Employees are a pivotal stakeholder to company success. So, now that we’ve settled in to our new normal, what’s the framework for making sure employees are engaged, enabled, and–most importantly– empowered? Once identified, the framework can help C-suite executives…

As businesses restart and budgets semi-settle – after a summer of continual re-do’s – some executives see a silver-lining in the pandemic. The pandemic successfully illustrated on a global scale what so many CIOs have struggled to do: tell the value proposition story of technology.

As executives look to restart companies, CEOs and CIOs have an internal – and costly – last mile problem. And there’s a simple and inexpensive solution to unlock productivity dividends and do more with less.

CEOs get a pass on 2020. Wall Street, consumers, employees… we’re all in this pandemic together. For just 2020, CEOs have escaped the need to defend and rationalize company performance. The burning question: how will you use the pandemic loophole? The two most common ways executives are looking at this year’s gift of time are for cost-cutting and realignment. For those executives who are behind in business transformation efforts, now is the time to get back on track.

CEOs are spending more than ever to make digital transformation strategies a success. In fact, companies will spend more than $2 trillion by 2023, based on a 2019 International Data Corporation report that does not factor today’s work from home environment. Yet these digital transformation efforts will likely continue to fail for a simple reason: the lack of precise language and a compelling story. Under the pressure of today’s upended economy, CEOs and CIOs have an opportunity to take immediate steps to reverse this failure and achieve rapid success.

Executives continue to adapt to an ever-changing new normal and ensuring that their operations function smoothly remains paramount – particularly in this unprecedented remote work world. The providers of the infrastructure that keeps employees productive and the designated human capital strategists, CIOs and CHROs have recently found CEOs leaning even more on their areas of expertise.

The role of Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) carries a new weight during this time of charged uncertainty: strategically managing human capital with empathy. Leading with empathy doesn’t just position CHROs to fare better in the long run – it’s essential for company survival. Pre-pandemic, leading with empathy separated top leaders from the middle-tier.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and universal remote work became the reality, CEOs had two leaders on speed dial: Chief Information Officers and Chief Human Resource Officers. Suddenly, both of these leaders find themselves in a bright spotlight.

The high cost of productivity software tools has wielded an even tighter bond between the CIO and CFO. The CIO needs to pitch successful technical concepts to get funding from CFOs – and CFOs need to understand the technical platforms. And that’s just the beginning.

Delivering A Future Proof Business

CIOs at Fortune 50 companies have spoken about digital transformation as a means to future proof business for the better part of a decade. And now, after the forcing function of COVID-19, everyone gets it as they strive to keep their teams productive while working remotely.

Building Your Crisis Playbook

Future proofing is not a new concept. As recently as a few months ago, many of the most prominent executives thought of “future proofing” in terms of legacy systems and talent. Today, in our locked-in and cash-crunched world, executives are talking about “future proofing” in terms of having a business that still works in 12 to 18 months. So, how do we future proof in today’s new normal? During a time of declining revenues for most companies, this means cutting costs everywhere that’s possible and keeping our employees productive – so we can best serve our customers.

A Page from the Fortune 50’s Playbook

As the world experiences this watershed moment caused by the effects of COVID-19, executives from companies big and small strive to connect their teams across the remote work chasm. We’re living a new normal and we see our Fortune 50 clients starting to build for resilience – a shift from the recent focus on efficiency.