Utilising the future of work to gain resilience for your organisation and for your people in just a short amount of time is the challenge we are facing as leaders. We are seeing a shift to home offices becoming the norm in the wake of the current pandemic. There is also an increase in the use of technology, automation and AI that are creating new and exciting opportunities for business.

The likelihood that tech will solve all our issues is naive especially when we remove the human instinct between the user and the technology in the ordinary, everyday running of the business. A lot of good pioneers, leaders on the edge of innovation, when given the raw data of the production in their business and targets that are not being met, can intuit that there is an issue between the “how’ their service or product is being delivered over “what’ their administration or item is being delivered.

Inefficient communications between teams and team members and the ‘silo’ mentality where specialists of one aspect of your business struggle to communicate and share vital information with other team members can bring production to a standstill. The importance of this is to not only have great communication technology but great communication skills in your leadership team.

Leaders are a beacon of light for their followers, illuminating the path and making it easier for their team to follow. Analysing honest feedback from your team when incorporating new technology in the workplace and how it changes the everyday running of the business are critical for a business to grow. Leaders who listen and approach the problem from a human-centred design point of view are more likely to retain their staff. Innovative approaches to problem-solving first begin with people and finishes with creative approaches tailor-made to fit the issue faced by people.

Change for change’s sake can create new and costly issues, for instance, a well-known mining company superseded all their truck drivers with self-driving trucks just to find that the AI did not consider potholes to be an issue to a truck its size. Human drivers were careful to avoid the potholes understanding that the wear and tear on the vehicles would cause hurt. The cost of this oversight far surpassed the replacement of human drivers and is an authentic instance of looking at the “what” versus the “how” we get to a finished service or product in business.

Understanding the culture of your workplace when implementing changes, especially regarding technology, helps avoid the problem of people left behind. Knowing the benefits and not just understanding how the technology works are keys for your team to unlock and embrace new ideas and change in the business. Upskilling your staff in the use of technology and promoting from within in this will not only empower your team members but also create a culture where future candidates will find a desirable place to work.

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