According to new research, a majority of organizations will keep their employees at home in the post-coronavirus world.
Gartner, surveying 317 finance chiefs and finance leaders on March 30, found that 74% will move at least 5% of their previously on-site employees to permanently remote positions once the pandemic is over and social distancing restrictions are no longer enforced.
Companies are already under pressure to manage costs and keep headcount reductions and layoffs at a minimum as they wait for relief from political leaders. Those business leaders clearly sense an opportunity to realize the savings of a remote workforce, says Alexander Bant, practice vice president, research for the Gartner Finance Practice.
“In fact, nearly a quarter of respondents said they will move at least 20% of their on-site employees to permanent remote positions,” he said in a statement included in the research.
According to Gartner, keeping these employees out of the office will help them save money and rebound from the economic impacts of COVID-19. This piggybacks on what was already an increasing trend of remote work to save on costs long before coronavirus was in our everyday vocabulary.
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“Most CFOs recognize that technology and society has evolved to make remote work more viable for a wider variety of positions than ever before,” Bant says. “Within the finance function itself, 90% of CFOs previously reported to us that they expect minimal disruptions to their accounting close process, with almost all activities able to be executed off-site.”
According to Gartner, 20% of respondents said in a recent survey they have deferred on-premise tech spending, with another 12% planning to do so. An additional 13% said they had already made reductions in real estate expenses, and another 9% are planning the same.
With fewer in-office employees, your organization can take several steps to save costs. You can downsize to a smaller office, downgrade your in-office bandwidth, sell unnecessary equipment and reduce the required real estate maintenance.
Imagine switching to a fully remote environment in which there are no real estate costs like rent or taxes. Imagine not having to shell out money for rising heating and cooling costs or paying cleaning services. Think about the relief you’ll feel knowing that there won’t be any costly repairs needed when something breaks.
If your organization is currently functioning well as a remote workforce, consider making at least part of it permanent.
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