The current crisis has completely changed the dynamics of corporate workforce management. The office, traditionally viewed as the place where collaboration and innovation happen, has been changed by necessary health and safety protocols, with distancing measures barring close contacts and work from home arrangements emptying office spaces altogether. As more workplaces start to reopen, however, businesses have to adapt to a new office norm that must take heed of a plethora of evolving rules, including reopening guidelines, safe distancing measures, border controls and travel advisories.
A recent study by Asian Development Bank revealed that 57 percent of businesses in the Philippines reported that a work from home setup is not a possible for all workers, indicating major disruptions in operations. Even as more businesses reopen, there is still no concrete blueprint on how businesses could safely transition employees back to offices.
Dassault Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company and world leader in 3D design software, offers a solution with the availability of its Back to Office Workforce Planner. This workforce management automation solution, which is part of the DELMIA Quintiq Workforce Planner,helps businesses create a plan based on the desired office occupancy, generating and assigning office “shifts” to employees intelligently and efficiently.
Workplace safety for employees, partners and customers is paramount for Dassault Systèmes. By utilizing the Back to Office Workforce Planner, Dassault Systèmes offices in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore were able to smoothly implement a phased approach to safely transition employees back to office starting with 25 percent office occupancy and gradually increasing it to 50 percent. Ultimately, the offices aim to return all employees to office a few months from today – subject to relevant government regulations.
Five critical factors were considered in planning employees’ return:
- Government Restrictions: Different local government units and municipalities have different restrictions and social distancing rules that also apply in the office workspace.
- Business Requirements: While many businesses allow the opportunity to work from home, there are essential employees that are required to work in the office.
- Business and Role Priorities: Depending on the employees’ roles in their respective departments, there are employees who should be prioritized to work in the office.
- Personal Circumstances: People are the core of business. Each employee may have their own unique circumstance – from taking care of young children or elderly parents to not having the facility to work from home that must be taken into consideration.
- Personal Preferences: Some people may prefer to work from home or in the office. These preferences should be taken into account as well.
Planning employees’ return manually and taking into account all the data above for tens or hundreds of employees is a very tedious, time-consuming and prone-to-error task. Automating the back to work process allows senior management to focus on what is critical – guiding the business through this unprecedented time, communicating with the employees and caring for them, and strategizing and positioning the business for the future.
The Back to Office Workforce Planner is an adapted version of the DELMIA Quintiq Workforce Scheduling, which includes a suite of tools to plan and optimize workforce in governments, public services, airports, corporations and factories.
As the world moves toward the next normal, Dassault Systèmes strives to help businesses emerge much stronger than ever before, ensuring employees can return to work safely.
