The business landscape is always changing, and in recent years this has been more rapid than ever. The pandemic completely altered how many organisations operate, and though lockdowns have ceased, their effects have not. Organisations now find themselves operating in a completely different working environment, with all new challenges, opportunities, and pathways for evolution.
For the sake of success, it’s important for enterprise businesses to adapt and keep up with the way the working landscape has altered. Without the ability to pivot effectively, you risk being left behind or losing sight of your enterprise’s identity. In turn, this can affect your customer relationships, productivity, company culture, and overall ability to reach your strategic goals. That makes it very important to be able to adapt to change in the workplace.
Workplace changes facing enterprise businesses
To understand how to adapt, you must first understand the challenges that workplace change can bring. Here are the most common things enterprise businesses are likely to encounter.
Evolutions in remote and hybrid working
As a result of the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, businesses were forced to adapt and create working conditions that could support a remote workplace. Despite things mostly returning to normal, many employees are choosing to stay at home or participating in hybrid working models. This is not going to change anytime soon, and as this becomes the norm, more evolutions and innovations are expected to occur in this space.
Business leaders need to be able to maintain operations at a high level and offer effective support in the face of this workplace change. You may have a remote working structure in place already, but complacency or remaining stagnant means this can quickly become outdated and unsupportive of employee needs.
Staff shortages
Another major change in the workplace is an effect of the pandemic that’s been dubbed ‘the great resignation.’ In a time of uncertainty, many people reconsidered their professions and made the choice not to return to their original positions. This has resulted in many vacant roles and difficulties in finding qualified individuals to fill them.
Plus, employee priorities have shifted, and workplace expectations are more demanding. People have become more selective, and will not accept positions if the environment doesn’t work for them. Considerations like tech innovation, workplace flexibility, and team culture all have a very important part to play in decision-making, and prospective staff will likely turn down roles if they don’t offer what they need.
Digitisation of processes
We are living in a digital economy, so if your business has not digitised your processes and data, you are falling behind. This offers ways to streamline and improve day to day operations, while optimising user experiences. With so many companies already benefiting from this, a lack of digitisation is a disservice to your business and puts you at a disadvantage. Plus, innovations are expected to continue in the space, so it’s important to keep your finger on the pulse to maintain relevancy in the face of workplace change.
Increased cyber security risks
It’s not just workplaces that were altered during the pandemic. With more time at home, cyber criminals have been able to upskill while improving cyber attack methods and software. Cybercrime as a Service (CaaS) has risen as an online marketplace where hacking tools can be bought and sold on the dark web. This means that anyone can pull off complex attacks on your business. These capabilities are only going to increase and improve, so enterprises must be able to defend themselves.
Ways businesses can deal with change in the workplace using technology
Migrating to the cloud
Cloud migration is the process of migrating digital assets, applications, data bases, and other IT resources into the cloud. This facilitates the digitisation of your processes and makes important business information more easily accessible for remote and hybrid teams. The need for outdated legacy infrastructure is eliminated, performance and efficiency are improved, and your business becomes more flexible and agile. This makes it much easier to respond to changes in the workplace moving forward.
Implementing scalable networks
Your network is responsible for facilitating the connection and communication of your devices. Without it performing at its peak, your technology infrastructure cannot operate effectively. This means you need an adaptable network that can support your evolving business needs. That way, you can change your bandwidths and capacities according to the number of people using your network. This prevents impacts from latency and traffic bottlenecks in growth periods that can impact productivity and staff satisfaction. Likewise, when you have less staff, you can scale down and avoid extra expenses.
Rolling out a robust tech stack
Your technology stack can help you optimise your operations and introduce new efficiencies. For example, investments in effective collaboration and communication setups can streamline your remote working processes and allow for a more productive workflow.
Likewise, the implementation of security tools can help you protect your business assets and help avoid major recovery costs and reputational damages. With these tech tools in place, your staff is able to operate more effectively, which helps keep them satisfied in their roles. This can also be an attractive selling point in the recruitment process since employees are better supported with their responsibilities.
Investments in innovative technology
Staying on top of the latest tech not only provides a competitive edge, it can also allow you to access new opportunities. Automation is on the rise, helping to remove repeat tasks so employees can shift focus to other areas. HR processes, data analysis, and cyber security are just some of the areas automation can assist in, saving time and reducing human error. Artificial Intelligence and other innovations like Augmented and Virtual Reality can also help you transform and adapt your business, improving processes and customer experiences.
Talk to Rubicon 8
Rubicon 8 can help you implement technology that allows you to be flexible in times of workplace change, while making the most of your operations. We’ll get to know your organisation, and offer tailored tech solutions that suit the way you do business. Talk to us today to see how we can help.
