{"id":505776,"date":"2021-06-26T09:54:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T07:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.capgemini.com\/?post_type=research-and-insight&p=611050"},"modified":"2025-03-18T10:32:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T10:32:35","slug":"discussion-with-sheila-jordan-chief-digital-and-technology-officer-honeywell","status":"publish","type":"research-and-insight","link":"https:\/\/www.capgemini.com\/fi-en\/insights\/research-library\/discussion-with-sheila-jordan-chief-digital-and-technology-officer-honeywell\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussion with Sheila Jordan, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Honeywell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Reinventing work<\/span><\/div><\/div>
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Discussion with Sheila Jordan, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Honeywell <\/h1><\/div>
Download article<\/span>523 KB pdf<\/span><\/a><\/div>
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As chief digital technology officer, Sheila Jordan is responsible for defining the vision and strategy for digital transformation at Honeywell, the US-based conglomerate. In this role, Sheila is responsible for the technology associated with corporate IT as well as the technology used by strategic business units and functions such as legal, finance, contracts, and human resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Research Institute spoke to Sheila about how virtual working will evolve in a post-pandemic world and the upcoming trends in the world of technology.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Impact of the pandemic on the future of work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How did Honeywell, a traditionally office-based organization, respond during the pandemic?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When the pandemic hit, Honeywell was not a work-from-home organization. A quick decision was made to shift 80,000 employees to remote working across about 70 countries and to redesign our network to accommodate remote work in just eight days. Employees at our manufacturing sites, however, have been working on-site throughout the pandemic with adequate safety and security precautions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are evaluating hybrid models, but at this time our focus is to return to the office. While for certain jobs we have seen an uptick in productivity with employees working from home, we are not yet prepared to make decisions based on these observations. We would continue to take feedback from our employees to decide what the best model is for certain job segments. We are focused on adopting a data-driven approach to assess the impact of remote working and maintain consistency across geographical regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How was the productivity of your team affected by remote working?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The productivity of my digital team has increased, and we have been able to deliver strong results. In my opinion, this is due to the fact that we are all working much longer hours. I would attribute this to the fact that since people were working in a remote setting they gained their commuting time back. Therefore, I am unsure if this uptick in productivity will be sustainable in the long run, but that might be offset by the social ability to run into someone in the hallway or cafeteria, which could result in a quick decision verses a formal meeting. Collectively, we need to take the productivity of what we learned by working from home and augment that with the social aspects of being in the office again when you can easily pop into an office or have a quick chat with someone to continue moving things forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you see the in-office employee experience changing as a result of your experience in a remote environment?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, I believe that when we get back in offices there will be a continued focus on health and safety. Secondly, I think the virtual platform for meetings gave everyone an equal voice, and I hope this is a learning we carry forward. For example, we will continue to have global meetings, where some members will join remotely. So, we need to ensure that everyone on the call has an equal voice, and the discussions are not dominated by the people physically present in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, I really think people have now realized the importance of social interaction and building relationships more than before. This means we need to put in some thought about how we bolster social aspects and in-person interaction, which have been missing from our lives for the last 14 months. On the other hand, in a remote setting everybody is always available, so some decisions can be made faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can organizations and employees ensure a work-life balance in a hybrid model?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I have a different take on the concept of work-life balance. When I hear that I think of a scale that is perfectly balanced. As a working mother throughout my entire career, some days are more focused on family and others are primarily focused on work. In total, it balances, but certainly not every day. I like to think in terms of work-life integration. With technology advancements, you can literally work from anywhere such as the office, home, the soccer field, or Starbucks. This has both pluses and minuses. I think an organization\u2019s responsibility is to create an environment where not everything is critical; some things can indeed wait until tomorrow. The individual employees must also set their own boundaries for what works for them. For example, when my children were younger, dinner time was sacred. I would protect that time from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. as best as I could and finish something up after they went to sleep. Companies should create an environment to understand and protect those boundaries. A more balanced employee is far more productive in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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