Are we going to work more efficiently and at the same time have a better quality of life?
Duarte Cardoso Ferreira, CBRE Building Consultancy
Many Portuguese are now working from home and this is pushing companies to adapt quickly to new ways of working. Future trends in the workplace point to work flexibility and it is already an unavoidable reality.
New, more efficient ways of working, which stimulate productivity and allow, with greater quality, each employee to balance their professional and personal lives are now in the sights of companies and even those that were not yet prepared for these new models, will certainly reinvent itself to ensure the success of your business and, above all, retain your talents.
The paradigm shift in today's job market, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, is geared towards mobility, with its effects at different levels, namely, in the morphology of the physical space of the offices. According to our studies, the most interesting changes will be related, above all, to human resources, namely to the redefinition of telework resources, but also to the relationship they have with the office, which gains new outlines, not less relevant.
Interaction has always been a fundamental aspect of company activity in terms of developing relationships, trust, a culture focused on collaboration and innovation. However, the interaction with a less rigid workspace and oriented towards the valorization of creative thinking, co-creation and digital reality, will surely bring other benefits.
What we believe is that in the future, these new ways of working will be looked at in another light, giving rise to a natural conversion of offices and in some cases an eventual revision of the areas, giving each of them new purposes.
Our predictions point towards the reinvention of spaces to receive teams. The emergence of true experience hubs, where it will be possible to find areas with different purposes, whether professional, leisure, well-being and collaboration, will make the office a more attractive, more alive and natural space, which encourages empathy, corporate commitment and culture.
This conversion will transform the headquarters into something similar to the Company Clubs, where employees, in any work format, are their members, and it is certain that this will be the preferred place for everyone to meet.
Covid-19 undoubtedly accelerated the massification of teleworking and this reality will surely mark the business activity of the coming years, however, the offices where the headquarters of the companies are today will continue to assume a fundamental role for the business of the companies, for productivity and well-being of employees.
Caetano de Bragança, Head of Workplace Strategy at JLL
Yes, everything points to that collectively we have more quality of life and become more efficient, although there is no direct relationship between these two concepts. Person-to-person, company-to-company, we will find new balances between time spent inside and outside the offices, because we have the technology that gives us greater mobility as professionals and, in parallel, less stigma in relation to teleworking. But we are at the very beginning! And yes, I believe that we will definitely be more efficient because we will find contexts and spaces that are increasingly adapted to the tasks we are performing and because we will spend less time on the road… but being more efficient does not mean less work! Listening to Portuguese professionals, we also realized that 71% believe that teleworking can contribute to an improvement in their professional performance and 57% that it reduces stress. For the vast majority (95%), the ideal would be to be able to work from home, at least one day a week, in the near future.
In short, we will have more options and we will be able to wear a “made-to-measure” suit, in a new balance that will benefit us individually and collectively, also looking at the gains for the environment and our health. Better quality of life? Yes No doubt.
Fernando Antas da Cunha, Managing Partner of Antas da Cunha ECIJA
My perception is that it is. In fact, we have long argued that increased mobility has the effect of increasing productivity. For two years now, we have started a series of measures aimed at a culture of greater accountability and, consequently, greater compatibility between private and professional life. With all this situation caused by the pandemic, it seems clear that this whole issue can no longer be discussed. In our specific case, the experience of the last two and a half months tells us that it is perfectly possible to have total mobility and, with that, people have a lot more freedom and a lot more productivity. In fact, the result could not have been better. Not only have people adapted in an extraordinary way, we have also strengthened our ties as a working group and as an organization. It is unanimous that we started to communicate much more than when we were in the office full time. Obviously, the requirement that people have to be confined increases the availability of everyone. Without prejudice, I think it is clear that work in general terms is much more efficient. Now the challenge will be to establish some rules in order to better organize the work and the way it is carried out, that is, I think it will make sense to focus group actions, work meetings, corporate events, for the days when we go to the office and reserve tasks that require greater concentration and more peace of mind, when working outside the office. Naturally, for all of this to work, it is essential to resort to technological platforms and feel that proximity through these same platforms is practically the same as being together within the same space. With regard to changes in the workplace, we have also started a strategy to change the entire existing layout. We will certainly migrate to a format in which the office becomes a mixture of different environments, that is, we will no longer have offices assigned to start having different spaces that can be used according to the needs at each moment. We will have the equivalent of libraries, living rooms, open space, social rooms and of course, special care with everything that has to do with the spaces reserved for our customers.
