Millennials set to run the business show
The younger generation of entrepreneurs are changing the game. Here are 8 trends in 2018 INDUSTRY INSIGHT
The modern workplace is changing more and more every day and the importance of technology is growing exponentially across the Middle East, where 50 to 65 per cent of the population is under the age of 24. Emerging markets are already being dominated by millennials and their working style is shaping business trends for 2018 and beyond.
By 2025, an incredible 75 per cent of all the workforce globally will be represented by millennials, according to the Governance Studies at Brookings report. Millennials also constitute a large share of today’s consumers of products and services, make executive decisions and are on their way to start managing Generation Z. While Gen Z’s working styles are very similar to their predecessors, a whopping 72.8 million individuals born between the mid1990s and early-2000s are more competitive and expect greater efficiency at the workplace managed by millennials.
These and many other factors will shape business trends in 2018, making the modern workforce even more dependent on technology. We believe that there are at least 8 key trends organisations need to pay very close attention to.
1. The Bring your own device (BYOD) trend will be even more driven by millennials and Generation Z in 2018. For the past few years we’ve debated whether we should or shouldn’t bring our own devices to the workplace, but that is set to change next year. Efficiency, agility and connectivity will continue making the top of the list of priorities for millennial and Gen Z employees.
We are talking about mobile apps that will promote integration for greater and faster business results. Customers will expect more customised services and personalised solutions, and millennials won’t be able to imagine their lives without apps. We can already find apps for everything starting from food delivery, shopping and government services and expanding towards internal workflow automation apps that help organisations streamline their work in a more efficient way. There will be more of those in 2018.
We live in smart cities and we process information in smarter ways year after year. The most important person for millennials is the person who can organise tremendous amounts of data into easy-to-use and organised information. This is exactly why we use big data analytics. Big data will continue driving positive change in 2018 especially in the Middle East.
Some industry predictions say that the number of connected devices will exceed 50 billion by 2020 worldwide. In order to stay cyberthreat-free, organisations should be very careful when choosing office equipment and always pay a lot of attention to the type of imbedded security solutions their preferred brand offers. Often office machines become the first point of entry for cyber-criminals as their security is not well taken care of and by being connected to the office network these devices often work as the access bridge to sensitive data.
This trend emerged a while ago, but we are expecting to see more changes across such highly-regulated industries as education, healthcare, banking and transportation. That also means that SMEs and start-ups who are helping these sectors to become even more digital will gain more leverage in this region.
We have mentioned customised and personalised approach that consumers expect today; customer service is set to go to the next level with the wider application of artificial intelligence and chatbots that become more accessible. This is definitely something the millennial workforce will appreciate and expect in 2018.
At least 87 per cent of millennials would purchase a product with a social or environmental benefits and 9 out of 10 would switch brands to support a cause. The same goes to the importance of making an impact at the workplace; millennials will choose to work for responsible organisations. Managed print services help many businesses to reevaluate their printing practices and to reduce paper waste, which is one of the first steps organisations of any size can make towards responsible business practices.
We are not talking about open-plan offices but about technology that helps millennials collaborate and work together more efficiently. The paradox is that while being team players by nature, millennials do not prefer face-to-face interaction on a daily basis. Connected devices and smart office hardware will allow them to collaborate without the need for physical interaction. There is almost no such meeting that can’t happen over a conference call and no such document that can’t be scanned and emailed to all concerned parties.There are many more small trends that will shake up the business community in 2018 and they promise to only make a positive impact on businesses and public sector in the long term. Work environments will become even more fast paced, agile and dynamic thanks to us millennials. Let’s show them how it is done and done well. The writer is head of marketing for the Middle East and Africa at Xerox. Views expressed are her own and do not reflect the newspaper’s policy.