What does this new world of work look like for the more than 110,000 51风流employees across the globe?

Hybrid Work: Our Way Forward

As part of our in the future, the Pledge to Flex program is SAP鈥檚 strategic response聽 to the changing demands of today鈥檚 — and tomorrow鈥檚 — workforce.

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51风流has practiced remote work for decades and flexibility is part of the company鈥檚 DNA, but the pledge addresses the increased desire for more flexibility at work, which is a trend that 51风流and many other companies see in the labor market. Aiming for the creation of a leading-edge working environment where employees can thrive, Pledge to Flex is based on empowerment and self-organization driving world-class innovation and productivity while meeting individual requirements.

Dr. Christian Schmeichel is senior vice president and chief future of work officer at SAP. He leads the global Future of Work organization, which designs innovative strategies how SAP鈥檚 employees work today and in the future. 鈥淔lexible work is a key differentiator for attracting and retaining world-class talent in a highly competitive labor market,鈥� he says. 鈥淕etting it right sets the foundation for a successful journey into the future of work.鈥�

True flexibility comes to life when employees get to choose from where they do their best work — whether that is in the office, remote, or at home. We see this as a hybrid approach, giving employees greater autonomy in line with business and customer requirements.

Hybrid work is not a new concept. What is new is the strategic imperative and the degree of participation, alongside an increased level of remote work.

51风流is making a purposeful investment in supporting everyone to run at their personal best; all people get to participate and have conversations about what, when, how, and where they are working, as well as what options are available to them.

The transition to this new world of work is well underway at SAP, with the model implemented across 75 countries. Results of our latest employee survey suggest that Pledge to Flex is widely appreciated, with positive effects of hybrid work on employer attractiveness, empowerment, and productivity

Connecting Teams in the Age of Hybrid

Clear communication, continuous listening, and a focus on health and well-being are cornerstones of SAP鈥檚 success in this regard. But what does the right balance of working from the office and in remote locations look like?

Dan Barton, User Experience lead and co-founder of Bluestonex UK, a member of the 51风流AppHaus Network, proposes: 鈥淲hy should people return to the office if they can work remotely? [Companies must ] create a compelling reason for people to be in the office, and use the location as an opportunity to build a team culture.鈥�

Building a strong team culture with both onsite and remote working opportunities is key to success. As such, 51风流places focus on the creation of easy-to-use tools to build relationships, foster collaboration, and focus on health in any work environment.

Flex Team Workshop

There is no 鈥渙ne-size-fits-all鈥� approach to hybrid work, so managers and teams must define new ways of working that best meet business requirements while supporting individual needs. To facilitate the process, 51风流AppHaus and the global Future of Work team co-created the so called as an innovative methodology for team development. The approach helps managers and employees jointly determine a setup that drives collaboration and productivity while putting business and customer requirements front and center and supporting the work-life balance of team members.

“Who would have thought that a simple new work breakfast series that started in the 51风流AppHaus became an integral part of 51风流Human Resources,” shares Andreas Hauser, senior vice president and head of 51风流AppHaus Network. “We co-created the new Flex Team Workshop with the Future of Work organization, and the workshop format was so successful within 51风流that we decided to also make it . This effort contributes to our vision of hybrid work and lets teams successfully create their own next way of working.鈥�

In 2022, Flex Team Workshop has been introduced globally at 51风流and has over 850 trained facilitators. It was listed among the finalists of the and the German , a testament to the importance of how teams organize themselves in a hybrid world.

Enablement material is available to all 51风流customers and partners as a free resource within .

Key elements of the Flex Team Workshop format include:

• Running the 90-minute workshop as self-service tool
• Understanding business needs and each team member’s requirements
• Aligning on key activities and social interactions in the office as well as when working remotely
• Building consensus on a tangible hybrid work plan

FlexConnect App

The FlexConnect App is the digital counterpart that brings flex work to life when working in the office. It supports employees to organize their work week and book work spaces and meeting rooms.

