In a pilot initiative aiming to adopt and support a more agile digital culture, Ooredoo Group has extended its Work-From-Home procedures, allowing employees whose work doesn’t require being physically in the office to continue working remotely until the end of 2020.

The company is one of the first in the region to make such a decision, paving the way to an innovative working environment that could reshape the contemporary workplace.

Ooredoo Group employees and contractors will be allowed to agree more flexible working arrangements from home or the office, subject to individual agreement and at management discretion. As for the Group’s operating companies around the world, each will have flexibility to test more localised working arrangements in a way that works best for them and in line with the regulations and directions of the countries they operate in.

Based on key lessons learned in the recent period, the Group management team believes that this “experiment” will foster the creation of a more agile and modern work culture. As a leader in technology and telecommunications, the Group aims to leverage the insights of the recent period into competitive advantage.

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, Group Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo, said: “Amid the COVID-19 situation, we are presented with a real opportunity for taking our digital transformation journey to a whole new level, which will see our company leverage digital solutions to ultimately adopt a more holistic digital culture. This will transform the organisation and how we work. If colleagues found the combination of working off-site and socially distancing a challenge at first, we have emerged from this disruption empowered, able to get things done as a team – even when not sharing the same physical space – and even more dynamic. I’m both very excited and optimistic about the coming period.”
Ooredoo Group has led the way among regional tech companies by providing a supportive environment for colleagues working from home. As business returns to normal, these new workplace relationships can be repurposed to strengthen the enterprise in its ability to meet the needs of its customers and the societies they live in.

While the company will seek to incorporate and build upon the potential for improved work practices discerned in recent months, it will continue to operate within official public health guidelines, against a backdrop of rigorous emergency and business continuity planning. This will allow for changes of direction should the medical situation change.

“All this requires commitment, responsibility, and accountability — but given the positive experience of the past few months, I’m convinced that together we can further transform the Ooredoo culture,” reflected Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani.

Enforced changes saw hundreds of staff members working from home since March — an unprecedented scenario which can now be built upon leading to a positive outcome. Ooredoo is now testing these exciting new ways of working going forward, amid the economic and medical uncertainties accompanying the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.