Emerging next steps
So, what are we learning as we push our way through this experience? Along with key thought pieces like those from Matt Mullenweg, here are some emerging IT services topics any organization capable of distributed work should be considering:
- Leveraging the advantages: There are advantages to working from home, and certain people can be even more effective when doing so. These people benefit from having control over their creature comforts – from controlling their own room temperature, to designing their own desk space, to working varied hours, and having 24/7 access to their dog or cat. This makes them more effective when working from home, not less so. Now is the time to consider which roles and individuals are best suited for a distributed approach to work. Consider conducting a test of sorts to understand how to best apply this to your organization.
- Internal systems & applications: If you are at Level 1 in our previous blog (link to part two blog), you need to consider the basic elements required to move to Level 2. If you’re at a Level 2, it’s time to formalize the steps required to move to Level 3. This may mean more fully embracing platforms like MS Teams or G Suite. It may also mean moving more applications to cloud-based services, including Private Cloud and SaaS. This reduces your on-premises footprint and eliminates your need for costly VPN platforms. It likely also means you can start using apps on smartphones and tablets, allowing your workforce to use a variety of devices to get work done.
- Reduced office space: It’s simple – a distributed workforce means your need for office space is greatly reduced. It’s very likely time to reconsider your office costs and calculate the potential savings.
- Altering your culture: Consider ensuring your organization nurtures the concept and basic principles of meritocracy, where employees are measured – as close to 100% as possible – by the quality of the product they create. In turn, ensure employees are not indexed by their time spent in the office, ‘slugging it out’, working standard 9-5 hours. Additionally – find ways to reduce meeting times and discover ways to work One-on-one meetings between managers and staff can still occur, but projects and tasks can be prioritized via modern tools like Trello and MS Planner, moving away from top-down micromanagement.
The takeaway:
The pandemic has forced many companies to adopt technology at light speed without a full managed IT services plan. More and more organizations are starting to recognize that now is the time to think longer term and plan not just for today but for the changes that are coming our daily lives. By doing this your organization will be positioned to recover quickest after a pandemic recession. Acting now is key.
The faster your management comes together to collaborate on an IT services technology plan and implement change for your workforce, the bigger the advantage your organization will have to lead the market with a productive and competitive recovery.