Carlos Gonçalves, Ávila Spaces CEO
In general, the new way of working imposed by the pandemic has shown that it is possible and necessary to challenge the standards of the traditional work environment, reconciling work and personal life in a more harmonious way through two important characteristics: efficiency and flexibility.
Many employees have expressed that they are more productive in carrying out their function when they are free to choose their own workplace (at home, at headquarters or in a cowork space), and may even apply the time to travel to the office in other tasks - something that will necessarily increase its efficiency. In the case of companies, efficiency is mainly reflected in the adoption of new work models, namely through the Virtual Office, which allows savings in income or property acquisition costs, and subcontracting of administrative support, personalized telephone service, among others. services. On the other hand, this greater flexibility will be the key to a better quality of life: by being able to choose to work where they feel happier, they will be able to have a more solid balance between personal and professional life, in which they can spend more time with the family and have more availability for your hobbies. This will only bring advantages, since happier employees will necessarily be more productive.
Beatriz Rubio, CEO of RE / MAX Portugal
The new coronavirus pandemic has had a truly devastating effect on national economies, the well-being of societies and the future of our lives. But it also opened up a set of opportunities, such as teleworking, for many companies and, consequently, for a country's socio-economic structure. The RE / MAX network has always made a difference, writing successful pages year after year. Anticipating a future in which teleworking would be more frequent, in 2010, it integrated an online information system, which currently consolidates a network of 340 agencies and more than 10 professionals, almost predicting a world where teleworking would be a reality of the day to day. In fact, the brand early stimulated virtual visits to properties (in number, probably greater than the sum of all of its main competitors), daily work meetings on videoconference and, even, the holding of huge online events, with memberships that number over a thousand professionals from all over the country. The development of content for training in teleworking was natural, once again at the forefront of the adoption of the latest methods and technologies.
The network recognized several advantages in teleworking for some of its employees, from saving time on trips and the respective transport costs, to reducing spending on meals outside the home and reducing the distractions inherent in the workplace. Employees were able to achieve a greater balance between personal and professional goals, through greater flexibility of schedules and autonomy in managing their time. There was a decrease in the level of stress and a greater satisfaction with the functions they perform.
Over time, the brand started to have much happier and more productive employees, fully satisfied customers and partners and a very high quality of the services provided, clearly the one that most values and dignifies the sector.
João Carvalho, Managing Director of MELOM
Like any other company, MELOM also faced teleworking in times of pandemic, and in a good surprise we realized that there was work that was previously only done in the office and that now, is done from home or even elsewhere. We adapted and simplified processes that became much more efficient and agile. It is also easy to see that we have all gained time and quality of life in relation to commuting to work, as we have seen drastically reduced traffic on the roads. This time that was lost in travel has now been translated into more production. Still on trips, and at a time when MELOM is expanding to Europe, we would, in other circumstances, find it essential to travel to train and pass the brand guidelines, however, today we have come to see how normal the use of video calls to do so. And the truth is that even from a distance, our teams, both in Portugal and abroad, have never been so united and coordinated with each other. However, the biggest change that the pandemic brought to MELOM was without a doubt the way we contacted on site and with the client. For example, we would never have presented an estimated budget to a client before physically visiting the site. That barrier was broken and now we provide a service much closer to the customer, whether by video call or even by WhatsApp. In this way, we are able to identify problems and needs in the homes of our customers without them waiting for the technician to visit. Covid-19 brought with it many insecurities and fears to society, but it is indisputable that it taught us all that paradigms can be broken in favor of our security and our quality of life.
Miguel Matos, CEO of Tabaqueira
We are experiencing a turning point and we should certainly take the opportunity to be more efficient. Just a few weeks ago, suddenly, much of the world was confined at home. And we quickly witnessed a transformation in the behavior of all people as workers, consumers and even in our family relationships.
Tabaqueira is used to change! On the one hand, due to the extraordinary growth of our exports - we export 80% of production for a total of € 600 million. At the same time, we are leading the industry's biggest revolution, with the introduction of combustion-free products, scientifically proven to be less harmful.
