Future proofing…
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.
The Sobering Reality
While remote work isn’t easy, executives are finding a silver lining: cost savings – especially in areas like real estate and office expenses. Density is the friend of our COVID-19 enemy; executives are looking at what this means for returning to work. The subject of much debate today, the C-suite needs to build the plan for when and how employees will return to work. Will U.S. companies follow the lead of many businesses in China, creating A/B teams so that only half of employees work from the office on a given day? Will workforces continue to work remotely for the foreseeable future?
However you slice it, the pre-vaccine question for most is not whether all employees will return to work. Between density concerns and crisis-induced layoffs, executives are reviewing how to keep the limited staff that returns to the office – when the time is right – at least six-feet apart, without the pre-COVID luxuries of watercoolers, communal coffee makers, and pantries. Massive elevator banks, door handles, “bull-pen” or WeWork-style open floor plans all present challenges.
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.
In fact, keeping employees at home might be the best option for the C-suite to encourage a healthy workforce – while potentially cutting some of their most expensive costs.
The place executives can’t afford to cut costs? The communications and marketing efforts that keep employees productive – particularly when it comes to technical projects.
The Heart of Future Proofing: Employees
With any shift – especially a shift as dramatic and massive as our pandemic-induced crisis – executives need to consider their workforce. Specifically: how can they maintain the level of employee productivity required to survive and maybe even thrive? In the age of digital transformation, this question is solved at the intersection of HR, technology and employee communications. (We’re hearing some of our clients tackle this employee productivity challenge via departments called “Customer – or Workplace – Experience” or even “Employee Engagement.”)
In addition to having access to the tools to get their jobs done, productive employees need to feel supported and have transparent, effective and quick communication. Among top questions facing CIOs and CTOs: how to support an employee base that has such a wide range of technical skill?
Two elements contribute to this puzzle:
1. Technology in use to bridge the remote work gap;
2. Employee knowledge of these technologies.
Over the last several years, CIOs/CTOs have leaned into digital transformation, picking their enterprise software ponies for collaboration, which might include a combination of Office 365, ServiceNow, Slack, Webex, Zoom, and/or the myriad of other powerful solutions. Yet, having the technical infrastructure in place will only get teams so far.
Many employee bases still need to become facile with the selected technologies. It’s undeniable: there’s a digital skill gap. Sure, in the office, in-person trainings and hallway conversations can support many questions. Now, with their scattered employee audience, CIOs/CTOs need to lean on HR and Communications teams to deliver strategic solutions that deliver quick and precise support to keep employee productivity high.
It’s the struggle of digital native versus digital immigrant.
And this is where Ellebridge excels. Luckily, working from home is not a new concept and many C-suite executives have already tapped Ellebridge for our deep expertise focused on the HR-technology-communication triangle. We specialize in aligning senior leaders and stakeholders to build strategic internal marketing efforts that educate employees and effectively drive change management across technology, HR, and marketing/communications teams. We transform technical, disparate concepts into unified and cohesive brands that benefit employees — and grow profits for companies.
Contact Ellebridge to learn how we can help you maximize your employee productivity.