Introduction
Just a few months ago, an invisible enemy creeped into the world, forced itself through the borders and brought the world to its knees. Never have we foreseen such a crisis that would cripple the economy and change the way in which we live and do business, forever. The damage caused by the Covid-19 lockdown is innumerable and productivity has taken a huge knock, as a result recovery is a long way from being achieved.
This crisis has been a learning phase for everyone and if there is one lesson that we have taken from this new normal, is that creativity and innovation are ringing loud in the silence of lockdown. Leaders who quickly adapted and developed innovative ways to circumvent the lockdown and assist employees with tools and technology to work remotely continue to be productive.
Below are some lessons that should be considered during this lockdown period:
1. Access to technology and more specifically the internet, is quickly becoming a basic human right.
Technology has played a major role in ensuring business interactions move online through this Covid-19 pandemic. While it has enabled many businesses to stay afloat in an online world during the pandemic, it has also raised many important considerations. Businesses have to build up the capacity to operate effectively in the digital space and to equip their teams to be able to work remotely. There is however a big digital inequality divide that has been highlighted during this time; with many employees not having access to Wi-fi as they live in areas where infrastructure is unavailable. It is imperative that businesses contribute to bridging this inequality gap by contributing to ensuring that all people in our nation have access to technology that will allow them to participate in the economy.
2. Conscious leadership contributes to effective remote work environments.
Now more than ever, it is important for leaders to become more deliberate in how they lead and manage their teams. Leaders should be connected with their team, understand them, their work habits and to develop new ways of doing things that enable them to work more effectively together both during and post Covid-19. Creating an experience that enables people to excel at what they do requires more than just adaptive technology; it requires engagement, communication, and continuous consciousness.
3. The balance between productivity and personal life may be a possibility
The lockdown period has also reminded us that we are all much more than the work we do and the titles we hold. Our lives have been integrated in meaningful ways because of many working from home. Allowing us to hold very important presentations virtually followed by assisting our children with homework, having conversations with our loved ones or fitting in an exercise session in between. This has allowed us to dream of a new possibility where we can carve out time to experience other aspects of our lives that are just as important as building successful organizations.
Conclusion
And it will be the organisations that are learning from this opportunity – gathering data, better understanding their technology and really rethinking their operations – that will truly come out of this with a business fit for the digital world.
