om COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS THE CASE FOR DECENTRALIZED WORKPLACES IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIESTable of Content are oof Da p Seed 2 Dea ere 2 pislee amass’ 6 = SE ee : Nee a aed Sd co Sessa ‘ verenences 2% Peetcetrated TWEDARK SIDE OF DECENTRALIZED WORKING * (@Bet cousant connect mnsicnrs\With the proliferation of technology and the expanding reach of the Internet, organizations are now and hiring highly skilled talent acrose borders. As a result, decentralized workplaces a The cate for dacantralized working in emerging African aconomitlike Nigeria is compelling. With of factors. The Gig economy: a labor market characterized by the prevalence af short-term con tracts of frelance work hae besn instrumental in changing the natura of work, In a 2018 trend States formally identity themselves as freelancers In the US lone, 3.7 milion Americans were working on-demand in 2016: an updated forecast from Intuit and Emergent Research suggests that this number wil surge to 9:2 milion in 2021.23. And re the Asia Pacific rion, where 84% of hiring managers zay they employ aia workera(8, ‘ments to better attract top talent, increase employee job satisfaction and retention rates. how organizations can effectively manage decentralized workplace and finally explore how employ: 1095 can got the best out of decentralized workplace arrangements we baliove is inevitable. The continue push for more flexible work arrangements means thatthe equipped with the right knowledge to stay relevant in this future. (Giza cousant connect insicuts [iltime but the future of the workplace Is changing dramatically. As companies continue to streamline their operations, low kil jobs are increasingly going offshore, to robots, or being outsourced in Furthermore, infrastructure — including the cost of laptops, etc. — Is getting cheaper. Co-working spaces and incubators are springing up in maior elie. The working preferences of the milena ‘Generation are also changing. They are not content with 9-to-S jabs anymore. There are more and ‘more colo practitioners that identify a freelancers and are able to make a good living with one mond work There are various definitions ofa decentralized workplace but there are some key characteristics combination of fll ime and freelance employees. + A.workolace that adopts virtual hands inthe form of automation and artifical intaligence to per + A workplace that implements less traditional work environments ke hot-desking, remote working and use of co-working spaces +n agile team environment where decisions are besed on real time factors as apposed to going through a igi hierarchical structure GRE cousanr connect nsicuTsTHE CASE FOR A DECENTRALIZED ea No Organizations in gmerging econones are usvally|slower thon developed economies to adopt decentralized workplaces. Whether itis the doptign of automated systems or the se of flexible work environments, merging economies tend to be slower in making the labor fe inadequate infastricture. Emerging economies ike Nigeria bed to taf the lead in te ates of decentralized work: sto orgenizations and the eounty far outweigh the costs of making the ‘Nigeria at a stage where there Is an exponential adoption of mobile technologies But the road and power infradHRHURSBSIEil inadequate. The aaing and poor network of ‘roads and inconsistent power supply seros the county Is @ major contributor Io lost pro- ductivity, ‘According tothe Sfeeutive Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwum| Ambode (as of time of writing) the state loses N42 billion nar ry month to traffic ‘organizations that incorporate decentralized workplaces through remote working can ef fectively increase productivity metrics. Reducing travel time of employees and service tive impact on the Bottom line of most organizations Furthermore, if mere organizations can adopt remote working, there willbe a reduction the environmental impact of cars on the road. ‘There are stl certain infrastructural challenges that hinder the wide adoption of remoteCy Se ‘According to a survey done by Techpolntng the power infrastructural challenge Is cer ‘The Techpoint survey also revealed that the cost of internet fea huge challenge for continues to be stiff competition between the Telecommunications companies (MTN, Airtel ate) and the Internat Service Providers (Spectrane, Swift) that is diving down prices of intemet subscriptions which could of a hindrance to remote working, & COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS. 4THE CASE FOR A DECENTRALIZED eae No It may fool as if women's presence in the workBlace is a-glven, but globally, despite makina up 50% of thelpopulaion; wornen abnerate just 37% @F GOP). Thete are many Dena t.gender diversity inthe workplace lke access toa wider talant pool, improved ntion and greater profitability. However: time and tims satin, employers struggle to effectively accommodate women's ‘working preference into the work culture, Women thet choose to sart families oF rise {amills Yequire some level of ongoing flexibly that many Nigerian employers have been ‘unable to provide. In many eases, women are forced to choose bstWRRh FEMA @ ari and career, which limits the talent poo! for emaloye’s. For these and othr reasons, almost two'thirds (G4 percent) of the women Harvard Business School surveyed cited Nloxible work arrangements as being either ext by 2 considerable margin, highly qualified women find flexbilty mote important than sly