Faced with the challenge we suddenly faced, the first priority was (and remains!) The safety of our almost 1000 workers. In parallel, we were able to respond quickly, maintaining productivity and efficiency, even exceeding our expectations. The factory never stopped, we implemented new security measures and all workers who can perform functions remotely are telecommuting.
We are preparing to return to a “new normal” and I believe that the way we work is changing. Remote work is here to stay, leveraged by technological solutions. We found it easy to meet with many people simultaneously, make decisions, avoid unnecessary travel and often more efficiently. We feel that the effectiveness of teleworking has been demonstrated and its continuity will allow a better balance between work and private life. Another positive aspect is solidarity. Tabaqueira has been involved in several initiatives of a solidarity character and several actions that are not limited to helping health and social support institutions. Everywhere we had companies and workers who helped each other and shared experiences in this difficult phase. It was good that these behaviors were maintained for the future. This is also Quality of Life!
Ana Isabel Trigo Morais, CEO of Sociedade Ponto Verde
Since the Covid-19 pandemic took the lives of all of us by storm, the attention of companies, governments and policy makers has turned, well, to ensuring the safety of the population and workers, taking as a priority the necessary actions to maintaining your daily life. As the world enters into a phase of deflation with all the adaptations that the moment requires, the deflation of the economy begins simultaneously, also with new molds that allow the containment of the inevitable impacts of a period of significant isolation. A Green Recovery.
The way we work will also have to be adjusted in order to respond to the various challenges we now face, not only in terms of health and safety, but also in the way we perform our work functions. Much has been said, in recent times, on issues of sustainability applied to the most varied areas of daily life, and work is no exception.
In addition to teleworking having brought benefits to the environment, due to the reduction in travel and the respective consumption, the return to physical work can, and should, also be seen as an opportunity for companies to adapt to a more sustainable performance.
With citizens increasingly aware of the impact that their actions can have on the life of an entire community and willing to be part of positive change, their involvement in environmental and sustainability issues should be maximized. Therefore, there should be greater promotion of a more sustainable workplace, where issues such as recycling and the efficient use of resources become part of their daily lives. This can help employees to feel part of a more sustainable and positive solution for the future and, therefore, contribute to increasing their satisfaction.
And, of course, satisfaction translates into productivity and, at the same time, a better quality of life, not only in terms of work, but in all aspects of a life in society in which the environment must always occupy a fundamental place.
For a positive participation, immediately, the recommendation of Sociedade Ponto Verde is not to forget
to put the masks and gloves in the common garbage and not in the ecopoints. Let's start by helping to recycle more and better!
Michel Paulin, CEO of OVH Cloud
There is no doubt that this pandemic has caused a revolution in the way we live and work. In this context, digital tools seem to be one of the main solutions to guarantee the continuity of business and professional life. Our role as a cloud provider is to develop the infrastructure that will support these applications.
At OVHcloud, we had to implement a completely new organization to face the challenges raised by the situation at Covid-19 and 1600 of our 2200 employees started working at home. Despite the uncertainty this situation has caused, more than 80% of our teams recognize that they have had a good experience with this new way of working. However, not everything can be done remotely. We continue to produce our servers, to design our datacenters in Europe, and our fully integrated model was an essential asset to adapt quickly.
This crisis also spurred a massive movement of solidarity. On a technological scale, OVHcloud contributed to this movement through the #Open_solidarity initiative, bringing together more than 60 free solutions for remote education, connected health and remote collaboration. Feeling proud of our work is perhaps one of the most important factors with regard to professional achievement.
At OVHcloud, we face a double challenge in terms of efficiency: keeping our teams safe and responding to the growth in demand that reached + 30% at the beginning of the blockade caused by the pandemic. Even though the bar is so high, we maintained our plan and launched new products, increased our production capacity and investigated new areas of innovation.
As we look to the future, the three main challenges driven by this radical digital transformation are:
- Trust in technological solutions;
- The resilience of business models;
- The sovereignty that we have in our data.
In this new phase, they will be essential to make the most of the data revolution and protect the professional as a personal use of these new tools for everyone.
