to a recent report published by the UK government, cyber security is seen as the most in-demand tech specialism by businesses. This echoes CWJobs’ own research, which finds that 48% of UK businesses have a basic cyber security skills gap.

In order to ensure they have the cyber security skills they need moving forward, companies will also have to consider their hiring strategy. CWJobs Confidence Index revealed that the key specialisms required for companies to move forward currently are general IT (39%), cyber security (36%) and cloud (32%). And in the long-term, cyber security (37%), artificial intelligence (AI) (33%) and cloud (25%) will be a priority.

During CWJobs’ recent webinar with a guest speaker from employer branding experts Universum, our Director, Dominic Harvey, confirmed that the biggest challenges companies will face in the future include remote working, IT infrastructure and implementing cyber security measures. He added that companies, and the UK as a whole, needs to look at how to build a better base of cyber security specialists moving forward:

Tech hygiene

Over and above carrying out cyber security checks, companies will need to consider how to tackle hygiene in regards to devices being brought into the office. It will be important to assess what technology was used during lockdown and whether it should be reintroduced to the office environment.

Companies will also need to decide whether personal devices like mobile phones and tablets should be allowed in the office and if so, how they will be cleaned beforehand.

Some solutions might be to ensure that everyone uses the speaker phone when using mobile devices and setting up a sanitation area outside of the office to make sure that all devices are cleaned before they enter the building.

Moving hiring online

Based on the research shared by Yahoo Finance, we might expect some employees to be hesitant in returning to the office straight away. As such, companies should also expect job candidates to feel the same way when it comes to interviewing.

Companies should therefore aim to move, or at least provide the option, for candidates to interview online using video conferencing software.

Our video recruiting and our instant candidate recommendation tools can help companies fast-track their hiring strategy remotely. With our video interviewing software, employers can set up candidate interviews in minutes, work across any device and conduct live video calls. They can also benefit from our company profile and premium ads to communicate effectively with candidates on how they plan to transition staff back to the workplace.