New possibilities arising from the COVID-19 crisis

Rather than shrinking from, or preparing to fight, the oncoming storm of change, organisations should draw energy from it.

New possibilities arising from the In the context of COVID-19, leading organisations will leverage the opportunity to return to work by designing the future of work, employing the lessons, practices, and goodwill they built during their accelerated crisis response. Following on from part one in this article series, where we looked at embedding purpose into every aspect of work every day, we now take a look at how potential could be an influencing factor in driving organisational change – continuing our view on how to start the process of returning to work by leveraging the 2020 human

capital trends – a set of reflections, recommendations, and frameworks which we believe are more critical than ever as organisations head toward recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

Superteams: Putting AI in the group The COVID-19 shift:

COVID-19 showed people that while technology can augment and supplement work, it does not replace what is needed from humans. The health crisis gave people a greater appreciation for the fact that humans and technology are more powerful together than either can be on their own. Consider how telemedicine, manufacturing, education, and even grocery delivery drew on the power of integrated human- machine teams during the crisis.

New possibilities:

As they stage the return to work, organisations have an opportunity to push the envelope in the ways they integrate teams of humans and technology. Organisations should evolve their thinking about technology from taking a purely substitution view (replacing humans with technology) to using technology as an augmentation or collaboration strategy. The latter view can allow organisations to not only streamline costs, but to also create value and ultimately, provide meaning to the workforce as a whole.

Knowledge management: Creating context for a connected world The COVID-19 shift:

People’s hunger for information during the COVID-19 pandemic validated the phrase “knowledge is power.” As individuals around the world clamoured for whatever information they could find on virus spread rates, care information, vaccine development, safety measures, business closures, and more, organisations used institutional knowledge to extend their adaptability, as they were able to quickly deploy workers into new roles, or even new organisations, by leveraging the knowledge that was now at their fingertips.

New possibilities:

As they stage the return to work, organisations have the opportunity to leverage the power of AI to build a culture of actionable knowledge-sharing and knowledge creation that strengthens organisational connectivity and affords the organisation resilience to be able to withstand, and even to thrive in, environments of disruption, uncertainty, and change.

Beyond reskilling: Investing in resilience for uncertain futures The COVID-19 shift:

COVID-19 reinforced that it is more important to understand what workers are capable of doing than understanding what they have done before. Through this crisis, the world has had the opportunity to see the resilience and adaptability of the workforce as workers quickly assumed new roles and even contributed to opportunities in different fields and industries.

New possibilities:

As they stage the return to work, organisations should consider how to encourage and offer opportunities for workers to continue to grow and adapt based on their potential, rather than solely on their existing skills or certifications. Now is not the time to pull back on workforce development efforts, but instead to double down on commitments to building a resilient workforce that can adapt in the face of constant change.

Potential: An organisation that is designed and organised to maximise what humans are capable of thinking, creating, and doing in a world of machines