Elson. Angélico, General Director & Partner at Mexto
First of all, I must say that Mexto had the ability to foresee the situation and because it has constant contact with international investors, it anticipated a set of health and protection measures that were later officially implemented. In addition to all the changes that have taken place globally, Mexto adapted the entire work dynamics from the first moment. The team that was in the office was displaced and we saw teleworking as a necessary reality, the result of the moment we live in. Today, and as we follow the construction of a “new normal”, we realize that this new form of remote work is a tool that will surely be part of our days in the future and that helps us to have some quality of life : we reduced hours in traffic, we followed the nuclear family more closely, we arrived at the dinner table on time and were able to be more present. At the same time, and from a work perspective, we were literally a touch away from a necessary contact and we got closer to suppliers and partners that help us to sustain the quality of the Mexto brand.
Currently, Mexto is planning a phased return, implementing measures that, without jeopardizing the safety and health of employees, aim to restore the company's economic activity, such as the establishment of interspersed schedules, pre-defined telework days , reinforcement of workspace hygiene, simultaneously managing the projects in your portfolio, namely, the construction of a luxury development, on the Cascais line - Avencas Ocean View Residences -, which saw its first construction phase completed during the containment period. We never stopped, we worked with partners that enabled us to continue our business, always safeguarding the necessary security measures in the context of a pandemic, precisely because we knew that we would have to mitigate any and all impacts on our business.
The adoption of new technologies and the inclusion of new work dynamics allowed us to achieve all the goals proposed in our projects, which means that although the work has entered our homes, we managed to make our new organization efficient to the point of corresponding to the expectations of an entire team. Obvious challenges await us in the real estate sector in general, namely at the commercial level. Physical distancing became a topic, since before we met with customers, made visits, closely monitored their entire journey from contact to the purchase and sale promise contract. And now?
Now, in this “new normal” in which, for security reasons, the five senses of customers and potential customers do not help in decision making at a distance, we count on the advantages of technology, to readapt and create new ways of contact and conquest of the market. Video conferences, virtual reality, visits to live properties by phone become part of our employees' daily lives. Fortunately, our financial strength allows us to continue investing without being pressured by sales, but we are looking at new projects and observing the current situation to take advantage of good business opportunities, always focusing on people's safety and well-being. that make the history of Mexto.
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Are we going to work more efficiently and at the same time have a better quality of life?
Duarte Cardoso Ferreira, CBRE Building Consultancy
Many Portuguese are now working from home and this is pushing companies to adapt quickly to new ways of working. Future trends in the workplace point to work flexibility and it is already an unavoidable reality.
New, more efficient ways of working, which stimulate productivity and allow, with greater quality, each employee to balance their professional and personal lives are now in the sights of companies and even those that were not yet prepared for these new models, will certainly reinvent itself to ensure the success of your business and, above all, retain your talents.
The paradigm shift in today's job market, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, is geared towards mobility, with its effects at different levels, namely, in the morphology of the physical space of the offices. According to our studies, the most interesting changes will be related, above all, to human resources, namely to the redefinition of telework resources, but also to the relationship they have with the office, which gains new outlines, not less relevant.
Interaction has always been a fundamental aspect of company activity in terms of developing relationships, trust, a culture focused on collaboration and innovation. However, the interaction with a less rigid workspace and oriented towards the valorization of creative thinking, co-creation and digital reality, will surely bring other benefits.
What we believe is that in the future, these new ways of working will be looked at in another light, giving rise to a natural conversion of offices and in some cases an eventual revision of the areas, giving each of them new purposes.
Our predictions point towards the reinvention of spaces to receive teams. The emergence of true experience hubs, where it will be possible to find areas with different purposes, whether professional, leisure, well-being and collaboration, will make the office a more attractive, more alive and natural space, which encourages empathy, corporate commitment and culture.
This conversion will transform the headquarters into something similar to the Company Clubs, where employees, in any work format, are their members, and it is certain that this will be the preferred place for everyone to meet.
Covid-19 undoubtedly accelerated the massification of teleworking and this reality will surely mark the business activity of the coming years, however, the offices where the headquarters of the companies are today will continue to assume a fundamental role for the business of the companies, for productivity and well-being of employees.
