HP CEO says remote work will allow companies to hire more internationally

The future of work has been a huge talking point for the whole world this year. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we work DRASTICALLY.

The value of an office has been questioned more than ever and recently the CEO of HP also commented on the issue touching on two important aspects regarding how we should/could look at this transition; i) We (companies) can work from home now and ii) We will be able to hire from anywhere in the world soon enough.

On working from home

HP’s CEO and President Enrique Lores spoke on the company’s success transitioning to remote work and the lessons they learnt from that;

We can work from home in ways that we weren’t even imagining six months ago.

Six months ago, if you’d had asked me if you could manage the company working remotely if you could manage the company with 95% of employees working from home, I’d probably have said ‘no way’. We have done it, and we have done it successfully.

A week ago, we shared an infographic on remote work and many of the 400 companies that took part in the survey shared a similar sentiment to HPs CEO that the transition to remote work was easier than expect. Beyond this, 44% of companies also stated that they believed remote work was going to improve profitability going forward. 63% expected remote work to make their teams happier.

The more exciting aspect of HPs CEO was actually the opportunity and shift in how companies hire;

We also have learnt that there are many jobs that can be done from home permanently.

They do not need to come to the office every day. That gives us flexibility in terms of where we hire talent.

It [home working] will open opportunities to many people where today they have more difficult access to certain jobs.

For me, this speaks to be a huge opportunity for people on our continent. Previously companies were limited to hiring talent in a certain physical proximity. The pandemic has changed that way of thinking and I genuinely believe the opportunity for talented Africans who could not afford to relocate to certain opportunities will now be able to do so.

Techzim is a decent example of this (not to blow our horn but just as an example I understand very well). We recently announced that we are hiring writers and before going remote that position would have been limited. Because we are remote, we can hire anywhere within Zimbabwe – as long as the applicant’s fit the description.

This is what is happening but on a global level. Africans looking to access the higher-earnings provided by leaving the continent will finally be able to do so without being separated from family because of remote work and that’s a pretty exciting thing I think…