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CSB GROUP
REMOTE REVOLUTION As working life returns to a state of normality, the approach to remote vs office life has evolved dramatically. Isabella Aslam speaks to Malta-based CSB Group’s Head of Human Resources and Employment Advisory Services, Dr. Elaine Dutton
Hybrid versus remote working – a popular subject, anyone? As we sit down with Elaine Dutton to discuss society’s new working conditions, there’s a lot to cover. Dutton firstly confirms she and the CSB Group employees are mostly remote working (for the time being). Having just finished her maternity leave when the lockdown restrictions were announced, she explains how she was looking forward to returning to the office. “I was very eager to get out of the house and meet my colleagues and employees,” she tells Gambling Insider. “That’s what HR is about, meeting physically and having contact with people, but then we went completely remote
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and within the space of a few months, I returned to a completely different format; with things like Zoom.” Dutton admits remote working had its challenges at the outset; however, the turnaround was a successful one. “It was insane in the beginning, but we transitioned very fast within a matter of days. One issue we overcame was people’s reluctance to turn their camera on in Zoom meetings; we had to put it as a policy. If you’re having a team meeting with nine people, you can’t have two people with their camera on and seven off. It doesn’t help people build that level of trust, especially when you have new employees on board. They need to
see who they are working with; it’s a normal part of who we are as human beings.” Agreeing that speaking to a blank set of initials [on Zoom] takes the human interaction away from a meeting, Dutton explains: “It does, it’s the reality of what we are experiencing. Employees need their camera on because we want them to be there. We used to be able to see people in the corridor, recognise if that person looks a bit tired, and go and have a chat with them and see what’s going on. You have to prompt people on Zoom and ask for a chat because these natural steps are removed when it comes to remote working.” In terms of different formats,
