A change in mindset will enable digital fluency and the outcomes of transformation

As we move through and (in some cases) beyond Covid, most organizations are looking to regain their momentum and resume work fully-fledged. However, organizations must also recognize, if they haven’t already, that major changes are essential to enable the ongoing competitiveness and sustainability of their firms in a highly competitive digital environment.

While the post-Covid world promises that flexibility, sustainability, and personal goals will be prioritized (see our take on the rise of sustainability across all ESG factors), it comes with its own set of challenges in adopting new and improved technologies, processes, and all manners of innovation—and aligning these to outcomes and solving problems.

The so-called Great Resignation debate sees organizations channelling new efforts to retain and upskill their employees. They must focus on upskilling current talent and boosting the employee experience (EX, a fundamental tenet of the HFS OneOfficeTM and OneEcosystem visions of digital transformation in action, alongside customer and partner experience). Employee engagement and new senses of value must also be balanced alongside the need for physically being around colleagues, and the importance of culture and belonging in a hybrid world.

We asked 600 executives from Global 2000 enterprises what major changes to the ways of working they are expecting over the next 12-18 months.

• Unsurprisingly, increasing digital fluency is a core change expected – With OneOffice playing a pivotal role in aligning people and processes, data and decision making, and native use of technology, organizations must identify that the way forward is inherently digital—digitally native”, if you will—and that digital is not an “emerging technology”. Currently, most staff are not as savvy with the digital tech and business processes that the post-Covid world demands.
• Foray into Cloud – Another important factor in the journey to OneOffice alignment across the front, middle, and back offices—and ecosystems—which has been correctly recognized and voiced by the executives in our Pulse H2 2021 study. Most companies expect to migrate completely to Cloud computing in the coming year. This is a long-term investment. It includes strategizing and then planning a seamless migration. But most importantly, ensuring the investment in proper IT infrastructure to allow this move.
• Technology as the enabler – despite coming down the list in terms of rank 1 priorities – a suite of emerging technologies must be at organizations’ disposal. In fine HFS fashion, we’re cautioning against making the conversation and the goal solely about technology rather than outcomes and solving problems. Looks like our execs have been paying attention.

The Bottom Line: Leaders must now drive a change in the mindsets of their employees to come out on top of the largely digital trends of 2022 and beyond into the post-Covid world.

The saying “if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” aptly describes the importance of not only recognizing the need for change, but also embracing and embedding change—not for the sake of change itself, but for the outcomes it leads to.