_Returning To Work: Lessons Learnt Through the Pandemic and What to Expect

It’s been over two months since lockdown restrictions were lifted, and Uganda’s economy fully reopened, and we would like to take stock of how the pandemic affected operations, as well as what to expect as we return to work. In our latest episode Property Breakfast episode, we engaged Caroline Nassolo, the Human Resource Business Partner at Knight Frank Uganda, to discuss the experiences faced during the pandemic and lessons learnt; along with trends like the hybrid model of working and how it will impact the workplace going forward. Here is the detailed conversation.

What were your most pressing priorities at the brink of the pandemic and how did they inform your HR strategy to keep everyone safe?

CN: So, for us, where we started and what we thought was very important at the time was to anticipate alongside the guidance and the information that we were receiving from the government. Then we knew that we had to sit down and make specific business continuity plans regarding how we would continue in the face of the disruption. We ensured that Heads of Departments drew up plans on how they were going to continue managing business operations amidst the disruptions.

We looked at how we were going to communicate. It was very important for us to provide timely updates about the virus, so we organized regular meetings to have conversations with Heads of Departments on what was happening and used the Operations committee of Senior Management to monitor the situation and take necessary measures. Definitely, safety and wellness were top of mind. We kept providing tips on how employees should take care of themselves and their loved ones. We had to extend our HR strategy beyond the usual HR practices to adapt with the changes we were experiencing.

As part of a global network of offices and professional experts across the team, how beneficial was this in addressing the challenges caused by the pandemic?

CN: It is one global team with more than 16,000 people in 384 offices across 51 territories, it was very beneficial to be a part of such a network. Plenty of resources came through in the form of support. Countries were in different phases of the crisis at any given moment; colleagues in countries that had dealt with the pandemic before we registered the first COVID-19 case were resourceful in helping us plan ahead, prepare and respond to the challenges related to the pandemic. There was a lot of knowledge sharing and ideas of helping us reshape the business to resonate with the times. People were working from home - we had to work out how that would be achievable with the resources we had and generally understand how the different business modules were able to survive with the changes.

There were learning opportunities in the form of short interactive webinars designed to support the team; e.g. how managers can manage their teams while working from home, Working from home effectively, Health & Wellness. These were added onto the Global Learning Life platform and could be easily accessed.

New information about the virus was everywhere, including false information especially on social media, but as a group we received selective, trustworthy information that provided general content on COVID-19 around the world - all for the purpose of helping us continue to find our way through the challenging times.

I would also like to note that we have Global Alignment Projects that we work on at Knight Frank. These projects form a minimum standard framework that we are to follow in terms of HR functions. These projects become even more lively as we became more acquainted to the virtual workspace - there was a lot of collaboration happening. So, there were no interruptions of any kind limiting us from going forward with our plans. We ended up rolling out quite a number of projects. Really, it just reaffirmed our values of collaborating to succeed as a brand.

As the impact of COVID-19 continue to be evident, organizations have adopted a Hybrid model of working that involve a combination of working from home and the workplace. How did this impact the office and the performance from your perspective?

CN: When we explored the model, we sensed that people felt safer from the risk of catching the virus, and for the company, that meant decreasing the probability of others falling sick if they came to the office. We also felt that to a larger extent, the model promoted work-life balance, especially when it comes to the things people used to plan for when coming to office, e.g. they could apportion the hours they spent on the road in traffic to do something else. Automatically there was flexibility; people were not working time but rather tasks. You would find people working at any time, whenever it was convenient for them.

There were some negative attributes as well. People had to adopt to the new ways of working that they were not used to; e.g. no face-to-face interactions, not being able to get real time feedback, technology challenges - many of us were not very much prepared with the kind of technology or means that we have adopted since COVID-19. So, we were impacted both negatively and positively.

Now that we are fully back in office after two years of uncertainty surrounding the future of the workplace, what are some of the lessons you’ve learned through your pandemic experience and how are they informing your HR operations going forward?

CN: For HR, safety was and still is the priority. The vaccines are here so the question was how many people have been vaccinated, and what’s the plan for those who have not been vaccinated. If it is a question of accessing vaccines, then we would have to guide the team accordingly. Those who haven’t yet decided to get vaccinated, we also had to have that talk and assess what plans they have. We also asked questions around whether the office was ready for all employees to come back at once, and if it was in a position to accommodate the people who will be coming back. We needed to look around and see if our office design was still fit for purpose with enough resources to support people as they came back to the office. Then checking our communication channels by making sure that we communicated effectively about any changes in office practices; because there had definitely been changes since people went to work from home, and as they came back to the office, check that we understood what employees expect from their employer and also as an employer, be able to update about the changes that have happened, just to make sure that everything has been communicated clearly and understood.