Winning talent through digital transformation
The growing skills shortage for many businesses and the resultant war for talent is the phenomenon that will spur businesses to continue down the path of digital transformation.
There’s nothing like the transformative power of a compelling event to kickstart operational change, and COVID-19 certainly provided that for many businesses. But as the sense of urgency begins to fade, how do we help businesses make sure they’re leveraging the right technology in order to continue their digital transformation??
The solution lies largely in technological innovations and improved network capabilities. In many ways the hybrid model in the workplace is already a reality, and I know that at nbn we’ve found that it can work, and work well. I think the next step for businesses is going to be about how to best approach this new reality as an opportunity. And one of those opportunities is not just being able to attract customers from a much wider pool, but also potential employees.?
The skills shortage
For me, the growing tech skills shortage that most industry sectors are experiencing due to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, as detailed by this National Skills Commission report, is the phenomenon that will spur businesses along their digital transformation shifts into flexible hybrid workplaces. It’s got to the point that one in five Australian businesses report having difficulty finding suitably skilled or qualified staff, especially in the technology sector.
In response to the growing war for talent, 63 per cent of SMEs have made investments in digitally upskilling employees1, as reported in the recent nbn commissioned Telsyte Australian Digital Workplace Study, upgrading the technology in their workspaces and updating digital practices.?
These businesses are successfully winning skilled workers because they can attract digital natives and offer an innovative, collaborative and, most importantly, flexible working environment. Talent is everywhere in the hybrid world, and smart use of digital technology – backed by fast connectivity – is vital for businesses who want to build a high-performing culture.?
This is particularly important because digital natives now make up more than half of the small business workforce. Digital natives, unsurprisingly, value access to collaboration tools that encourage open communication, innovation and productivity in an agile, hybrid workspace.
Some of these changes can be surprisingly simple to implement, as well as cost-effective. The recent nbn commissioned Telsyte Australian Digital Workplace Study found that SMBs ranked video communication as having the greatest impact on day-to-day operations, ahead of cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity concerns. While some SMEs were ahead of this curve, the real surprise for me is that it’s taken this long, and a global pandemic, for some businesses to adopt and adapt to this particular technology.
Technology and workplace culture
As many businesses are discovering, technology is a great enabler but its effectiveness is indivisible from the leadership and the culture you build around it. I think the question now is how do you structure work to make people feel included without making them feel overwhelmed??
Large companies have IT and HR departments which manage this and can make those decisions on behalf of the company. For smaller businesses, the first step is getting advice to help make sure they’re leveraging the technology they already have, and that they're looking ahead and thinking strategically about the future.?
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Building human-centred systems
Digital adaptation, which often involves making new investments in hardware, software and network upgrades, is inevitably a technology-based transformation. So, it’s important to remember that you’re doing it for the people who will use it: your business’s customers and your employees. There's no need to over-complicate every aspect. Take a human-centred approach and create systems that encompass connected working and social interaction, the digital version of those water-cooler moments that so often spark accidental innovations.?
I believe it’s important to create an environment in which everyone can thrive. For example, if you’re putting a new remote communications structure in place, you can work towards maximising its potential if you make it possible for introverted thinkers to have the digital quiet time they need, and for extroverted thinkers to have digital spaces to engage and bounce ideas around.?
Keeping your team’s needs at the centre of strategy can help create positive cultural change. Image credit iStock Prostock-Studio.
Sometimes the most effective changes can be the simplest. One thing I implement with my teams is replacing hour-long meetings with 50 minute sessions to give staff time to gather themselves and help prevent screen fatigue. This is an example of the kind of thinking that leaders can model and explicitly encourage.
Security and safety
Interestingly, the nbn Australian COVID-19 Behavioural Change Survey2 which studied how businesses were pivoting to adapt to a post-COVID-19 world, also reported that 81 per cent of people working from home with access fast to connectivity felt more secure in their jobs, despite all the enforced change. To me, that's an interesting word – secure.?
With the shift to remote and then hybrid working, it makes sense to me that effective and fast technology could come to represent organisational stability for many. I believe that implementing this kind of technology for your business in the right way can play a big part in both creating a sense of security and in helping people feel like they're adding value in the workplace.?
Of course there’s the operational security aspect to consider as well, especially when it comes to setting up systems that process transactions or hold customer data. While that’s a separate issue in some ways, it’s also affected by the systems you’re putting in place to enable hybrid working. If you implement an overly complex process in your business, it has the potential to result in inadvertent mistakes, as can staff suffering from fatigue, burnout or isolation. Considering the human aspect of technological transformation is relevant to all aspects of your business.?
Seeking out opportunities
The hybrid work model is already part of our new reality, and one way that businesses can make the most of this is to take a positive, future-focused, technology-based approach.?
So, from my perspective, now is the time for small and medium enterprises to work out how they can leverage the shift to hybrid working to create further opportunity. In particular, the opportunity to combine culture, talent and technology in a way that is appealing to employees and customers, and contributes to the success of the business overall.?
When these workplace changes began, we very much had COVID-19 on our minds and many businesses were wondering how they would continue to operate at all. The speed and effectiveness of what has been achieved is remarkable. In many spaces, the transformation has been implemented so well that the conversation naturally evolved to the issue of whether we really needed to return to the old way of working.?
In my experience, with the right technology, you can operate well and you can do it from almost anywhere, even from the most remote locations.?
1 data from the nbn commissioned Telsyte Digital Workplace Study 2021?
2 data from an nbn report Adaptation in action: changing for a post-COVID world