Turkish conglomerate Sabancı Holding makes remote work permanent

Turkish conglomerate Sabancı Holding’s companies are set to make remote working permanent in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period, with a comprehensive plan that covers additional employee expenditures incurred working from home.

Some 75% of white and grey-collar employees working at Sabancı Group companies are expected to either work completely remotely or at least part of the time, according to the holding's action plan.

The plan consists of 1,500 items for the "Adaptation to the Future of Business," one of the five main topics the conglomerate focuses on within the scope of its 2021-2025 strategy.

The plan will cover all companies within the group and will be implemented under seven main headings: Telecommuting, Mental and Physical Health, Flexible Workforce and High Performance, Talent and Skill Management, Future Leadership, purpose-oriented Organization and Culture, Digital, Data-driven and Agile Organization.

Under those titles, separate road maps will be created for each company.

Sabancı Holding CEO Cenk Alper, commenting on the plan, noted that "Adaptation to the Future of Business" is one of the five focal points of Sabancı Group's 2021-2025 strategy, as “the transformation in the world economy in recent years has completely changed our way of doing business.”

“In today's world where technological developments are accelerating, we can't organize our business lines, workforce and business areas according to the rules of the old world. As Sabancı, we have been following this transformation for a long time,” he said, noting that they are glad that Sabancı has always been a pioneer during such transformations in Turkey.

Sabancı began remote working two years ago, with the practice becoming more commonplace during the pandemic.

According to the plan, a number of initiatives that Sabancı employees can take advantage of will soon be implemented including the sharing of facilities between Sabancı companies, employee-determined flexible working hours and more freelance or part-time options.

A strategic workforce model based on advanced data analytics applications and what Sabancı will need going into the future will be implemented across all its companies.

Employee support

With the shift to working from home, the companies' expenditures decreased but employees are spending more now working remotely. Various support mechanisms will be on offer to Sabancı employees in the upcoming period.

The company will cover fixed expenses like internet, food and electronics needed for work as well as more ergonomic needs, as the company has said it will pay for employee's desks and chairs. Additionally, support systems like the "Work-Private Life Support Applications (meeting-free hours, communication rules)" and "Distance Working Trainings" will continue to be more common.

Employee support programs covering all staff will be enriched with additional physical, mental and mental health support packages. Sabancı plans to offer wide-ranging support for a host of problems, including anxiety and stress management and parent-child relationships. It will also offer sport, fitness and dietary support as well as online counseling for employees and their families.

Traditional office setups will be reconsidered in line with new working models. With an approach based on sustainability, it will be a priority to create greener, smarter, barrier-free and inclusive workspaces that reduce Sabancı's carbon footprint. From this point of view, offices will be redesigned with technological infrastructures that make them more flexible and more accessible to everyone inside and outside the office, designed to enhance collaboration.

Easily accessible programs, which are mostly available online, are tailored to respond to a wide range of developmental needs and are constantly updated. These programs will continue to be on offer to all employees as they are today. Employees' family members can also take advantage of certain programs.