Oh what a night, when the TLA Women in Tech community came together in force on Tuesday, 16th March; as ever looking for inspiration, information and ways in which they could support one another.
A key focus of the meeting was to explore the challenges and advantages that Digital Hyper Acceleration will bring – and how as a country and through our organisations and businesses we can maximise the value of these new ways of working. As part of our agenda and because we love to hear your opinion on things, we also took a straw poll on 4 key questions; the results of which informed our discussions:
- Has the use of digital tools impacted behaviour in your organisation positively or negatively?
- Post pandemic would you prefer to work remotely, in the office or hybrid?
- Has your income been impacted during Covid 19?
- Has digital transformation impacted your career path over the last year in a negative or a positive way?
Welcoming Rachel Neaman
To really focus and inform our conversation we were joined by Rachel Neaman; who shared her thoughts and experiences on the potential impact of digital transformation.
She is an outstanding and influential technology leader and strategic advisor to organisations & business leaders. She is also a mentor and leadership coach; with extensive senior leadership experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in the UK and internationally.
So what are the challenges of digital transformation?
First and foremost, we know there are now so many existing and new digital forms of delivery and engagement; for communication, collaboration, operations, service support etc. The biggest challenge for businesses, is to get up to speed with the latest digital tools and be able to assess where they can be deployed effectively in an organisation. It’s imperative therefore, that Execs and Boards take a strategic view of digital enablement and be prepared to invest appropriately – because just giving people a laptop and one day training course just won’t cut the mustard anymore. Fundamental changes are coming in how we do business and we must accept that we can’t continue to rely on Office 365, Google Docs, Yammer and Zoom forever. The good news is our poll indicates that we have a positive view of how digital tools impact our working environment.
Q: Has the use of digital tools impacted behaviour in your organisation positively or negatively?
Mostly positive: 74%
Slightly positive: 23%
Neutral or not at all? : 0%
Mostly negative: 2%
Due to Covid, and in a very short period of time, the way we work has changed dramatically. Some organisations have responded rapidly and effectively, and their employees have embraced new digital ways of working – barely missing a heartbeat in terms of delivery and standards. Others have struggled to get up to speed whilst some have not done well at all. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get things right because one size definitely doesn’t fit all. There are individual preferences for types of software for a start; these could be between employees or between businesses, and in the beginning it was hard to find synergy. Some people have enjoyed remote working whilst others have felt cut off and isolated; men in particular seemed to find it harder as time went by. There have also been problems with people’s ability to manage new digital communications (especially without the support of the IT crowd), and often the quality of home equipment, size of broadband,/signal, available workspace etc can leave a lot to be desired. One of the biggest challenges has been sharing home space with spouses, partners, children doing schoolwork etc – all of whom want their share of the available broadband and the laptop or PC.
The continuing need for face-to face-communications
Despite the benefits that remote working has shown us, the fact is we know there’s still great value in bringing teams together – the energy that face-to-face communications can generate, the creative chemistry, inspiration and fun that ensues. The power of more hands-on recognition, as well as informal communications – a smile, a nod, a chat by the coffee machine, a shared joke – are all things that bond people together, build confidence and can help create joint ownership and purpose that helps to drive an organisation forward.
Optimum ways of working!
Q: Post pandemic would you prefer to work remotely, in the office or hybrid?
Remote: 33%
Office: 2%
Hybrid: 77%
Results would indicate that our group has enjoy the benefits of hybrid ways of working. The pandemic has taught us to appreciate a balance between work and our ordinary lives; reducing the stress, time and expense of travelling, giving us more flexibility to cope with the day to day challenges that life throws at us. It has been proven many times that working at home can be meaningful and productive, however, it must also be acknowledged spending time with your bosses and colleagues is empowering personally and as a team. Generally younger people like the social aspects of work more and enjoy going to the office, whereas people who are more settled, often older, in family mode and with other responsibilities and interests, prefer the idea of Hybrid style of working; 2-3 days office + 2-3 days working at home.
Business UK must embrace digital transformation!
The fact is companies will need to be more experimental with how they work, lead and manage their teams, but it’s difficult to think outside the box when you’re not exactly sure how big the box is, what it’s made of and how long you’re going to be in it for. It’s important that the Boards and Execs focus on the human elements of delivery, not just operational processes and there are amazing tools out there to support this evolution. Companies must commit to helping employees make the most of digital tools by leading the way with a well-crafted strategy and appropriate investment and on-going mentoring and training. Unfortunately, one or two days of training then leaving staff to figure out the rest won’t deliver the transformation you may be hoping for.
Despite Covid, our straw poll suggests that for the most part, despite Covid, those in the technology sector haven’t fared too badly and digital communications has had a positive impact on their careers and ways of working so far:
Q: Has your income been impacted during Covid-19?
+50% 2%
+25% 14%
No Change 49%
-25% 19%
-50% 9%
Managing teams remotely
Managing teams and managing businesses has always been a challenge; but remote working has brought its own particular set of problems. It seems communication must be constant and consistent, otherwise people can drop out of the loop, feel excluded or things can be misinterpreted. It is crucial people aren’t left in a vacuum, but how do you create and maintain a team dynamic in a virtual environment? We know that face to face works best, so is it more virtual face time than before? How to you create interest, engagement and diversity in your communications to your teams. Should you include a social element? There are plenty of apps and software out there to support creative social interactions across teams. Also, when things eased up last year with the pandemic, we heard a lot about Walk & Talks – taking teams on hikes with flasks of coffee etc, or Garden Centre catch-ups etc. Useful to create energy, a feeling of belonging and a sense of fun.
Q: Has digital transformation impacted your career path over the past year in a negative or a positive way?
Negatively 7%
Positively 93%
In summary, using digital tools for work is now mainstream, but this will increase massively over the next decade, and we can see from our poll the massively positive impact they are already having. It is now an inescapable fact that this is how we will be working moving forward. Like it or not it is our future and we must adapt if we are to thrive. People are now talking about remove ‘digital’ from job descriptions because it should be a given that we are prepared and skilled to work in this way. Currently the digital divide is alive and well, and despite popular myth it really isn’t a generational thing but a socio-economic issue. The Government and business in general must therefore commit to upskilling and equipping our workforce with digital tools and abilities as a matter of course, staying one step ahead of the curve, not one step behind, and they must acquire the knowledge and the confidence to be more effective and creative in their use.
Watch this space!
5 great digital communication and engagement tools
Hopin – www.hopin.com
Hopin is a virtual venue with multiple interactive areas that are optimized for connecting and engaging. Attendees can move in and out of rooms just like an in-person event and enjoy the content and connections you’ve created for them.
Donut – www.donut.com
Connect around the watercooler, anywhere. Connect serendipitously for virtual coffee, peer learning, DEI discussions. Keep your team connected, have informal chats with your bosses and/or board, help you to practice inclusivity and build empathy.
Miro – www.miro.com
Miro is a collaborative online whiteboard platform where teams come together anytime anywhere to get work done. Run productive, engaging online remote meetings and workshops with your team.
Mural – www.mural.co
Mural is a digital workspace for visual collaboration, where everyone can do their best work together. Work with your team in a dynamic, shared working environment.
Slack – www.slack.com
One platform for your team and your work; managing team interaction, workflows, process, channels, supporting systems, collaboration and communications. Many features than can work separately or together.