Focus on skilling, empowering teams

Before Covid-19, many businesses had a particular way of doing business. For most, employees were doing the same work using the same tools daily. When the world was faced with an outbreak of the Coronavirus, economies were forced to shut down and rethink the way they do business and carry out day-to-day activities to ensure business survival. This affected employees in a professional and personal way. 

When a business is facing a crisis, among the first people to feel the ripple effects are the employees. Covid-19 has changed the way we work and even though many businesses have had to gradually adapt the way they function, it has now almost become the norm to implement technological changes in workplaces. Technology has been an enabler and customers and employees have now had to adapt to it.

Re-skill employees

A crisis can provide the best opportunity to amplify employee skills and develop or implement new solutions to drive the business forward. Covid-19 has undoubtedly brought to the fore employees that are agile, resilient, and compassionate.

Now more than ever, employees are looking up to management to take action that will ensure their security and business survival. Covid-19 has allowed leaders to strategise and realise operational efficiencies such as cost-cutting in areas that were previously redundant for the business.

Leaders now have to work on upskilling and reskilling workers and provide development tools to ensure that they easily adapt to the new organisational changes and processes that have been introduced.

Some of the key things that have been adapted to increase efficiency and productivity are digitisation and automation for small and big companies. This means employees will have to be re-skilled to manage these processes. Remote working tools have replaced the need for some employees to physically be at the workplace. With the introduction of these tools, the workforce has to continuously be trained to use them beyond just making conference calls.

An organisation that skills its employees will be able not to only have value added to its workforce but also maneuver through crises.       

Work in covid era: New normal

Covid-19 has changed the way we work and even though many businesses have had to gradually adapt the way they function, it has now almost become the norm to implement technological changes in workplaces.

The author is the Human Capital Business Partner at dfcu bank