In shaking our world, COVID-19 has shown that work from home could be very productive in certain circumstances. CloudVO has come up with a solution that maximizes the benefits of remote work while negating many of its drawbacks. We call that solution the “CloudTouchdown Pass.”
Work From Home (WFH) was a necessity during the COVID-19 confinement period, but all indications suggest that it is here to stay for a large component of the workforce. Prior to COVID-19, most large Enterprises were not keen on pursuing aggressive WFH programs because the perceived negatives (e.g. potential disconnect from strong corporate cultures, a home environment not always conducive or appropriate for work, management control) seemed to outweigh the benefits:
- Employee control over their work-life hours;
- Time saved and carbon footprint reduced with the elimination of long, tedious, and stressful commutes;
- Reduced occupancy costs;
- Enhanced employee satisfaction.
A recent internal employee survey at Facebook reported by the New York Times and many other media on May 21, 2020, suggests that 40% of the workforce would like to either work from home permanently or a significant portion of the time. Mark Zuckerberg said in a video to employees that he would expect half of his employees to work remotely within the next five years and that Facebook “will be the most forward-leaning company on remote work.” Forty-five percent of the employees indicated that they would relocate if they had the option to work remotely.
Facebook Employee Remote Work Survey (May 2020)
James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, was quoted in the press in late April 2020, “With 90% of our employees working at home, we have had almost no issues.” He later added that he expects many will continue to work remotely after the crisis is over because “we learned it can be done.” Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey told employees in an email on May 21, 2020 that they would be allowed to work from home indefinitely, even after the COVID-19 shutdown. He’s leaving the decision to either work from home or at the office in the hands of his employees.
Facebook, Twitter, Morgan Stanley, and many more large Enterprises are elaborating new work and recruiting strategies away from their cores which are typically located in expensive areas, as far as office space costs but also in terms of housing costs. These strategies respond to the desire of a majority of their current and prospective workforce, but also will reduce cost, improve retention, and diversify their recruiting opportunities.
To support this COVID-induced tectonic change, CloudVO has developed a CloudTouchdown Pass that gives remote workers access to part-time offices and meeting rooms in a professional workplace, in close proximity to their home. When the kitchen table does not do it anymore, they can check in a private office nearby for concentrated work. When they need to meet locally with other members of their team, they can use the pass to access fully equipped meeting rooms, in any of our 800+ carefully selected locations in our network.
We require our locations to have Health & Safety protocols that enforce social distancing, provide extreme sanitation, and follow or exceed CDC guidelines, for suitability with Enterprise clients. They have enterprise-grade internet connection and are fully furnished, with on-premise staff. When COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror, they will also provide an opportunity to commingle with other professionals at business events organized on the premises, and thus provide social and serendipitous opportunities that workers can’t find being home full-time or through their Zoom activities. That’s after a vaccine or strong therapeutics against COVID-19 are available of course. Meanwhile our locations are required to enforce strict social distancing and sanitation guidelines inside of their space, with a goal to make them “as safe or safer than home.”
The CloudTouchdown Passes are for part-time use of the CloudVO network. They provide access to day offices or conference rooms on a subscription basis, which means that their Enterprise sponsor knows exactly how much it will impact their budget.
See more details here https://cloudvo.com/cloud-touchdown.
