With Covid restrictions lifted, another chapter begins for agencies as they return from online to offline. Mukta Lad takes a look at what the advertising workplace looks like after over two years of largely working from home.

Source : https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/what-being-back-at-office-means-for-creative-work-at-ad-agencies/90805100

‘‘People are more productive working from home than one would have expected,” said Meta (then Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a May 2020 interview with Vetye. In mid-2021, he announced that “the company will allow all full-time employees to work from home if their jobs can be done remotely”. Zuckerberg’s stance seems to be a bit far removed from the Indian workplace, which is somewhere between working from home or the office, full time. The Omicron wave seen earlier this year forced people to stay home and businesses to comply with severe restrictions. Non; however, restrictions have been lifted, thanks to a sharp drop in cases. Happiest about this are businesses like ad agencies, which rely heavily on employees’ collaboration for creativity to thrive. And with this, agencies have welcomed staff back into the office. Better safe than worry Armed with learnings gleaned from remote working over the past two years, Most ad agencies seem to be leaning towards a hybrid work model —employees can work remotely for some days of the week. Take the WPP Group; it is neither going to be 100% work-from-office or work-from-home. Apoorva Bapna, chief culture officer at WPP, says, “We want to retain the positive elements of blended working and give our employees the flexibility to make choices that work for them and the business.” Mullen Lowe Lintas opened its doors to staff on March 1, a move which Virat Tandon, group CEO, says received a “college reunion-like response” from employees. To ensure that the staff feel safe in returning to work, the agency has introduced a seat booking app and has made daily employee health declarations compulsory, he adds. However, the need for social distancing isn’t going away soon either. That’s why Tilt Brand Solutions has leased more office space. Joseph George, founder, chairman and MD, says, “This has worked to help us reduce the employee density in all our offices. The configuration of a lot of the seating also allows for space between desks and employees can maintain a healthy distance.” It goes without saying that all employees across agencies must provide vaccination proof and have their body temperature checked before entering the premises. Flexibility initiatives There are several happy outcomes of remote working. One is that agencies and clients are now accustomed to virtual meetings, drastically reducing the need for in•person interactions. ii:moloyers are also offering staff more flexibility —sometimes, this takes the form of staff oriented initiatives. The Publicis Groupe, for example, has recently launched ‘Work Your World’, a program that enables employees to work from any city or country they like for up to six weeks every year. Surbhi Gupta, chief talent officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia, says, “The initiative allows our people to maximise flexibility, immerse themselves in new cultures, meet new people and nourish their mental well-being. It is also a great way to tap into the global and innovative nature of the Groupe, while also feeding their own personal growth and getting the right downtime.” Tilt, meanwhile, has introduced 12 additional days of ‘Connected Leave’, wherein staff don’t have to come in to work, but remain available for client or agency requirements from any location. The flexibility strategy is playing out slightly differently at Enormous Brands. Advertising is a ‘people’s business’, after all, where interpersonal bonds within team members play a significant role in better collaboration. Ashish Khazanchi, managing partner at the agency. says. “We’re encouraging
people to come to the office for a month so that new interpersonal dynamic, can form. After a month, we will have more flexibility in teams to choose when they want to meet and when to work remotely,” He believes being back at the workplace has shown a marked difference in the quality of creative work already. Pandemic Warnings The two years of remote work in have taught organisations a thin or two. For now, agencies are tryin their best to bring both worlds -work-from-home and full-time office -together in the best way possible Tandon has seen first-hand how th human spirit is adaptable to change an that technology is a powerful toe everyone must have more respect for. Gupta has had a simple but important learning. “We have realised that son roles have remained unaffected I flexible working and our people we, able to deliver the same output irrespective of the location they we: based in,” she says. Agreeing with the sentiment, Geon adds, “We have also realised that t email sometimes is what is need; instead of a meeting. Even functions li. finance, where approvals, compliance etc, were paper-based, have move online. That is here to stay — far few physical papers and systems. And surprising (and happy) phenomenon b been that most, if not all, meetings and finish on time.”