Hyderabad
First, there was work from the office; then, the pandemic introduced work from home. And now, the latest trend is to work from anywhere. Though the companies want employees back, the employees are no longer interested in returning to their earlier routines.
Also, in the case of many IT employees who had moved to their home towns during the pandemic, returning to metros seems a ‘not so good’ idea. So, the companies are opting for a hybrid model of work where they are reaching out to staff who are still fixated on the idea of working out of their hometowns.
Hence to facilitate the smooth flow of work and to build a seamless work environment, many companies are looking to set up satellite offices in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. And swanky offices that can accommodate 50-100 employees or 100-plus seating spaces for bigger spaces have become a norm.
Echoing the same thoughts is Bharani, ex-president of Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association and current CEO of Infopeers, who says that companies are now getting comfortable with the idea of working from anywhere. Already Accenture, IBM, TCS, Wipro, and Infosys are among the players who are working on setting up satellite offices in Jaipur, Coimbatore, Kochi, Visakhapatnam, and similar places. As for Hyderabad, companies like Cyient and Tech Mahindra have set up their own operations in smaller towns and cities of Telangana.
Factors such as control over expenses, flexibility in lease terms, and allowing the workforce to work from anywhere have enabled organizations to be location agnostic and thus promote the concept of satellite offices, says Awfis CEO Sumit Lakhani.