Konica Minolta expects Covid-19 to “reshape” workplace

Printing technology giant Konica Minolta has opened up to FESPA.com about the impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on its business, saying that the changes it has made to operations will form part of its DNA moving forward.

The Covid-19 crisis has had an unprecedented effect not just on the print sector, but industries all around the world, with many companies facing hardship in their efforts to return to the ‘new normal’.
 
Konica Minolta has now moved to allay the fears and concerns of its customers, saying that it is fully committed to supporting them in the aftermath and to helping them get back up and running as the situation improves.
 
“The outbreak of Covid-19 has had an impact on business globally, and Konica Minolta is no exception. We had to respond and adapt to the crisis,” Gemma Lee, head of employee experience at Konica Minolta Business Solutions UK, told FESPA.com.
 
“As the situation has progressed, we remain focused on supporting customers and delivering the best service, whilst keeping our people safe.
 
“Like many other businesses, we have faced some daunting decisions, but we want to remain true to our values. As we move through the next few months of uncertainty, our greatest priority will remain the health and wellbeing of our employees, partners and customers.”
 
Such has been the impact of the pandemic that Lee said it is unlikely the manufacturer, or indeed any business, will return to how it operated before the outbreak.
 
“This pandemic is reshaping the workplace, and social distancing will be part of our DNA moving forward,” Lee said. “We have been reviewing how we can re-open our offices whilst adhering to safety guidelines.
 
“However, we have learnt a lot in the last few months and when we surveyed our employees, 96% said they wanted to retain a choice about where they physically work. We had already adopted in many business areas an agile working culture- that has been critical to our ability to remain productive during the pandemic.
 
“We expect further development of this agile mind-set and for our employees to execute more choice over where and how they work.”
 
Lee also said she expects a further increase in demand for Konica Minolta’s IT solutions, with the company having provided both IT services and cloud-based collaboration solutions to enable employees to access company files quickly and securely while working from home.
 
“For many companies, the Covid-19 outbreak acts as a booster for digital transformation,” Lee said. “For some, the shift to remote working, and the desire and need for this to continue has revealed gaps in IT infrastructure, workforce planning and digital up-skilling as well as limitations on how to keep a remote employee base communicated with and engaged.
 
“Our strong heritage in innovation drives us to rethink, reinvigorate and reinvent the workplace continually and enable our customers to do this with our support.”