or very important to thom. fact, ‘compensation onl 42 patcent ea) tht “arming a lot of money" is an important motive tort5] Fer employers that are wiling to adopt flexible working practices, It Increases thee ‘chances of attracting talented women that can drive the organization forward. Many rultinationals are realizing great rewards with staff retention rates by edopting flexible work arrangements for women to ether work fly from home or have the flexibility to Work outside the office whenever the need arzes.THE CASE FOR A DECENTRALIZED ea No Fer erganiations that have multiple office locations there i the eed to hire loc in each of the loc taining mutipleotic locations Yor many organizations ean turn ‘out tobe very costly and difleut to manage. Running a decentralized workspace could be a more.cast effec: tive expansion strategy. Hiring remote workers outside/ofan or» gonization’s main base of operations provides Mexibilty to ‘Quickly moveiinte new markets without fst incurring the over: head costs of office and equip center from Lagos to Owerr as part of a cost saving strategy, hich in tur ereates more jobs in these regions end increesesTHE CASE FOR A DECENTRALIZED eae No the lorgestnortiog of th things regarding ther careers compared tp the older ganeraton{6]. They want environ: ‘ments that fer job satisfaction; creativity, and efficioney This has created 2 strong demand for move taxiblewerkplaces that many leading companies are now adopting ‘The workplace i where mast people spand the majority of ther time. How they respond ‘one ofthe worlds largest provider of dec showed that. a8 sercent would prefer to work trom home, with an updated pol frm Twit ter that shows that &2 percent would prefer to work romotely(7),(COST REDUCTION STRATEGY emerging remote workplace strategies save companies $22,000 Corporation for xample, caves $100 milion 2 ser by allowing 42 percent of ts employees to work remotely}. ‘Through decentralized working arrangements, organizations can A decentralized workplace goes further than just remote work: COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS. [jBl Gre‘The edvent af the dacantraliged workplace i Upending our view ‘90 thereby relicing the Burden of welfare for reizaes on the 61g wore ften portrayed asa young person's game the pur view of indecisive millennisis who can’t commit toa ves career ath oF who graduated into the recession and never landed @ faletns job. But almost one-third - 51% - of Americane who THE CASE FORA ‘ween 1946 and 1965. DECENTRALIZED ee eae No Spain, rmany, France, Sweden, the UK and the US, found that 96 25 ough for older. Many are discovering thet they dont h ‘money to stop working when they expected tot) (Gime cousant connect nsicurs Bl[With the advent of the decentralized workplace also comes the challenge of managing decentralized work arrangements. Decen lealized workplaces aro usually less structured than on-site wore and this means leaders of decentralized workplaces have to pro- vide mote structured expectations to guide the organization to Beyond that, doing performance assessments in @ decentralized work 2 is a lot trickier because managers are expected to ‘assess people or systems they can't see, The obvious trap most managers of decentralized workplace arrangements fll into isto {olay focus on results driven metrics while ignoring other behav ioral performance messures, This could be very destructive for & ‘company’s culture by ether treating people as robots or calebrat ing high performers that mest thet targets but break al sorts of rules gating there The biggest skill every successful leader of a decentralized organ- zation requires is clear communication. The ability to set and ef te clear goals and expectation to both on {and off balance sheet talent cannot be under emphasized, While lear communication is certainly also very important for trastional Beyond developing clear communication skis, here are 9 few other tips to effectively manage a decentralized workplace RE cousanr connect nsictrs iB[AVOID FOCUSING EXCLUSIVELY ON RESULTS Ih & deestialase Watling wbvronment, mana se Sie faze we one ers boc con the sb gto to Botte NaS Bry Mbecause manacement shouldn’ NG crs sesccoren cs os SUREPREIISNBUEINBIBEER 2: can assess both behavior and results. Management proce: e.” race places they can easily make the mistake of comparing applet ‘ment begins to alow decentralized working, management devel workers using the old system. The result: people doing the same Which managers do side-by-side comparisons of workers. The and promotions because they'¥e “ut of sight, out of mind” By using a single performance assessment system forall employees favoritism toward these who have greater face time inthe office Gnesi COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS ITFEE enourace trensperency by leading amote workers will not be able to . Pipot. loaders don't take tho loadin il aspects of the business and 1d objectives if 9 great way for HOLD REGULAR MEETINGS. Scheduling regular mestings (at loyees is a great way fr leaders to keep track at progress of nt once 8 we0k) with em projects and initiatives. ‘These regular meetings also server an- ther purpose in helping both onsite and offsite team mombs ‘connect and build the company culture. This s crucial is foster ing collaboration and idea sharing that can move an organiza: Increasingly ‘adopting more agile project management principles and hold a briot catchup mesting daily to set the agenda for