Caetano de Bragança, Head of Workplace Strategy at JLL
Yes, everything points to that collectively we have more quality of life and become more efficient, although there is no direct relationship between these two concepts. Person-to-person, company-to-company, we will find new balances between time spent inside and outside the offices, because we have the technology that gives us greater mobility as professionals and, in parallel, less stigma in relation to teleworking. But we are at the very beginning! And yes, I believe that we will definitely be more efficient because we will find contexts and spaces that are increasingly adapted to the tasks we are performing and because we will spend less time on the road… but being more efficient does not mean less work! Listening to Portuguese professionals, we also realized that 71% believe that teleworking can contribute to an improvement in their professional performance and 57% that it reduces stress. For the vast majority (95%), the ideal would be to be able to work from home, at least one day a week, in the near future.
In short, we will have more options and we will be able to wear a “made-to-measure” suit, in a new balance that will benefit us individually and collectively, also looking at the gains for the environment and our health. Better quality of life? Yes No doubt.
Fernando Antas da Cunha, Managing Partner of Antas da Cunha ECIJA
My perception is that it is. In fact, we have long argued that increased mobility has the effect of increasing productivity. For two years now, we have started a series of measures aimed at a culture of greater accountability and, consequently, greater compatibility between private and professional life. With all this situation caused by the pandemic, it seems clear that this whole issue can no longer be discussed. In our specific case, the experience of the last two and a half months tells us that it is perfectly possible to have total mobility and, with that, people have a lot more freedom and a lot more productivity. In fact, the result could not have been better. Not only have people adapted in an extraordinary way, we have also strengthened our ties as a working group and as an organization. It is unanimous that we started to communicate much more than when we were in the office full time. Obviously, the requirement that people have to be confined increases the availability of everyone. Without prejudice, I think it is clear that work in general terms is much more efficient. Now the challenge will be to establish some rules in order to better organize the work and the way it is carried out, that is, I think it will make sense to focus group actions, work meetings, corporate events, for the days when we go to the office and reserve tasks that require greater concentration and more peace of mind, when working outside the office. Naturally, for all of this to work, it is essential to resort to technological platforms and feel that proximity through these same platforms is practically the same as being together within the same space. With regard to changes in the workplace, we have also started a strategy to change the entire existing layout. We will certainly migrate to a format in which the office becomes a mixture of different environments, that is, we will no longer have offices assigned to start having different spaces that can be used according to the needs at each moment. We will have the equivalent of libraries, living rooms, open space, social rooms and of course, special care with everything that has to do with the spaces reserved for our customers.
Carlos Gonçalves, Ávila Spaces CEO
In general, the new way of working imposed by the pandemic has shown that it is possible and necessary to challenge the standards of the traditional work environment, reconciling work and personal life in a more harmonious way through two important characteristics: efficiency and flexibility.
Many employees have expressed that they are more productive in carrying out their function when they are free to choose their own workplace (at home, at headquarters or in a cowork space), and may even apply the time to travel to the office in other tasks - something that will necessarily increase its efficiency. In the case of companies, efficiency is mainly reflected in the adoption of new work models, namely through the Virtual Office, which allows savings in income or property acquisition costs, and subcontracting of administrative support, personalized telephone service, among others. services. On the other hand, this greater flexibility will be the key to a better quality of life: by being able to choose to work where they feel happier, they will be able to have a more solid balance between personal and professional life, in which they can spend more time with the family and have more availability for your hobbies. This will only bring advantages, since happier employees will necessarily be more productive.
Beatriz Rubio, CEO of RE / MAX Portugal
The new coronavirus pandemic has had a truly devastating effect on national economies, the well-being of societies and the future of our lives. But it also opened up a set of opportunities, such as teleworking, for many companies and, consequently, for a country's socio-economic structure. The RE / MAX network has always made a difference, writing successful pages year after year. Anticipating a future in which teleworking would be more frequent, in 2010, it integrated an online information system, which currently consolidates a network of 340 agencies and more than 10 professionals, almost predicting a world where teleworking would be a reality of the day to day. In fact, the brand early stimulated virtual visits to properties (in number, probably greater than the sum of all of its main competitors), daily work meetings on videoconference and, even, the holding of huge online events, with memberships that number over a thousand professionals from all over the country. The development of content for training in teleworking was natural, once again at the forefront of the adoption of the latest methods and technologies.
