Company Introduction: Gofore
A brief overview of your company, what do you do?
Gofore is a European consultancy, technology, and solutions company. We are a pioneer in our field, bridging the physical and digital world whilst combining technological opportunities with changes in human behaviour. We are building a safe and responsible society, as well as an industry with its products and services. We have 1,800 experts across Europe, and our team of specialists comprises pioneers in business, the application of artificial intelligence, change management, and the design and development of products and digital services.
It is important to us to build not only a better digital world but also a positive and sustainable working life. Our people-centred approach is reflected both in the solutions we create for our clients and in the way we build our own working community.
What are your company’s policies on remote work?
At Gofore, multilocational work is based, above all, on trust and the opportunity to choose where to work depending on the situation; however, we also respect the client’s working practices in this regard. We do not have any mandatory office days. Employees make this choice together with their team, taking three factors into account: what the client needs, what their own team needs, and what works best for them personally in that particular situation.
However, we believe that effective multilocational work does not arise simply from giving people the freedom to choose where they work. Employees must be able to recognise when individual work requiring concentration is best done at home, and when, on the other hand, collaboration, meetings or learning benefit from everyone gathering around the same table.
Our office spaces have also been designed with this in mind: in addition to ergonomic workstations, our offices feature separate areas for concentration, hybrid working, meetings, relaxation and even short breaks or meditation. We strive to make our office spaces brain-friendly environments for specialist work.
What are your employees particularly satisfied with right now?
One of the things that matters most to our staff is the freedom and flexibility to organise their own work. The opportunity to have a say in working hours, where and how work is carried out is often highlighted as a factor that supports wellbeing at work. Similarly, colleagues, a good working atmosphere, meaningful and challenging work, and the opportunity to receive support are all important.
From the perspective of multilocation working, it is interesting to note that there are no significant differences in the employee experience between those who work in different ways. In our internal employee experience data, for example, the level of engagement is very similar regardless of whether people work mainly from home, at the Gofore office, on a client’s premises or in a hybrid arrangement.
Job satisfaction comes from success, learning and the opportunity to influence and develop things. Alongside flexibility, a sense of community, colleagues and teamwork are also important. Perhaps it is precisely this combination of the two that best describes working life in Gofore: a great deal of freedom and autonomy, but at the same time a strong need to belong to a community.
What in particular would you like to highlight regarding wellbeing and productivity in multilocational work?
In our own data, we do not see a straightforward link between the place of work and better employee experience. In studies on hybrid working, productivity indicators also suggest that the issue cannot be reduced to a simple ‘office versus home’ dichotomy.
What may be more important is our ability to work in multiple locations: are we, as individuals, teams and an organisation, able to choose the best way to work in each situation?
Freedom also brings with it responsibility. If I choose to work from home today, that decision may be excellent for my own concentration. But at the same time, I should be able to ask what my choice means for a colleague, a client, a new employee’s learning process or the team’s sense of community. In Gofore’s own findings on wellbeing at work, maintaining a sense of community – particularly when working remotely – has been identified as an area for improvement.
