Before the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders realized that digital transformation is inevitable and made specific plans for the transition. However, these plans were not all suitable. Each business sets its budget and pace based on the particularities of the industry and the company, and in many cases, the strategy was a gradual evolution to new tools and ways of operating.
Then came COVID-19. Things had to change. With lockdowns and social distancing measures in place by local and state governments, working from the office was no longer feasible for thousands of businesses. Many companies had to create the conditions and infrastructure for remote work within days.
COVID-19 has given companies a huge boost towards digital transformation. But once we have had that initial push, it is important to keep moving forward. We need to understand the gap between our companies’ current performance and potential, and where they need to be in the market to remain competitive.
There are six key points you need to incorporate into your organization/business to maintain your momentum and ensure your digital transformation continues to evolve in the coming years:
1. Get your people to embrace change. While workers in some industries are more worried than others, Pew Research found that 65 percent of Americans expect robots and computers to likely do the jobs humans do in the near future. A CNBC/Survey Monkey survey also found that more than a quarter of workers (27 percent) say they are worried that their jobs will be eliminated by technology in the next five years. Threatening them in this way is not good for employee morale or productivity. By providing assistance with digital adoption and helping them understand and take ownership of change, you will manage fear in your workforce and encourage collaboration instead of worry.
2. Employee workloads may have changed. Many companies are re-examining responsibilities and even adjusting the size of their workforces as they look to the post-COVID-19 future. So it’s important to help people recognize the role they play and how they contribute to value creation, and to make sure that workloads remain truly balanced despite job reassignments.
3. You may need to upgrade to address talent shortages and skills gaps. Remote strategies and tools often require different skill sets than what employees might demonstrate in the office or traditional structures. You may need to recognize that some or even all of your employees are not equipped to help with recovery or accelerate growth. Make sure they have the training and opportunities they need to thrive in the new environment – rather than assuming they can no longer do the job.
4. The work culture may have changed. Remote work presents new benefits and challenges that can impact your entire corporate atmosphere. As part of your ongoing retention strategy, work intentionally to ensure that people aren’t afraid to ask questions or challenge existing ideas, and that everyone remains committed to similar values and priorities.
5. You need to boost employee engagement. The link between learning, engagement, and retention is clear: Deloitte found that engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organization. You need to find new ways to ensure that people are happy even when they’re not in the office and that they continue to want to participate in company activities.
6. Your workforce is diverse and cross-functional. Leaders used to think that managing homogeneous teams would be easier. But the similarities between members created biased problem -solving patterns . Developing talent agility requires that cross-functional, collaborative teams be the norm and abandon the silo mentality.
The world is changing and evolving, and it's up to us to change with it. To get ahead, instead of letting pushback overwhelm or control you ,intentionally create a customer-centric culture that allows you to pivot based on your needs.
Source: entrepreneur.com