The network recognized several advantages in teleworking for some of its employees, from saving time on trips and the respective transport costs, to reducing spending on meals outside the home and reducing the distractions inherent in the workplace. Employees were able to achieve a greater balance between personal and professional goals, through greater flexibility of schedules and autonomy in managing their time. There was a decrease in the level of stress and a greater satisfaction with the functions they perform.
Over time, the brand started to have much happier and more productive employees, fully satisfied customers and partners and a very high quality of the services provided, clearly the one that most values and dignifies the sector.
João Carvalho, Managing Director of MELOM
Like any other company, MELOM also faced teleworking in times of pandemic, and in a good surprise we realized that there was work that was previously only done in the office and that now, is done from home or even elsewhere. We adapted and simplified processes that became much more efficient and agile. It is also easy to see that we have all gained time and quality of life in relation to commuting to work, as we have seen drastically reduced traffic on the roads. This time that was lost in travel has now been translated into more production. Still on trips, and at a time when MELOM is expanding to Europe, we would, in other circumstances, find it essential to travel to train and pass the brand guidelines, however, today we have come to see how normal the use of video calls to do so. And the truth is that even from a distance, our teams, both in Portugal and abroad, have never been so united and coordinated with each other. However, the biggest change that the pandemic brought to MELOM was without a doubt the way we contacted on site and with the client. For example, we would never have presented an estimated budget to a client before physically visiting the site. That barrier was broken and now we provide a service much closer to the customer, whether by video call or even by WhatsApp. In this way, we are able to identify problems and needs in the homes of our customers without them waiting for the technician to visit. Covid-19 brought with it many insecurities and fears to society, but it is indisputable that it taught us all that paradigms can be broken in favor of our security and our quality of life.
Miguel Matos, CEO of Tabaqueira
We are experiencing a turning point and we should certainly take the opportunity to be more efficient. Just a few weeks ago, suddenly, much of the world was confined at home. And we quickly witnessed a transformation in the behavior of all people as workers, consumers and even in our family relationships.
Tabaqueira is used to change! On the one hand, due to the extraordinary growth of our exports - we export 80% of production for a total of € 600 million. At the same time, we are leading the industry's biggest revolution, with the introduction of combustion-free products, scientifically proven to be less harmful.
Faced with the challenge we suddenly faced, the first priority was (and remains!) The safety of our almost 1000 workers. In parallel, we were able to respond quickly, maintaining productivity and efficiency, even exceeding our expectations. The factory never stopped, we implemented new security measures and all workers who can perform functions remotely are telecommuting.
We are preparing to return to a “new normal” and I believe that the way we work is changing. Remote work is here to stay, leveraged by technological solutions. We found it easy to meet with many people simultaneously, make decisions, avoid unnecessary travel and often more efficiently. We feel that the effectiveness of teleworking has been demonstrated and its continuity will allow a better balance between work and private life. Another positive aspect is solidarity. Tabaqueira has been involved in several initiatives of a solidarity character and several actions that are not limited to helping health and social support institutions. Everywhere we had companies and workers who helped each other and shared experiences in this difficult phase. It was good that these behaviors were maintained for the future. This is also Quality of Life!
Ana Isabel Trigo Morais, CEO of Sociedade Ponto Verde
Since the Covid-19 pandemic took the lives of all of us by storm, the attention of companies, governments and policy makers has turned, well, to ensuring the safety of the population and workers, taking as a priority the necessary actions to maintaining your daily life. As the world enters into a phase of deflation with all the adaptations that the moment requires, the deflation of the economy begins simultaneously, also with new molds that allow the containment of the inevitable impacts of a period of significant isolation. A Green Recovery.
The way we work will also have to be adjusted in order to respond to the various challenges we now face, not only in terms of health and safety, but also in the way we perform our work functions. Much has been said, in recent times, on issues of sustainability applied to the most varied areas of daily life, and work is no exception.
In addition to teleworking having brought benefits to the environment, due to the reduction in travel and the respective consumption, the return to physical work can, and should, also be seen as an opportunity for companies to adapt to a more sustainable performance.
With citizens increasingly aware of the impact that their actions can have on the life of an entire community and willing to be part of positive change, their involvement in environmental and sustainability issues should be maximized. Therefore, there should be greater promotion of a more sustainable workplace, where issues such as recycling and the efficient use of resources become part of their daily lives. This can help employees to feel part of a more sustainable and positive solution for the future and, therefore, contribute to increasing their satisfaction.
