Off the heels of a rather tumultuous year, it is no surprise that 2021 carries a newfound sense of hope and optimism for businesses leaders and team members across the country. As the economy gradually recovers and individuals eagerly await widespread COVID-19 vaccinations, many organizations are anticipating some sort of return to work normalcy.
Yet even with hope on the horizon, some strategies from the past year may continue to transfer over into this new year. Not only that but how teams were treated during the crisis will be remembered long after it is eventually over. As a result, teams will need to continue to innovate and embrace transformation as an ongoing process. Here are three predictions on what teams can expect for 2021.
Automated Workflows Will Support Transitional Changes
At the onset of the pandemic, teams had no choice but to expect the unexpected as the virus rapidly progressed. New information emerged on a daily basis and businesses had to quickly adapt by shifting to remote work processes and tailoring frontline workforce safety protocols. Since then, both science and technology have evolved and there is more clarity as to how things need to proceed in the future.
However, the pandemic is far from over and things will inevitably continue to shift. Subsequently, teams will need to stay abreast of rapidly changing circumstances and prioritize steady workflows. In doing so, automation has proven to become a widespread tool that allows teams to tackle evolving workplace challenges.
Process automation capabilities help organizations improve operational efficiency by eliminating repetitive or manual tasks with predictable and consistent outcomes. Given that internal business operations may fluctuate and team members may undergo personal implications resulting from the pandemic, automation allows teams to handle the transitional nature of this year without experiencing major setbacks.
As automation continues to advance to the forefront of many workplace strategies, technological developments are supporting the trend towards an additional concept, known as hyper-automation. Hyperautomation is the idea that anything that can be automated in an organization should be automated, according to Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021. In the upcoming years, Gartner predicts that organizations will be able to run 25% more of workplace tasks autonomously and lower operational costs by 30 per cent through hyper-automation technologies and redesigned operational processes.
Results-Oriented Collaboration
While many businesses are planning for an imminent return to the office in 2021, some teams are alternatively embracing a long-term remote work lifestyle. For example, companies like Twitter, Zillow and Square have updated their policies to grant current and prospective employees the option to work from home permanently. Whether employees choose to work from home or not, the potentiality of dispersed teams means that businesses need to provide them with proper tools for collaboration.
Investments in information technologies and digital collaboration tools will remain a high priority for team transformation in the new year, as a survey from Enterprise Technology Research (ETR) indicates that CIOs expect to see a rise in technology budgets by 2.1%, compared with a 4.1% decline in 2020. With these increased budgets comes an increased responsibility for business leaders to provide their teams with tools that not only offer seamless collaboration but also are results-oriented.
When tools are reflective of individual and larger team results, businesses can identify where adjustments need to be made, which employees may need additional support and what processes are proving to be successful or not. These types of analyses are instrumental to growth strategies and can pinpoint areas of concern before they become unsalvageable. Ultimately, collaboration tools that can unite teams towards a common goal while ensuring accountability and transparency can improve results faster.
An example of this may be through a mobile-first employee app. Employee apps streamline communications between teams and help generate stronger productivity results. Through this type of platform, teams can receive top-down broadcasts, bottom-up communication, peer-to-peer chats or group messages to flatten workplace hierarchies and drive relevant conversations with meaningful feedback. Soliciting this feedback offers a glimpse into productivity insights and ensures that all employees are aligned towards common goals.
Bridging the Gap
In the past year alone, more attention was placed on the notion of frontline workers than ever before. Frontline workers make up about 80% of the global workforce today and can also be considered as deskless workers, given that they do not work out of a traditional office setup with desks or desktop computers. Yet even prior to the pandemic, deskless workers at hospitals, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, warehouses and manufacturing facilities were rarely factored into digital strategies.
As a result, the vital aspect of communication is disrupted between desk-based and deskless workers within an organization. This creates an uneven playing field for teams simply because deskless workers do not have the proper tools or technologies to stay in the loop with their desk-based counterparts. For example, deskless employees are not exposed to traditional office communication channels like bulletin boards, emails and intranets. This falls directly on business leaders, as research indicates that despite their interest in increasing how much they spend on deskless technologies, only 1% of total enterprise software funding actually goes towards serving the deskless workforce.
Bridging the gap between desk-based and deskless workers will also be pivotal in strengthening employee engagement, which can have a major fiscal impact on businesses. Employee engagement creates a more unified work culture, leading to less attrition and higher positive outcomes at all levels. A study by Gallup found that highly engaged businesses had a 41% reduction in absenteeism and a 17 per cent increase in productivity, resulting in 21 per cent greater profitability. Therefore, ignoring the deskless workforce is not only archaic but also self-destructive.
Teams Will Always Evolve
There is no telling what the future might hold, but regardless of what may or may not happen, teams are always going to evolve. Businesses are not built to be stagnant and will experience many internal and external changes throughout time. However, by embracing new technologies and innovating strategies to better support team members, businesses will build stronger organizations for success.
Guest blog by Praveen Kanyadi, Co-founder and VP Products at Groupe.io
