6 Trends To Avoid Being a Company Misfit In The Hyper-Connected Workplace

If you take a good look around – we are surrounded by smartphones, smartwatches and intelligent data-driven technology aimed at optimising our lives.

But this is just the beginning.

The real change lies in how people react to workplace relationships, new communication tools, workplace hierarchies and leadership approaches to ensure greater connectivity in a network of teams.

Deloitte had recently released its Human Capital Trends 2018 report based on a survey of more than 11,000 human resources and business leaders around the world.

The report shows how the world of work is changing to be more personalised, hyper-connected and how society expectations of businesses are changing. Yes, we mean no single mode of communication will be dominant; instead the work environment will be changed to adopt many different ways of communicating.

Here are 6 takeaways how companies can adapt to these changes and avoid being misfits in the hyper-connected workplace:

#1 The Start of the Hyper-Connected Workplace

Face-to-face meetings and phone meetings are on the decline, while work collaboration platforms are on the upswing.

According to Deloitte, 44% of respondents say they expect face-to-face meetings and phone calls (30%) will decrease in the near future. To replace them, 70% predict an increase in online collaboration platforms and 62% predict an increase in instant-messaging.

Take Starbucks, for example, just a few months after adopting Workplace by Facebook, 80% of Starbucks’ store managers were actively using the tool to share knowledge, best practices, and support one another.

#2 The Symphonic C-Suite

What is a “Symphonic C-Suite”? Do we mean starting an orchestra at the workplace?

Jokes aside, the essence of a Symphonic C-Suite means an organisation’s top executives play together as a team while also leading their own functional teams, all in harmony.

The world has changed. From the very beginning of times, the CEO always stood alone in making the most important decisions and delegating responsibilities. But now there are responsibilities and problems of the ‘tricky’ type which cannot be solved by one party alone.

The movement toward the symphonic C-suite is proving to be one of the most powerful and urgent trends for organisations worldwide. It requires senior leaders to break out of their silos and work with each other.

#3 From Careers To Experiences

The concept of a career is changing and in the 21^st-century age, the individual and his or her experiences will take center stage.

Think about it: instead of a steady progression along a job-based pathway, leading organisations are shifting toward a model that empowers individuals to acquire valuable experiences, explore new roles, and continually reinvent themselves.

Deloitte survey indicates that 59% of respondents rate their organisations as not effective or only somewhat effective at empowering people to manage their own careers.

#4 Well-Being: A Strategy and A Responsibility

More than just slides, sleep pods and gym memberships, employers are investing in well-being programs as both a societal responsibility and a talent strategy.

As the line between work and life blurs further, employees are demanding that organisations expand their benefits offerings to include a wide range of programs for physical, mental, financial, and spiritual health.

More than 50  of survey respondents view a variety of such programs as “valuable” or “highly valuable” to employees, but big gaps remain between what employees value and what companies are delivering.

#5 Citizenship and Social Impact: Society Holds The Mirror

Doing good goes a long way in keeping staff engaged and valued at the workplace. It’s always better when there is a greater sense of camaraderie and unity among the team as we work towards a shared mission and common goal.

The Edge Partnership team has a great motto of “together we can make a difference” and we strive to ensure our people contribute in unique ways to different communities.

Some of the examples include, helping out in Soup Kitchens, participating in White Collar boxing, marathons and similar activities to raise money for charity.

Even our referral programme is tailored to ultimately encourage referees to help them contribute to a charity of their choice. We have always supported through in-kind services and donations, as well as our personal time, skills and energy.

Deloitte states that “Engagement with external stakeholders on topics on social issues can lift financial performance and brand value, while failure to engage can destroy reputation and alienate key audiences.”

#6 AI, Robotics and Automation: Putting Humans in the Loop

Most of us have had a conversation with Siri or Alexa.

But how do we prepare to put the value of human in the AI world? Deloitte says 72% of companies see AI, robotics, and automation as important but only 31% feel ready to navigate these changes.

Leading organisations recognise that to gain maximum value from new technologies they need to find ways for humans to work alongside robots – reconstructing work, retraining people and rearranging the organisation.

The opportunity lies not in replacing jobs or automating routine work, but fundamentally looking at ‘how work works’ to benefit employers, teams and individuals.

Have a story of a company fitting in with these trends? Share it in the comments. Or just pay it forward and share this post on social to help other companies adapt to these workplace trends.