The COVID crisis has been a struggle for many businesses and individuals over the last few months. With lockdown restrictions changing the way businesses need to operate, many have been faced with real challenges. The pandemic has forced businesses to be adaptable and flexible in their approach to working life.
While this hasn’t been easy for a lot of companies, it has led to a new era where businesses are having to be more transformative and innovative than ever. Amongst all the doom and gloom of COVID-19, businesses have been working hard to transform for the better, setting themselves up for a more innovative and adaptable future.
Embracing New Technologies, Policies And Ideas
Coronavirus has been impacting our lives for many months. Consequently, it has become more apparent how this disruption is both an opportunity and a threat. Businesses are being thrown in at the deep end when it comes to adapting to this new way of life.
For some, it is driving transformation and innovation. Many industries are expecting to recover from the pandemic rapidly, whereas others might have slower progress, but either way, recovery is on the way for many sectors. For businesses to make this recovery a reality, there is a need to embrace new technologies, policies and ideas.
Now is the perfect time for companies that have been stuck in a rut to try new things and discover new ways of operating.
Remote And Virtual
Virtual working and remote communications have been one of the leading technologies that businesses have had to embrace. Adapting to working in this way has resulted in boosted productivity, a happier workforce and more time to focus on the task at hand.
Eliminating commute times, giving staff the freedom to work where and when suits their lifestyle, and reducing office overheads are just a few of the benefits that remote working has introduced to businesses. Not only that, but it has forced staff to embrace these technologies and get to grips with new innovations.
Reinventing Businesses And Renewing Growth
Organisations have been focusing on survival and stabilisation during the COVID pandemic, but there needs to be a shift to focusing on competitiveness and renewed growth. It is the perfect opportunity to leave behind any limitations from the past and think about new, more innovative ways of operating.
Businesses have the time and awareness now to focus on how they can move forward and close the gap between them and competitors. Here are a few of the transformations that businesses are making to help themselves thrive after the COVID crisis;
Digital Customers
Customers and consumers have shifted to a more digital lifestyle because of Coronavirus. Everyone is spending more time online than ever before, and businesses should reflect and embrace that. Investing and focusing on the digital experience of a business is vital for increasing customer engagement.
Many companies are choosing to adopt digital services such as AI, to boost their digital experience and meet customers transforming expectations.
Transformative Technology
There has been an explosion of new digital technologies that have been designed to help businesses navigate their way through the pandemic. This unprecedented time has resulted in many organisations realising they were not well placed to make rapid digital changes. Outdated and cumbersome technology at the heart of a business makes embracing new innovations very difficult.
Because of this, more organisations are choosing to make the move to the cloud. Once using cloud-based services, businesses are better placed to rapidly deploy new innovations. Not only does this help a business operate to the best of its ability, but it improves customer experience and competitiveness in the industry.
Resilient Processes And Operations
With most of the world coming to a halt during the COVID crisis, it is the perfect opportunity for businesses to modernise their operations. Outdated processes can be reviewed and renewed, and the pandemic has given businesses the time to truly focus on how they can improve.
Organisations have been applying new technologies to improve the resilience of their core functions and also diversifying their suppliers.
New Partnerships
Embracing platform partnerships and contractual partnerships are a great alternative to acquisitions and mergers. Working alongside other partners is an opportunity to grow and adapt, with access to new talent, capabilities, customers and ideas. Organisations can use new partnerships to penetrate new industries and improve their competitive edge.
Innovating The Workforce
The majority of businesses have had strong social contact with their entire workforce for many years. The Coronavirus pandemic has put a stop to this and forced companies to embrace flexible working habits. This is an excellent opportunity to readjust workers and build on the purpose of the organisation.
Technologies are being used to help with remote working arrangements, skill-building and people management systems. This forced adoption of new technology for an entire workforce is an excellent opportunity for businesses to boost productivity, grow innovations and adopt new ideas. New technologies will help businesses to develop a smarter workforce.
A remote working environment can also give businesses a far larger talent pool to choose from. Eliminating geographic restrictions means businesses can hire staff from all over, making it much easier to find the right person for the job. Driving innovation is as much about the people within the business as it is the leadership and technologies used.
Talent Innovation
Following the COVID crisis, there is a real need for businesses to attract and retain their top talent in order to drive innovation. Keeping staff satisfied and content in their roles is more important than ever, as many have increased opportunities are opening up for them as more businesses embrace technologies for virtual workplaces.
While the COVID crisis has been imperative for driving innovation and transforming business in many ways, it is always the staff that are the real force behind these changes. A business is only ever as good as the workforce behind it and attracting and retaining top talent is more important than ever.