the day. Working in such an agile way has made teams very nimble and ‘effective in meeting objectives and quickly dealing with issues 18 they ari. These agile principles can leo be adopted for teams that work in decentralized work enviranments for effec: tive management of projects and objectives. GRE cousanr connect mnsichs iB~ MANAGING A DE- viding a cross-team view of how workers are tracking against goals. This low level of tact peer CENTRALIZED rE eaparenp waar sy > Ae) Cae Nels ncourages team members to stay motivatedWit COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS. structed workplace. ‘The out of sight ls out of mind mantra often come into lay inflexible working arrangements. Remote workers 4sheet talent that are hired to perform specific functions may find that there may be limited opportunities to grow aut of such functions, For selves working in the same function for years without being abe to more low skil jobs wil either be outsourced or automated leaving Lone Hours = Despite the promise of flexibility with remote working, some remote ‘operatives are working longer hours than their onsite colleagues. Sep ‘employee: with no specific hours ora clear separation of workplace {acts their productivity and effectiveness. According to Dave Nevost, CEO of Hubstatt, « company that helps others hie remote talent, £0¥5, ert8) COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS [IB— adoption of artificial intelligence and automation. These technolog- cal advancements raise broader questions on the impact of automa lways the Inevitable effect of jb losses, as automation gets better at and 800 milion individuals around the world could be displaced by suutomation and would need to find new jobs by 205012] Examples + Back-office jobs + Admin jobs| (Gi cousant connect sions“6@ at S x f PAYROLL . acs M% Staal mean COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS [iAWii COUSANT CONNECT INSIGHTS [IBsll x needed fora successful career changes overtime. For exam ple, more jobs today are digital jobs and to remain relevant, incvidu STAYING RELEVANT IN THE DECENTRALIZED eS rade their skis but those inividuals that co learning and personal development wil hove # caer advantege,REMAIN AGILE To remain relevant, incividuals will eed to remain agile in thinking ated and automated jobs will be lst. [12] Remaining aie wil helo in those who remain agile in their thinking, Gig work need nat be seen as tive career that uses one’s other skil eats than those used ina tra (Gi cousant connect nsicnts [BOWith all the advancement in machine learning and artificial intl Ing. Ideas ave stil the seeds where great inventions, works of art music masterpieces and technological innovations come from and its have over intaligent systems and to remain relevant, workers need to Alot ofthe low value work availabe today will ikely be replaced by need to learn new sills to remain relevant. Ina corporate setting low but do not necessarily help an organization achieve its bigger goals, Rather than being the go to person for the low value work, workers (tacks that involve social and emotional skile which computers (Gime cousant connect nsicuts i“The future of work will be shaped by the increasing adoption of artifical Intoligenee and decentralization ofthe workplace, For developing econo: ris lke Nigeria, centralized workplaces presents # unique opportunity 1 bridge the infrastructural gaps and increase the productivity metrics of ‘anation. As the workplace changes, some jobs will be lost and new jobs ‘ill be created, owaver forthe workers who remain agli inthe thinking, ‘hore will be many opportunities to remain relevant inthis future. (Ge cousanr connect msionrs [BlTOLU ADELOWO THO! Cousant Connect | toluadelowo@cousant.com ‘olu isthe Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Cousant Connect, @ specialized recruitment and outsourcing ser- vice that connects great ideas to highly vetted and trust- ed technology talent. (Ge cousanr connect msionrs Bl|Unttps/www2 deloitte com/eontent/dam/Delotte/lu/Documents/human-capital/@x-he-trends-rise-socalenterprise pat 2. nitps:/nww recodenet/2017/5/25/15680106/sia-on-demand-economy-workers-doubling-uber 3. hitps:/vww2 statfingindustry.com/tow/Editorial/Dai- Iy-News/APAC-Study-shows-gig-ecanomy-le-thriving-n-Asia-Pecfle- S633 4. hetpsi/worw mekinsey.com/featurad-insights/gender-equality/Wwomen-matter-ten-year-of-nsights-on-gender-dWversity 5. https://nbswhhbs edu/archive/fexibilty-key-to-etaning- women {6 httos//techpointafrica/2017/05/25/remote-working-culture-nigeria/ “https //wwwicio com/aticle/2399319/developer/how-to-manage-a-dsributed-development-team html {ial aida (ots) {8 ttpsv/open butfercom/state-remote-work-2018/ 19. ttnsv/wowshrm.org/rasourcesandtoole/h-topics/employ- ‘2-relations/pages/are-promotions-within-reach-for-telecommuters. aspx 10. httos//worw puse.na/bi/strateay/5-reasons-why-working-remot 11. hetoy/wwn.bbe com/capita/story/20181024-the:people-changing-retirement-withside-hustes 12. hetpsi/worw meckinsoy com/festured-insights/tuture-of-work/- Jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-o- work-wilmean-for-obs-klle-and-wages 18, hetpsi/worw2.delotte com/insights/us/en/focus/technology-and-the-future-of-work hl Ge cousant connect nsicusEE Citta AO Ccousant Connect isa specialized recruitment and outsourcing service that connectaclents to eee eee eet eee ee eee ee ere eee eee Seen ee ee eee reer eee ee sultants and never any cowboys. connect cousant.com