The Workplace of the future

When 2020 began no one could have expected the tidal wave of changes that would occur to people and business around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected productivity negatively and has resulted in businessmen rushing to restructure for the changing world of work.

The future for many businesses is a period of unpredictable and possibly muted economic recovery. This new era will be defined by quick changes in business norms, societal values and behaviors, with importance being placed on responsible business practices and renewed brand purpose.

 How covid-19 exposed gaps

The crisis has exposed cracks in many business plans, such as shortcomings when it comes to work-from-home protocol and access to data out of the office. Many businesses who are without e-commerce services have suffered heavily at the hand of trade restrictions during lockdown.

What has become glaringly obvious is the need to shift to a more flexible workforce for many companies in order to ensure continuity of service and product delivery to customers. South Africa and many developing countries have also faced extra pressure due to the large informal sector that supports individuals on a largely hand-to-mouth basis.

Many companies are having to reevaluate how employees deliver customer relevant services, where they work as well as how to employ the use of digital channels to support business during and after the crisis.

 The role of technology

The global pandemic has forever changed the experiences that consumers will have when interacting with businesses. As employees, customers and citizens, the outlook on the world as well as our behaviours and attitudes have changed significantly.

With many shops and companies turning to online experiences to service their customers, companies now have an opportunity to expand their digital offerings and create new lines of service, such as contactless delivery and curb-side pick-up services for customers.

 Tools that allow companies to maintain contact digitally such as Zoom, and Dropbox are enabling unique remote work situations when utilised correctly, once again proving how vital technology has become for business today. Assuming that the future of business is one with a sizeable surge in remote work, high speed stable internet is likely to become more of a necessity than ever before. This together with the use of cloud services forms the foundation of the business world of tomorrow.

Artificial Intelligence is also proving to be a valuable addition to many business models. With so many buying habits moving to a digital avenue, the immense amount of data can be hard to decipher. This is where AI is helping businesses improve sales and productivity by showing them what to prioritize.

AI solutions can help analyse external data. Robotic process automation is increasingly being combined with machine learning to automate back office tasks like issuing of refunds, credit cards and the like. This allows the human workforce to be freed up to engage in more creative, meaningful tasks instead, boosting a company’s productivity immensely. 

 Access to data

In today’s economy, data is the newest, most vital commodity to a business.

Even before COVID-19, many businesses faced I.T crises. The pandemic has forced many companies to seek new ways of doing business and delivering their goods and services.

Cloud solutions that come with features like data backup, disaster recovery and the like allow for business continuity management. Cloud based services allow for remote working capabilities to be enhanced because it ensures data and services are available at all times in all places, not just the office.

Cloud solutions also offer online retailers the opportunity to keep operations running flawlessly, especially with increased demand for certain goods and services. Cloud services are also usually better armed to deal with online security issues or crime like card fraud and data breaches.

 Business process automation

Automation of business processes has skyrocketed since the lockdown. The future looks to be one that seeks to automate many business processes, from customer relationship automation to financial processes like closing of books and payments. Doctors have also leaped onto the telemedicine wagon, which has become a norm for many primary care providers in the US and the UK.

Automating these core processes within a business makes it that much stronger in withstanding the lasting negative consequences that will come as a result of the pandemic. An augmented workforce allows for quicker adaptation and learning and is extremely customer centric.