With a total of six months behind us now since COVID-19 has hit globally, there is a reference and trends clearly showing; people and businesses in general are becoming more comfortable with the ‘new normal’, i.e. remote working – using automation – engaging with co-workers, as well as with customers and partners virtually. We are now more versed and more accepting. With that said, it is still coming with a relative feeling of un-predictability of what is next.
Business leaders are concerned about their bottom line, business continuity and whether their budgets are realistic. Being a realist, for some, making a decision to focus on the short term is the priority…. cutting costs across the board, irrespective of whether they will impact the mid to long term, is an approach that some businesses have opted to take. Even though these decisions might salvage the very short term, this is a strategy that certainly puts the mid and long term at risk.
As a company, we believe that the ‘future of work’ was triggered into full speed ahead by COVID. We strongly believe that we should look at the glass half full resulting from this situation and think about the repercussions forced on us because of this situation. Would small businesses be thinking about their ability to capture knowledge given constraints on the size of their workforce? How are they becoming more efficient? How are they capturing information about their performance, that would help guide their decisions, given that resources are always limited?
For mid-size businesses, did they spend enough time building their brand and attracting ‘A-Players’? have they invested enough time, effort and resources in building the capabilities of their teams, knowing that if they really want to scale, exponentially growing and being more intentional about their potential, it all starts with having the right size of resources, who continue to learn and grow, as the business grows.
For the big organizations, it is really about the efficiency. How has data helped in shaping their future focused decisions? Where has this lead them?
‘A lot of my work has shifted into how to interrogate the present more effectively, and to then be able to better understand how the future might unfold.’
Futurist Consultant
While it is difficult to predict the impact of COVID and what the next 9 to 12 months might look like, there are clear signs that are lessons learned….
1) Technology is a priority. Irrespective of size, industry or maturity, it is the future. For the future of work, it is non-negotiable.
2) Be conscious of how cost cutting can and will impact your mid to long term. From a future of work perspective, prioritizing your internal processes, adopting simple tools to continue to build the capacity of your team, ensuring that you are able to identify and prioritize what the ‘skills of the future’ would be for your business
3) Building and staying true to your employer brand is a key asset. If your business promotes learning and growth, be sure to make that a priority where your time, effort and investments are channeled.
Technological advancement can have a huge impact on the HR department of an organization. It allows the company to improve its internal processes, core competencies, relevant markets and organizational structure as a whole. ... This will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness of its Human Capital.
The opportunities that are un-taped in businesses, irrespective of their size, is the ability to leverage the power of idea generation, collaboration and problem solving that exists within your workforce. Being able to unlock that power by driving a culture of collaboration and teamwork, expanding thinking and different points of view and embracing all types of diversity (gender – age – thinking styles … ), is food for thought.
Buzz words on the minds of business and HR leaders, engagement – motivation – purpose driven, are all low hanging fruits, waiting to be harnessed. The future of work is certainly aligned with what employees are driven by …. These are truly the drivers.
Our mission is helping businesses maintain, scale, and transform in a predictable manor, while focusing on their core asset – The People.