And, of course, satisfaction translates into productivity and, at the same time, a better quality of life, not only in terms of work, but in all aspects of a life in society in which the environment must always occupy a fundamental place.
For a positive participation, immediately, the recommendation of Sociedade Ponto Verde is not to forget
to put the masks and gloves in the common garbage and not in the ecopoints. Let's start by helping to recycle more and better!
Michel Paulin, CEO of OVH Cloud
There is no doubt that this pandemic has caused a revolution in the way we live and work. In this context, digital tools seem to be one of the main solutions to guarantee the continuity of business and professional life. Our role as a cloud provider is to develop the infrastructure that will support these applications.
At OVHcloud, we had to implement a completely new organization to face the challenges raised by the situation at Covid-19 and 1600 of our 2200 employees started working at home. Despite the uncertainty this situation has caused, more than 80% of our teams recognize that they have had a good experience with this new way of working. However, not everything can be done remotely. We continue to produce our servers, to design our datacenters in Europe, and our fully integrated model was an essential asset to adapt quickly.
This crisis also spurred a massive movement of solidarity. On a technological scale, OVHcloud contributed to this movement through the #Open_solidarity initiative, bringing together more than 60 free solutions for remote education, connected health and remote collaboration. Feeling proud of our work is perhaps one of the most important factors with regard to professional achievement.
At OVHcloud, we face a double challenge in terms of efficiency: keeping our teams safe and responding to the growth in demand that reached + 30% at the beginning of the blockade caused by the pandemic. Even though the bar is so high, we maintained our plan and launched new products, increased our production capacity and investigated new areas of innovation.
As we look to the future, the three main challenges driven by this radical digital transformation are:
- Trust in technological solutions;
- The resilience of business models;
- The sovereignty that we have in our data.
In this new phase, they will be essential to make the most of the data revolution and protect the professional as a personal use of these new tools for everyone.
Elson. Angélico, General Director & Partner at Mexto
First of all, I must say that Mexto had the ability to foresee the situation and because it has constant contact with international investors, it anticipated a set of health and protection measures that were later officially implemented. In addition to all the changes that have taken place globally, Mexto adapted the entire work dynamics from the first moment. The team that was in the office was displaced and we saw teleworking as a necessary reality, the result of the moment we live in. Today, and as we follow the construction of a “new normal”, we realize that this new form of remote work is a tool that will surely be part of our days in the future and that helps us to have some quality of life : we reduced hours in traffic, we followed the nuclear family more closely, we arrived at the dinner table on time and were able to be more present. At the same time, and from a work perspective, we were literally a touch away from a necessary contact and we got closer to suppliers and partners that help us to sustain the quality of the Mexto brand.
Currently, Mexto is planning a phased return, implementing measures that, without jeopardizing the safety and health of employees, aim to restore the company's economic activity, such as the establishment of interspersed schedules, pre-defined telework days , reinforcement of workspace hygiene, simultaneously managing the projects in your portfolio, namely, the construction of a luxury development, on the Cascais line - Avencas Ocean View Residences -, which saw its first construction phase completed during the containment period. We never stopped, we worked with partners that enabled us to continue our business, always safeguarding the necessary security measures in the context of a pandemic, precisely because we knew that we would have to mitigate any and all impacts on our business.
The adoption of new technologies and the inclusion of new work dynamics allowed us to achieve all the goals proposed in our projects, which means that although the work has entered our homes, we managed to make our new organization efficient to the point of corresponding to the expectations of an entire team. Obvious challenges await us in the real estate sector in general, namely at the commercial level. Physical distancing became a topic, since before we met with customers, made visits, closely monitored their entire journey from contact to the purchase and sale promise contract. And now?
Now, in this “new normal” in which, for security reasons, the five senses of customers and potential customers do not help in decision making at a distance, we count on the advantages of technology, to readapt and create new ways of contact and conquest of the market. Video conferences, virtual reality, visits to live properties by phone become part of our employees' daily lives. Fortunately, our financial strength allows us to continue investing without being pressured by sales, but we are looking at new projects and observing the current situation to take advantage of good business opportunities, always focusing on people's safety and well-being. that make the history of Mexto.