We’re in the Post-COVID World: Has Your Workforce Been Digitized?

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Digital Transformation Strategy (145-slide PowerPoint presentation). Digital Transformation is being embraced by organizations across most industries, as the role of technology shifts from being a business enabler to a business driver. This has only been accelerated by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Thus, to remain competitive and outcompete in today's fast paced, [read more]

Also, if you are interested in becoming an expert on Digital Transformation, take a look at Flevy's Digital Transformation Frameworks offering here. This is a curated collection of best practice frameworks based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. By learning and applying these concepts, you can you stay ahead of the curve. Full details here.

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We can call it the Digital Age, the Age of Automation, or the Post-COVID World, it doesn’t matter. All trends point to the same outcome — Workforce Digitization. Workforce Digitization and the powerful economics of automation require us to critically rethink of organizational structures, influence, and control.

The benefits of automation are clear, but what is the impact to the workforce and workplace environment? The reality is Workforce Digitization threatens to destabilize crucial aspects of how employees work. Therefore, it is important that the process and conceptualization of Workforce Digitization (as well as any other Digital Transformation initiatives) be handled with thoughtful consideration.

If done correctly, our organization will end up more agile, healthy, and higher performing. If done rashly, our organization may collapse into internal dysfunction, as people figure what their jobs are, who is doing what, where, and why.

To do this correctly, we should leverage Digital Workforce Platforms. A Digital Workforce Platform is software technology that helps management allocate collections of employees’ skills against a broad scope of available projects and processes.

The use of Workforce Platforms can provide companies greater chance to succeed in making markets for talented workers inside their organizations. Workforce Platforms can also help CEOs transcend their own functional business unit backgrounds and prepare their organizations from the destabilization impact of automation.

There are 4 key benefits to Workforce Platforms (depicted in the slide below):

1. Collaboration

The foremost benefit of Digital Workforce Platforms is in collaboration. Workforce Platforms match individuals, teams, and projects with the most application and benefits.

They maximize the visibility and mobility of the best people within the organization. Valuable matchmakers that can sort information on employees’ skills, performance in previous assignments, working styles, personality traits, availability, and locations. The digital solution in effect streamlines the way employees find colleagues with specific expertise.

2. Retention

Workforce Platforms can bring science to Talent Management through a scientific process of Employee Retention. The system also helps employees grow and develop, as their careers progress.

3. Succession Planning

Workforce Platforms can be effective in increasing Employee Engagement in their work through Succession Planning. This is critical to Business Continuity, as it can ensure strategic capabilities, institutional knowledge, and leadership skills are retained within the organization.

4. Decision Making

Lastly, Digital Workforce Platforms create the conditions where employees feel valued by their organization and happy in their environment. The platform supports the ongoing and self-directed virtual learning crucial to professional development and growth–especially in a virtual work environment, which may become more prevalent in the post-COVID-19 world.

Interested in learning more about Workforce Digitization and Digital Workforce Platforms? Take a look at our framework on Workforce Digitization.

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Want to Achieve Excellence in Digital Transformation?

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Digital Transformation is being embraced by organizations of all sizes across most industries. In the Digital Age today, technology creates new opportunities and fundamentally transforms businesses in all aspects—operations, business models, strategies. It not only enables the business, but also drives its growth and can be a source of Competitive Advantage.

For many industries, COVID-19 has accelerated the timeline for Digital Transformation Programs by multiple years. Digital Transformation has become a necessity. Now, to survive in the Low Touch Economy—characterized by social distancing and a minimization of in-person activities—organizations must go digital. This includes offering digital solutions for both employees (e.g. Remote Work, Virtual Teams, Enterprise Cloud, etc.) and customers (e.g. E-commerce, Social Media, Mobile Apps, etc.).

Learn about our Digital Transformation Best Practice Frameworks here.