Global professional services major Accenture expects companies to increasingly adopt a hybrid model to manage its workforce in the post Covid era. In a hybrid model, employees can work remotely; employers, thus, do not have to recruit keeping their own location in mind.

“After the vaccine comes, are we going to go back to offices or stay in this mode? It will depend on different industries and different businesses, but I am sure that this would be a hybrid model,” said Bhaskar Ghosh, chief strategy officer, Accenture, at Infocom 2020, the flagship event of ABP Group.

Citing an example, Ghosh said IT players, like many other industries, usually recruit from Bangalore if there is an opening in Bangalore; or if the recruitment is from another city, the employee is transferred to Bangalore.

But in the future, it will be possible to recruit from different parts of the world and India, without the need to transfer the employees to Bangalore. From an employee perspective, technology will make it possible for individuals in Calcutta to apply for a job outside the city without the need to relocate on their part.

Ghosh said after the disruption by the pandemic, companies have accelerated the pace at which technology is being adopted into businesses.

“During the last nine months, the progress companies have made in terms of their digital journey may be equivalent to a three years or five years’ journey. That is a huge acceleration,” he said.

Ghosh also shared two personal experiences — how he moved to buying fish online during the pandemic instead of the traditional market and how video calls have strengthened joint family bonds during this period — as key leadership lessons to grow business in the post-Covid period.

The first lesson Ghosh said is to learn to develop trust, retain clients and grow business. He said that Accenture which sells professional services, found that clients were willing to buy services remotely instead of the earlier way of sealing the deal only after conferences and meetings. “In this new world, client experience has changed the way they buy services and what is most important now is building trust.”

The second lesson is unlocking the untapped potential of technology to create exponential value in business. “What we see today, tons of technology are available — whether it is blockchain or AI or robotics etc. It is important to use the technology to create the right value,” Ghosh said.