With the business environment changing so rapidly and so dramatically, companies are now faced with difficult questions with multiple answers, neither of which is necessarily the right one. In fact, with so many trends to tackle, it may seem impossible to apply all changes fast, especially when it comes to introducing new processes.
That’s alright, though. There’s nothing wrong with starting with small steps, as long as a business knows where it’s going. That is to say, planning comes first.
Let’s take a look at the fields that need polishing!
Your Current Working Model
The matter of working models comes first as it is the prerequisite for all other successful changes.
First of all, even if you’re running a business relying on office space, you should consider hybrid work models. Many roles can be performed remotely, so if your teams of, say, SEO experts and content writers are working from the office, they may well reconsider their options… which are many and don’t stop at borders.
Remote work has been around for a while, but it is only with the onset of the latest pandemic that literally all businesses everywhere realize that their outdated work models won’t hold for much longer. Freelancing, sole proprietorships, and digital nomadism are becoming more attractive by the minute, so traditional businesses simply have to remain competitive or perish in denial.
There are various hybrid work models that may work for businesses. Depending on the scope of your business, you may want to start with one and go from there, which is totally acceptable.
But where do you start?
First, take a look at the options:
- Partially remote work, with flexible office space
- Almost entirely on premises
- Partially remote work, multiple hubs
- Partially remote work, large office space
- Almost entirely off premises
- Multiple microhubs
As you can see, the transition doesn’t have to be performed in a matter of days. Rather, you business may take things slowly and apply necessary steps on the go, making the transition as seamless as possible.
Setting up proper entrepreneurial processes is imperative, so take it one step at a time.
Educating Your Team
Next on, businesses need to reconsider their training plans. Remote work calls for a set of completely different skills, notably soft skills.
Soft skill training is completely different from your average training sessions and it is by no means easier at that. After all, there are different personalities to consider and you must make remote teams — sometimes scattered across the world — operate perfectly well.
Among the crucial soft skills you need to help your workforce develop are interpersonal communication and critical thinking. Not something they teach you at university, right?
In addition, remote workers need to possess a couple of other critical skills, including but not limited to:
- Sales skills
- Negotiation skills
- Time-management skills
- Stress management skills
- Marketing skills
- Various business skills depending on the scope of their work
- Accounting skills
Just how exactly you will deliver training for all of these is up to you, but make sure to rely on innovative teaching methods like gamification, AR learning, and mLearning methodologies of all sorts.
Next on, there’s new tech training to brainstorm. A successful employee app adoption starts with defining clear processes and providing appropriate training.
Engaging Frontline Workers
Many things have become clearer during and after the pandemic and one of the most alarming insights is that frontline workers are leaving jobs at an alarming rate. In fact, frontline workers are the most sought-after workforce type, with more job openings than willing candidates.
How come?
For one thing, the main reason why frontline workers are looking for better job opportunities is their poor relationship with managers. This is not surprising when we know that managers often lack experience in the field and only possess the skills taught at universities. This practice must change, and soon at that.
Further out, frontline workers often lack access to the latest apps and tools. Compare this to the situation with your remote workers and you’ll realize the magnitude of the issue.
It is, therefore, critical to set goals for keeping up to date with the latest frontline tech and coupling them with the right training methodology.
Businesses should make sure that frontline teams are getting the training, tools, and support they need in order to be able to perform their jobs properly just like other teams in a business.
Green Initiatives
Green initiatives have become omnipresent so it’s only natural that businesses that don’t want to lag behind must take them into account.
Clean tech seems to be the future, so start thinking in terms of sustainability and even education. E.g., many businesses are setting up sustainability teams aimed at educating the workforce and even marketing their courses to people outside the company. This is, in turn, boosting their reputation and online presence, so the benefits are multiple.
However, think of appropriate ways to explain complex information. Not everyone is an expert in green tech and not everyone needs necessarily know all the subtleties. As long as the concept is clear, education can go at its own pace.
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