The Future of work ...

How to future proof your organisation … Digital Accommodation features …
In the June 2021 Podcast, McKinsey focus on how to future proof an organisation in a post covid environment. They identify four macro trends that really inform how organisations have to evolve differently. They are around increasing connectivity, which is really undermining traditional top down power structures and the development of operational structures, which are fluid and agile.

We look at the four macro trends and the three identity imperatives need to enforce the vision or mission statement, purpose, methodology and culture discussed in the podcast.

Hybrid working including WFH is here to stay. The challenges of onboarding, training, development and culture infusion will never be greater. New software will help including Skillshare (online video training), Thinkific (online course development) and online workplace software like Teamflow. The Megaverse will also feature.

Microsoft Teams delivers chat, calls and video. Google offers Workspace, as Facebook develops Workplace. Slack enables collaboration among team members with features including direct messaging, private groups, and channels organized by topic.

Software will assist to ensure organisations become flatter. They will help companies develop as learning organisations under a process of constant improvement. The age of the hippo (the dominance of the highest paid persons opinion) is past. Agile and scrum are the new styles of operation.

Many of the ideas are not new. In the final section we examine the principals of the McKinsey organisation health index. Many of these concepts relevant today, were outlined in the McKinsey OHI over five years ago.

It is the process of digital acceleration which has upped the emphasis on managing change. It is the process of digital accommodation, online and into the cloud, which will enable business leaders to future proof the organisation.

Four Macro Trends …
1. Every business must now operate as a technology business.

2. Remote and hybrid operating models are working better than anyone had ever anticipated.

3. Unprecedented automation, developing software and lower transaction costs, enable people to collaborate better outside large organisations than within them.

4. ESG - the role of business in society is changing as a new generation rises.  The new generation is driving change. They are expecting to be promoted more quickly to find purpose and meaning in their work. They are willing to vote with their feet and shift organisations, if they don’t get it.

Three Identity Imperatives …
1. Purpose - the vision and mission statement guides decisions from the boardroom to the front line. the essence of why we exist is really, really important. Increasingly, we’re seeing that organisations need to take a resonant stance on purpose.

2. Methodology - how is value created, monitored and measured.

3. Culture - How do you run the place? What is the secret sauce? Every organization has a culture. What we are seeing is that many of the leading organizations have a culture that’s distinctly different. It has distinctive elements that are going to draw the kind of talent and capabilities needed to advance what they’re trying to do.

“This is about conscious aspiration. Look at the Amazon leadership model. It does not look like something that’s posted on the wall of a traditional corporation. Look at the wonderful document that many, many people will have seen online about Netflix’s culture and how they try to treat each other.”

“So examples like that, not only is it about identity, not only is it about an individual feeling like their own purpose is resonant with that of the organization’s but we actually see the company walking the walk and making hard decisions informed by and guided by the purpose.”

Flat organisation structures ...
"You have organizations devolving into networks of teams or agile teams. Instead of people doing their normal day job, they would show up in a morning huddle and figure out what was the job to be done that day or that week. You figured out who needed to be deployed against it. Those people went off and focused on that. When they were done, they came back. You have teams of teams with the right resources. And you have a fair bit of fluidity in the organizational structure and much more focus on the mission and the outcomes."

McKinsey Organisational Health Index 2016 ...

Leaders communicate a clear and compelling vision of where the organisation is headed, how to get there and what it means for people. They offer inspiring and cascading values across the organisation that are meaningful for employees.

Leaders in the organisation ensure individuals understand what is expected of them, have sufficient authority and feel accountable for delivering results.

Leaders consistently measure and manage business and risk and act to address problems when they arise with systems and processes that provide clear operational and financial metrics to monitor and manage performance.

Leaders engage with important external stakeholders (customers, suppliers partners) to more effectively create and deliver value both now and in the future.

Leaders take a closer look at how the company understands its customers and monitors its competitors.

Leaders use effective leadership styles to shape the actions of people in the organisation to drive high performance. People are consulted on the issues that effect them. They are supported in the process of change.

Leaders encourage and harness new ideas, including everything from radical innovation to incremental improvement. The company develops as a learning organisation in which knowledge and best practise is shared across the organisation.

Leaders ensure the institutional skills and talent are in place to execute the strategy and create competitive advantage. They create a framework which hires great talent, with formal training, development and advancement.

Leaders develop employee loyalty and enthusiasm. They inspire people to exert extraordinary effort to perform at their very best. They make it clear how the company motivates employees with financial and non financial rewards, recognition and career advancement opportunities..

Leaders in the organisation cultivate a clear, consistent set of values and working norms that encourage diversity and inclusion and foster effective workplace behaviour.

#DigitalDisruption #DigitalAcceleration #DigitalAccommodation #DimensionsofStrategy #TheSaturdayEconomist #JohnAshcroft

References : McKinsey Podcast June 17th 2021 Diane Brady, Chris Gagnon, and Elizabeth Mygatt
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/how-to-future-proof-your-organization