The way we work has drastically changed with the advent of technology, and because of this, employers must change with the times in order to succeed.
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According to Workfront’s 2020 State of Work report, there are four attributes you must adopt if you want your company to be successful. Workfront—a software company specializing in work and project management Web-based platforms—uncovered these four traits while conducting research that examines how business practices are helping and hindering both employee and organizational success.
The 2020 State of Work report features survey data from 3,750 knowledge workers. The survey was conducted during July 2019 across the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany. The findings reflect a workforce that is ready to move forward and eager to engage in high-impact, strategic efforts but is simultaneously struggling and frustrated in its efforts to get work done.
To be successful, you must make sure you are setting your employees up for success, as well. In order to do this, your organization must adopt the following four attributes every successful company has.
1. Have Resilient Leadership for Continuous Connections
Workfront defines a resilient leader as someone who has the ability to sustain his or her leadership position in an industry over a long period of time. Resilient leaders have the ability to actively and concisely communicate the company’s strategy throughout the entire organization, which allows employees to clearly understand their roles and what they should be doing in those roles.
“Most importantly, each person understands their own context: the role they play in company achievement,” says the report. “Maintaining that continuous connection is a component both of leadership responsibility and company culture.”
The best part about a resilient leader is that he or she is a perfect role model for your workforce to look up to, and when leaders hold themselves accountable, that accountability trickles down. “Not only are employees engaged, they feel a great responsibility to do their jobs well,” says Workfront. “The bottom line is that the vast majority of workers are doing more than punching the clock.”
2. Actively Manage Workloads without Destroying the Culture
Successful companies have a knack for managing their employees’ workloads without destroying the culture. According to Workfront, “These companies have the ability to put relentless pressure on work performance while simultaneously creating a culture that is positive, open, and honest.”
This seems almost impossible, but Workfront says it can be achieved by utilizing data “to align and make decisions regarding both status and performance of teams and projects.” Successful companies are also making their decisions based on real-time data rather than assumptions.
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But surprisingly, most respondents in the survey admit that their companies aren’t using data the way they should be. “Fewer than half (46%) believe business decisions are made based on data and 25% of respondents told us they aren’t sure how company decisions are made at all,” finds the report.
3. Use Technology for Increased Productivity/Retention
It’s no secret that successful companies have adopted technology as a means of attracting and retaining talent. If you need proof, just look at tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple. While these corporations may have been “technology-based” from the start, they’ve uncovered the secret to keeping workers retained, and you’ve probably lost a few good workers to these companies because of it.
Successful companies “put in place a digital backbone that ties together individual tools into an orchestrated whole.” These tools can be used to support work processes and capture information that supports leadership’s decisions. While technology can be used to increase productivity, Workfront’s survey finds that it can also hinder productivity.
“Based on our 3,750 worldwide survey participants, workers are interrupted an average of 13.9 times per day,” finds the report, and the root cause is the technology we’ve put in place to make workers’ lives easier. E-mail, messaging apps, and social media are various types of technology your company may use to help its workers collaborate and communicate, but these tools are also causing workers to become distracted.
Before you reconsider your tech offerings from a productivity standpoint, consider these stats from the report: “88% of workers in our survey told us technology is an important part of the employee experience. And 91% say they crave modern technology solutions.” While a dip in productivity may occur due to technology, the talent retention aspect is worth it in the long run!
4. Focus on Agility
According to Workfront, “Rather than simply make existing work easier or more fluid, [successful companies] actually take on a more dynamic approach, working across departmental seams, changing more often, empowering new leaders, and redeploying themselves at the individual, team, or even organizational level to drive new market opportunities.”
As technology has drastically changed the workplace, so has the need for businesses to remain agile. Keith Johnstone, Head of Marketing at Peak Sales Recruiting, recently shared some strategies for remaining agile, which include:
- Form cross-departmental teams that function like a start-up company. Small, talented teams that work outside of traditional hierarchical management systems can solve mission-critical issues faster. HR departments must work closely with C-suite executives on empowering middle and frontline leaders to build nimble, cross-functional teams.
- Transform internally at scale. Basically, this means that you should be increasing/decreasing your investments when aligning HR practices with business objectives. You must also embrace the constant state of change in order to determine where changes need to occur.
- Hire “change agents” with versatile skills. While it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel every time, HR departments must evolve their competency models to hire people possessing “change agent” traits and experiences. If HR departments do not bring in fresh people and ideas, the company will fail to change.
As the workplace continues to change, your organization must change with it or be left in the dust by its competition. To learn more about the Workfront 2020 State of Work report, click here.