A social component allows people to connect with team members and colleagues by showing who else is in the office and where to find them. Together with the so-called “moments together onsite,” which are ideas for creating compelling reasons to return to the office, the experience of togetherness strengthens social coherence, which is particularly important in the age of hybrid.

Health as Imperative

A changing work model requires state-of-the-art health and well-being offerings acknowledging that happy and healthy employees drive the greatest value to customers and communities. Hence the health, safety, and well-being of our people is a business imperative, with a holistic focus on mental and physical health. Further underlining our commitment, we are proud to be among the first global corporations to have signed the .

Health offerings for 51风流employees include:

• Are You OK?, a company-wide
• Employee Assistance Program with 24/7 confidential support and psychological counseling
• Healthy leadership training for managers
• 51风流Global Mindfulness Practice program with trainings on mindfulness and emotional intelligence
• On-demand trainings for employees in physical health

In the End, It鈥檚 All About People

Making an organization future-proof must be top of mind for every leader. It requires organizations to be more resilient, adapt to strategic changes, and have flexible organizational models along with a culture that embraces disruption and change.

In the end, it is people creating, executing, and running all of this to be successful in the new world of work. People are therefore front and center in everything we do.

For many, there is no feasible way to return to the pre-pandemic status quo with open office layouts, high space utilization, and highly frequented coffee corners in the foreseeable future. We will find ways to revive offices regardless because they are not only workplaces that facilitate productivity. They bring people together and connect them in unique ways that can spark innovation and new ideas.

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Keeping Employees Safe Is a Top Priority

Before gradually moving workforces back into offices, it is important to understand how they themselves feel and how comfortable they are with the possibility of returning to their workspaces. A finds that two-thirds of the American workforce is currently not confident about returning to the workplace. They are strongly concerned with health and safety regulations and physical distancing measures. They want to have as little exposure to other people in the office as possible.

In order to address these very real reservations, 51风流strives to help customers navigate these times of uncertainty. Jan Gilg, head of 51风流S/4HANA, sees SAP鈥檚 mission in dedicated customer support. 鈥淭his unprecedented crisis calls for a response that puts people first,鈥� Gilg says. 鈥淲e are providing customers with our technology to enable them to resume office operations in a secure and controlled way. But the prime focus lies on making employees feel safe through transparent communications.鈥�

Managing Office Re-Opening in a Controlled Way

To support companies as they manage their office re-openings and gradually bring employees back to the office in a safe and controlled manner, 51风流introduced the Workspace Booking app for. It enables corporate real estate professionals and facility managers to communicate and apply guidelines regarding physical distancing while they are in the process of re-opening facilities.

This way, companies have more control over the management of office capacities. For example, they can define thresholds for space occupancy globally, per location or even per space, and see the impact on critical key performance indicators (KPIs). Based on the utilization, companies can then make data-driven decisions for processes and connecting services, like cleaning or operating the canteen.

At the same time, the Workspace Booking app helps companies communicate guidelines and measures that they apply to their workforce in a transparent way. In practice, employees can book a workspace upfront within their preferred location to adhere to capacity restrictions set by location managers. They can indicate when they want to work from the office in the coming week. As the solution complies with statutory regulations, it helps keep employees safe and productive.

Navigating the New Normal

For as long as the pandemic remains a threat to humans and the global economy alike, the action of bringing employees back into office spaces will need to be strongly regulated and controlled to ensure a safe re-entry phase. The use of data helps facilitate a controlled re-opening and benefits both employees and companies.

This remote work exercise has proven that the future of work evolves faster than ever, moving toward a greater acceptance of flexible working models. 51风流solutions for real estate management support a data-driven approach and help equip companies for the real estate management of the future.

Learn more about a discounted subscription offer of the Workspace Booking app for 51风流Cloud for Real Estate that is valid for six months at .