TELEWORKING AS A BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY AND CONTINUITY STRATEGY: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ZIMBABWEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR UNDER COVID-19

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen unprecedented changes to the way people conduct business and work whilst striving to reduce downtime and maintain or even increase productivity (Belzunegui- Eraso and Erro-Garcés, 2020). Long lockdown periods and the need to meet World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations for social distancing have necessitated that organisations instruct their employees to telecommute or work remotely from home in an effort to maintain business sustainability and continuity (OECD, 2020). This research explored how Zimbabwean telecommunications companies implemented teleworking as a business sustainability and continuity strategy in the Covid-19 pandemic environment. This study was qualitative in nature, employing a phenomenology philosophy. Thirty knowledgeable telecommunications managers and business leaders were invited to complete a detailed online questionnaire that helped draw conclusions to the objectives. Based on these questionnaires and some secondary data review, this study determined that teleworking was widely adopted by 97% of the telecommunications sector during the Covid-19 pandemic era. The implementation of telework and BCM processes was the required antidote to the decrease in productivity and threats to job security and business continuity presented by lockdowns. Teleworking guaranteed retention of employees, real estate and administrative cost savings, continued business operations and service delivery. In addition, telework helped curb the potential spread of the virus amongst employees and customers who would have congregated at the work place. Inconsistent supply of electricity, inadequate communication and collaboration tools and platforms as well as lack of ergonomic chairs and desks were the major factors indicated to be deterring effective and productive telework. The study also revealed that there was an increased demand for telecommunications products and services during the pandemic particularly on lock down periods. This was confirmed by POTRAZ (2021) in their first quarter abridged postal and telecommunications sector performance report. Customers had a new need for reliable internet connections to use when working from home, learning online and for entertainment. The businesses made efforts to ensure that their services were adhering to availability, reliability and dependability standards. There is a great need for the establishment of standards and policies to govern telework and BCM process and policy implementation in telecommunications companies for successful business continuity and sustainability.