When you factor in this boost in productivity with the savings on building maintenance, long-term remote work begins to look very attractive. Further, the shift has been remarkably easy; much more so than many might have expected. Less than 7% of respondents ranked “adapting processes to the remote-first environment” as their biggest challenge during COVID-19 while just over 45% ranked this as their smallest challenge.
According to Pete Lamson at JazzHR, “though I love our office environment — the energy, the camaraderie, etc. — an interesting development during WFH has been that I’m actually getting a more complete picture of our operations. We are very much a results-oriented company, but we’ve used the disruption of this situation to shift our priorities towards building the work and processes that can drive future results.”
This is why almost 26% of respondents are in the process of transitioning to or already are a remote-first organization. Even as 52% of companies plan to return to the office by September 2020, this will likely only be a partial return. In fact, our respondents estimated an average of 61% of their employees will still be working remotely in 2021.
Organizationally, where is B2B software headed?
Digitally native B2B software companies are making WFH work for them. Bucking national trends, they plan to maintain or continue adding to their headcount, to expand their budgets in key areas, and to embrace remote work over the long haul. The savings of transitioning to a remote-first model will allow many of these companies to reinvest in their products, sales, and marketing to fuel growth in the future. Though the broader economic outlook is not bright, almost 70% of B2B software companies view their prospects over the next 12 months optimistically. The organizational changes brought about by COVID-19 might be one reason why.