Creating an employee-friendly workplace for the post-pandemic world

Referring to many industry-wide surveys or CXOs insights published by notable agencies, a common takeaway that emerges is about building a resilient organization and enhancing the employee experience.

In today’s fast-paced world, organizations need to go beyond just offering a job. Employees are looking for a workplace that supports their well-being, career development, and overall happiness. These are not just nice-to-have items, but critical needs for a workforce that experienced the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, including prolonged phases of anxiety and uncertainty.

Creating an employee-friendly workplace is crucial for attracting and retaining the best talent. In addition to competitive financial benefits, it is imperative to create a work environment that is open, collaborative, adaptable, ethical and supports continuous employee development and learning.

A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 96% of HR professionals believe that offering flexible work arrangements is important for employee retention. Additionally, 55% of organizations plan to offer more flexible work arrangements in the future.

Before the pandemic, employee engagement was important in a workplace context. However, the pandemic pushed the case for having an employee-friendly workplace much stronger. In this context, hybrid-working models are fast becoming a preferred model of work, as it provides employees with more flexibility in their work schedules, allowing them to better balance their work and personal lives.

Here are some key factors to consider when creating an employee-friendly workplace –

Greater emphasis on mental health:

The pandemic has led to an increased focus on mental health and well-being. Flexible working models have allowed employees to take time off when needed, work from office/home, and set their own schedules to prioritize their mental health and well-being.

As an example, at Amdocs we have introduced an unlimited vacation policy – Vacation without Limits – enabling people to plan and take unlimited vacations as they need.

Improved productivity and job satisfaction:

A number of studies have shown that flexible working models can lead to improved productivity. Employees who have more control over their schedules and work environment tend to be more motivated and engaged in their work. This, in turn, can lead to better job satisfaction, increased employee loyalty and an improved sense of work-life balance.

The office has become the first place where the new organisational culture is visible. New and open-office layout, flexible HR policies & procedures, and technology integration are encouraging cross-generational cooperation. With rapid addition of Gen Z into the workforce, soon Gen Z will replace millennials as the largest group in the workforce. Given this scenario, multi generations of employees now need to be flexible, with Gen Z at the forefront of this transformation. Organizations must comprehend and meet the needs of the multi-generational workforce to compete in the current talent acquisition market.

At Amdocs, we understand that our employees prefer a combination of work from office / work from home and so we have moved to a structured hybrid work model while keeping flexibility as a core value, enabling our employees to choose three days each week to work from the office.

We firmly believe that being together in the office brings the benefits of personal interactions, sparks collaboration and innovation that are key to Amdocs’ success. Over the past year we have upgraded 85% of our sites globally to prepare for this move, placing the emphasis on design for open collaborative workspaces enhancing overall employee experience. We’ve also invested and will continue to place special emphasis on wellbeing activities, teaming and social gatherings.

Developing transformational experiences with a purpose

Culture does not just appear out of nowhere. It requires time and is the result of numerous behaviours, ideals, beliefs, and efforts.

We at Amdocs, engage and connect with our employees through several channels including 1-1 personal connects, dialogue with leaders’ sessions, imprint sessions, informal coffee sessions, different level-wise forums, round tables, women’s forums, townhalls etc. including multiple employee engagement surveys with the objective to continuously sense employee sentiments and voice. These two-way communication platforms create a culture of “micro-sensing” over “micro-managing”.

As a global company with over 31,000 employees across geographies, Amdocs recognizes the critical role that our employees play in our success. We offer flexible working arrangements, promote diversity and inclusion, invest in professional development, and foster a culture of collaboration and teamwork. These practices help to create a positive work environment that supports the well-being and growth of our employees.